When You Make It Home (22 page)

“Hop up here.” She waved to the table, and then she lugged a chair over for Theo. He thanked her.

“The technician will be in momentarily.” She pulled the door shut.

I sat on the edge of the table and Theo stood between my knees. He framed my face with his hands and kissed me.

“I want to tell you what an honor it is for me to share this with you.” He tucked a stray curl behind my ear.

“Theo—”

“I went from patrolling the streets of Baghdad to being a stranger in my own country. I returned to combat because if I didn’t go to Afghanistan, I would’ve felt like I was shirking responsibility. Everything here seemed pointless. Over there I could
do
something and make a difference. The day we got blown up, I didn’t just lose my leg. I lost the life I knew. The life I thought I wanted. But when I came home I found you. You make me want to be more.”

“Theo, I love you,” I blurted. I needed to say it. I needed him to hear it.

“I love you too, Meg.”

The door opened and a woman in a lab coat walked in. She barely glanced at us as she moved around the table.

She got straight to business. “So we’re here to see if the baby is going to cooperate with us today. Lie down for me.” I did as I was told, never taking my eyes off of Theo, as she raised my shirt, tucked a small towel along the waist of my pants, and squeezed a glob of ultrasound jelly on me. While she tapped away at her machine, Theo stroked my hair away from my face. He tilted down to kiss me on my forehead.

“Thank you,” he whispered. His tenderness moved me. I turned my head to kiss his palm. Oh my sweet, sweet Theo.

And then the magic started.

The technician put the device against my belly. “So today we’re only doing a gender check?”

“Yes.”
Come on, come on; let’s go!

Theo took my hand in both of his. “Hello, baby,” he said to the screen.

“What is it?” I asked, looking from the woman to the screen.

The technician beamed. “There we go. You’re having a girl. Congratulations.”

Theo looked from the screen to me, his smile fierce. “A daughter.”

“Oh,” I inhaled with a sharp intake of breath. “Oh, baby girl.” Tears slipped from my eyes, and Theo laughed as he wiped them away.

“She’s beautiful,” he murmured, his face close to mine.

“She’s waving at us.” I pointed to the screen. “Hi, baby.”

“Look at her, look at her.” Theo laced his fingers with mine.

My little girl took her foot with her hands and pulled it to her mouth. She spun around and wiggled and danced. I could feel her move as I watched. She was everything I never knew I wanted, and it was the best moment of my life. The whole world opened up before me.

The tech wiped my belly off and stood. While I sat up and fixed my shirt, she handed Theo a photo from the ultrasound. “Congratulations, Papa,” she said, and his grin didn’t even falter.

The door shut and he handed the photo to me. The image was of my daughter waving, and off to the side of her arm the tech had typed, “Hi, Mom & Dad.”

Chapter Nineteen

“W
ho would’ve guessed that this would become one of my favorite places to go?” Theo pulled into the parking lot of The Super Baby Depot.

“Why are we stopping here?”

“Because I want to do something I’ve never done before.”

“And what is that?”

“I want to buy a doll.” He got out of the car, slammed the door with too much force and came around to my side. He opened my door. “And a purse. A little girl needs a purse.”

His enthusiasm was infectious, and I giggled. “She won’t need one for quite some time, you know.”

“Nonsense.” He swept me to my feet and practically galloped across the parking lot on his crutches. He came back to me. “Come on woman, you can move faster than that.” Theo circled around me and then walked alongside me to the door. He grabbed a cart, tossed one of his crutches in it, and took off down an aisle. He knew the layout of the store better than I did.

He led me to the baby toys and pulled a little doll with a pink dress and yellow hair off the shelf. He set it in the cart, looked at me funny, and then took an identical doll with brown hair off the shelf and placed it next to the first doll.

“Hey,” he called to get my attention. “Pick something out for that little girl.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at my belly and then at the rows of pink toys. At that moment, it clicked. We knew who we were shopping for. Looking around the store, the lights seemed brighter. I went to the wall, selected a soft flower rattle, and put it in the cart.

“Hey look.” Theo held up a pink purse that had a fabric tube of lipstick and soft compact with it. “I told you so.” He tossed it in the cart, laughed, and grabbed a pink toy cell phone. “She’s going to need one of these.”

“Oh, look at this,” I said holding up a pink doctor kit.

“Get two—I want one for myself,” Theo said with a wink.

We ended up with at least one of every pink item in the store. Pink was a color I’d never paid too much attention to, but now it screamed girl, girl, girl, with an anticipation I was only beginning to grasp. A daughter of my very own—how could I not be giddy? I picked out blankets and tiny jeans, and Theo found a dress he insisted we get and the sweetest little pair of booties.

I looked over our cart loaded with predominately pink and looked back, scanning the aisles.

“What’d we forget?” Theo asked. “Wait, I know. Come closer.”

I stepped to his side, and he brushed the back of his hand against my cheek. I shivered, and he lowered his mouth to mine in a gentle kiss.

“I love you. I love this,” he said. “What’s the worried look for?”

I pointed at my belly. “What if she doesn’t like pink?”

He let out a sharp bark of laughter, his smile going even wider. “You might be onto something. Let’s go back and get one of those yellow trucks and a tool kit. We want to give her equal opportunities.”

My heart swooned, and I hugged his arm. “Did I ever tell you how much fun you are?”

“You’re not so shabby yourself,” Theo said, and we headed back to the toy department.

The only dim spot in the day came when we stopped by the baby carriers. Theo picked one up, and while attempting to try it on, he lost his balance. Catching himself on the cart, which wasn’t strong enough to support his weight, he tipped sideways, slamming into the shelf with a loud bam. I caught the cart before it fell to the ground, and Theo steadied himself.

“Are you alright, sir?” a clerk asked loudly as he approached, arms out.

“Yeah, yeah.” Theo spoke sharply, his face bright. He yanked off the carrier and chucked it on the shelf. “Come on, let’s go,” he barked.

He had hit the wall of fatigue. He didn’t say anything as I handed his crutch to him, and he followed me silently to the cash register. His mood softened again when he joined me to put our things on the counter. He elbowed me out of the way when I went to pay.

“The next one’s on you,” he said and swiped his card.

“You’ve got to stop doing that.”

“I’ll do what I want—now, move over.” He loaded the bags back in the cart before the cashier could help.

He whistled as we walked to the car, opened the door for me first, and then put the bags in the trunk. When Theo slid into the driver seat, he handed me a bag. I opened it to find the little blond- and brown-haired dolls.

He put his hand on my belly. “How’s the little darling?”

I leaned into him, and we kissed a kiss that hit me like a sigh, until he pulled away and jammed the key in the ignition. “That’s right, that’s right, doctor’s orders.” With a fresh spark in his eyes, he threw the car in reverse, the tires squealing, and then turned the car around and took off for home.

Back at the condo, Theo made love to me. He fed me pancakes with sliced strawberries in bed. At some point, I caught the glaze in his eyes that gave away that he’d taken pain pills. But he made love to me again. We took a bath together and then lay in the dark whispering until we fell asleep in each other’s arms. It truly was the best day of my life.

I woke up curved against Theo, his hand on my belly. The baby kicked, and Theo’s hand moved.

“Hello,” I said.

“Good morning.” He kissed me behind the ear. “We’ve been hanging out together, waiting for you to wake up and join us.”

Seven missed calls. I sat in the parking lot at work and scanned my phone. Ellie was the only call I made after the appointment. Two calls came from Steve, one from Chelsea, and the big surprise was the four calls from Nina. She knew nothing of the ultrasound and wasn’t even checking up on me, although she inquired briefly at the end of her message. She wanted to make sure Dad was okay, mentioned she had mail for him, and asked how I was doing as an afterthought. I decided to wait to call her back. I had news to share.

I called Steve’s house and Dad answered.

“Dad?”

“It’s about time. You know we’ve been waiting, right?”

“I went to the doctor yesterday.”

“And?” he asked.

“I hope you’re okay with a granddaughter, because that’s what the stork’s bringing!”

“Well, that’s perfect.”

He hollered out the news to Steve, who responded with a whoop. I distinctly heard a woman’s voice, hushed and mingled with his, in the background. I considered making a detour for a little recon mission. Who was he sharing my news with?

My phone rang.

“Hi Nina,” I answered, in too good a mood to worry about her drama bringing me down.

“I know you’re busy, but have you spoken to your father?” Nina’s panicked tone stopped me in my tracks. She was never less than completely composed.

“Yes, I talked with him today. He’s at Steve’s.”

“I know,” she replied quickly. “I thought he’d be back by now.”

“Is that what he said?”

“No, but he’s never held a grudge this long before. He’s being difficult.”

A dull ache formed in my chest when I heard the desperation in her words. “Nina, I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

“Oh, well. We’ll work it out.” Her voice took on a false bravado. “How is everything there?”

“I’m good. I found out I’m having a girl.” I held my breath.

“How lovely. That’s nice, dear. Your father must be thrilled.” She sounded far off. “Look, don’t tell him I called.”

“Sure, I won’t,” I said, but she’d already hung up.

I unlocked the back door and headed to my office. I sat at my desk and stared at my phone. I had one more call to make about the baby. I contemplated whether he’d want to hear the news or not. My little girl gave a kick.

“He should know about you,” I said and rubbed my belly. I dialed the number for the first time since I had called to tell him I was pregnant with his baby. He could turn his back again, but my daughter deserved to have her news shared with the man who had fathered her. I called him for her sake.

The phone rang once, I held my breath, and then it rang again. By the fourth ring I exhaled and decided I wouldn’t leave a message.

He answered abruptly. “I’ve been wondering about you. How’s everything?” His hushed words came out with a nervous inflection.

“Wonderful, Jason. I wanted to let you know I don’t need anything, but I thought you had a right to know that it’s a girl.”

Silence.

And then the sound of children’s voices filled the background. I heard him muffle the phone, mumble words to someone.

“Thank you for your call. That’s good to hear. I’ll be in touch. Goodbye, now.” He hung up.

Stunned, I listened to the silence of the dead line.

I had no choice but to go on with my day. I did my part, and I willed myself to let Jason’s reaction go. My thoughts kept returning to my dad and what he must’ve gone through when our mom disappeared. I’d never considered the dilemma he’d faced, having to explain that loss to us. I ached for my daughter. She would always long for the first man who decided she wasn’t good enough to stick around for. I was going to have to figure it out. My daughter would not walk in a shadow of rejection.

I didn’t let Nina bring me down, and I wasn’t about to let Jason diffuse my joy either. As the store filled up and the news spread, the day turned into a celebration. Hazel brought out pink and white balloons from the story-time closet and filled them with helium. Dad and Steve rolled in shortly before lunch. Dad found the store aprons and put one on. Soon he was telling all the customers that his children owned the store, and his daughter was pregnant with his first granddaughter.

Hazel cornered me, sans filter, as usual, and asked if Bradley was excited.

“Hazel, this is not his baby,” I snapped.

She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Humph, I better quit defending your honor then.” She looked at me as though I’d betrayed her.

“Yes, that’s not your job.” I walked away, pleased I’d finally stood up to her. “And if you keep talking to me that way, you’ll be defending your business in the unemployment line,” I said over my shoulder.

Theo arrived for lunch and met Dad. We all trekked across the street to The Tavern. We sat at one of the larger tables, Dad and Steve across from Theo and me. Just as we were ordering, Hazel squeezed into the seat next to me.

“I’ll have a Reuben and a Sprite-tini,” she said to the waitress. “We’re celebrating, so bring one for Meg, too—”

“Oh, no,” I interrupted. “No, thank you.”

“They’re virgin.” She put her hand over her mouth and giggled. “Just try one. Oh, and bring us a bowl of those green olives on the swords.”

I glanced at Dad and took in his pleading look. “Fine, I’ll drink a Sprite-tini with you.”

Hazel put her cool hand on my arm when the waitress left with our order. “I’m sorry I said what I did about Bradley. I just thought you two were so good together.”

I nodded. “Okay, just let it go.”