Chapter Sixteen
The moment was intense. James’s wife, Lilly, was delivering the baby. James had his head bowed and seemed to be praying. All of a sudden, the weak cry of an infant sounded over the Bluetooth speaker and the room erupted into joyous laughter and hoots of delight.
James jerked his head up. With the phone to his ear, he asked, “Is the baby a boy or a girl?”
The doctor’s voice boomed over the speaker. “You have a beautiful baby girl.”
James leaped to his feet, his face bright with tears. “Did you hear?” he shouted to anyone and everyone who would listen. “I have a daughter.” Tossing his arms into the air, he danced around in a circle, stamping his feet.
The young father wasn’t the only one caught up in the happy excitement.
Several couples joined hands and skipped around in circles as if they themselves had been the happy recipients of a new son or daughter.
Others exchanged high fives, and several clapped James’s shoulder to the point where he nearly stumbled forward.
Little could distract from the joyful emotion that filled James’s expression.
He hadn’t been at Lilly’s side when she delivered their daughter, but he had a group of strangers who stood by him and Lilly with support and encouragement, sharing this moment.
Avery found it hard to believe the total transformation that had taken place after the replacement part didn’t repair the engine.
None of those disappointments seemed to matter.
A baby had been born and each one who stood at James’s side shared in the wonder and the miracle of it.
Harrison was next to her, and she smiled up at him, enjoying the revelry taking place around them. She was grateful to have played a small role in helping James and his wife.
Harrison slipped his arm around her waist. “This is crazy,” he whispered close to her ear so she could hear him above all the racket.
“It’s a good kind of crazy, though,” she said, and laughed when a man broke into a beatboxing dance. A small group formed around him with people clapping.
For many, the hours they’d been forced to wait had been a trial.
Avery had spent the majority of the time getting to know Harrison, afraid she would succumb to his charm.
It became a constant battle of wills, all within herself.
She’d agreed to give him a chance, and at the time it had seemed fair.
But she’d assumed it would be only the time it took to sail from Bremerton to Seattle, not this prolonged wait.
She’d spent the time talking to Harrison and him with her.
They’d found a common goal in helping James.
To his credit, Harrison had used the time effectively, sharing himself with her, telling her about his dreams, his desire to serve the country with his work in the Navy.
Avery had listened and found him easy to be with.
Too easy. He asked about her life and appeared genuinely interested.
She knew that at the end of the day, he would want his answer.
Now here they were, caught up in this celebration, and she couldn’t keep from smiling up at him, her heart exposed, staring deep into his eyes.
“I know you haven’t agreed to see me beyond today, but I’m hoping you’ll be willing to give me a chance.”
“I . . .” She didn’t know what to tell him. “We’ll be having dinner together later with our siblings. Let’s not get caught up in the emotions of the moment. I think it would be best to give us each a few days to think this through.”
“Then you’ll agree to see me again after Christmas?”
She nodded. “I will.” This moment of joy made it far too easy to give in to what her heart was telling her. Agreeing to date Harrison was what she wanted, but her mind and heart were cautious. She didn’t want to get caught up in the excitement and regret it later.
“I’m willing to wait,” he agreed, with some reluctance. “However, before we step off this ferry, I’d very much like to kiss you.”
Avery’s heart had no objection whatsoever. She didn’t even try to talk herself out of it. Slipping her arms over his shoulders, she knotted her hands behind his neck. “I think that’s a reasonable request.”
Harrison lowered his mouth to hers as his arms tightened around her waist, half lifting her off the floor. His kiss was tender, gentle, sweet, and ever so welcome. When he released her, his gaze held hers.
“You know how I feel, and I hope you’re feeling the same.”
“I do,” she admitted, her heart racing. “I do.”
“I don’t have a girl in every port, Avery. As a submariner, the only women I’m likely to meet are mermaids.”
She smiled at his joke.
“I’m sorry you were hurt before, but I’m willing to give you those few days because you’re worth it. I want to see you again,” Harrison said. “A day or two after Christmas,” he repeated and exhaled a slow breath. “I’ll be as patient as I can be, but please don’t leave me hanging.”
Earl Jones sauntered in, and with hands on his hips looked around at the chaos taking place. Studying the craziness going on around the passenger deck, he slowly shook his head. When no one seemed to notice his arrival, he whistled and raised his arms to get everyone’s attention.
“While you yahoos were up here making all kinds of racket, no one seemed to notice the tugboat has arrived. We’ll be docking within the next thirty minutes.”
A loud cheer arose.
“Unless something else happens,” Harrison’s friend Kyle jokingly suggested.
“Nothing else is going to delay us,” Earl assured him as he headed toward the stairwell.
“I have a daughter,” James called out, stopping Earl in his tracks at the good news. “Me. A daughter. I have a little girl. We’re naming her Noelle Rose.”
“Congratulations.” Earl’s smile was wide and genuine. “I’ve got a daughter myself. Watch out, baby girls have a way of wrapping us around their little fingers.”
“Everyone has been so great,” James told him. “This has been the best day of my life.”
Virginia smiled down at Olivia. “Isn’t this the most glorious news?”
Olivia nodded eagerly.
“It’s the kind of news that calls for a celebration. Actually, I have one of my own.”
“You do?” Avery asked, then remembered the tin of cookies Virginia had shared, wondering if those baked goods were meant for something or someone else.
A peaceful look stole over the other woman. “My sister and I had a falling-out a few years back. Those cookies were a special family recipe handed down from our mother. It’s only fitting that those gingerbread men would be the means of reuniting me with my twin.”
“But you gave them away,” Avery said, not realizing what a sacrifice it had been on the other woman’s part.
“Veronica won’t mind. We both know the cookies were simply an excuse to reach out and facilitate our reconciliation. It was something we both wanted, with or without the cookies.”
“Making up with your twin is the celebration you mentioned, then?”
“Yes, and now with the baby it feels like even more of one.”
“You’re right, Grandma,” Liam said. He’d apparently overheard their conversation. “This is a great time to celebrate. Come on, guys, we aren’t going to make it to the wedding, but we can still entertain.”
The other members of the band quickly retrieved their instruments from the car deck. The band set up in front of the ferry. Olivia and Kevin, her newfound friend, stood in the very front, shaking with excitement, eager to continue the songfest, and this time with the entire band playing.
“Can you play ‘Frosty the Snowman’?” Olivia shouted.
“ ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’?” Kevin called out next.
Liam and his friends exchanged glances. “We sure can!”
The keyboard player started the tune, and the other instruments quickly joined in.
Olivia and a couple other children started singing, which was all the encouragement the adults needed.
Soon the deck echoed with the sounds of their blended voices.
The few children who stood together clapped their hands with glee and danced around the deck.
“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” was followed by the Brenda Lee hit from years ago that had experienced a recent revival, “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.” A few started their own rocking, swing-dancing and showing off their fancy footwork.
The singing was boisterous and full of good cheer. Standing toward the back of the crowd, Avery watched what was happening with amusement. Everything had changed for the better. The mood in the room got an additional emotional boost after everyone learned they were about to be rescued.
Before she could fully take in what was happening, a conga line had formed. A string of merrymakers danced their way around the entire area, kicking, singing, laughing.
“Come on,” Harrison said, as he reached for Avery’s hand.
Laughing, she joined him at the end of the line.
As they circled the deck, Avery noticed Olivia standing on a chair clapping her hands, her sweet face glowing with joy. When she noticed Avery, she jumped down and ran over to her.
Avery and Harrison stepped out of the line to see what the youngster had to say that was so important.
“Guess what?” she shouted, and then answered her own question. “Daddy is going to come live with me and Mommy again.”
Avery had wondered. She’d seen the two adults talking with their heads leaning toward each other.
Earlier, Oliva’s dad sat at the table in the small cafeteria and slumped forward as if he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Clearly something had taken place that had put matters straight.
“That’s wonderful,” she told Olivia, who was beaming with happiness knowing she would be with her mommy and daddy for Christmas.
“It’s the best news ever,” Olivia said, and with that, she raced back to where she’d been standing and continued clapping.
Avery considered this news one of the many Christmas miracles she’d witnessed that day. A baby’s birth. A chance meeting. Hearts healed. She suspected there were more she knew nothing about.
As she watched Olivia, she felt a slight shift on the deck that caused her to take a single step forward.
The ferry was moving.
To be sure, she went to look out the window. The city lights came into view, bright and welcoming. All afternoon she’d waited patiently to see this very sight. Oddly, she felt a strange sense of disappointment. Their adventure was about to end just when it felt like everything had righted itself.
Harrison came to stand behind her. “It won’t be long now,” he said, his hand resting on the small of her back.
Looking over her shoulder, she commented, “As ridiculous as it sounds, I’m almost sorry to be leaving.”
“I know. I was thinking the same thing.”
“Look,” she said, pointing to the tugboat, which had positioned itself against the side of the ferry. It was decorated with strings of multicolored lights as it nudged the huge vessel toward the dock.
They were soon joined by others and the band broke into “Auld Lang Syne,” which sent a wave of laughter through the deck.
It wasn’t long before they reached the dock. Cheers rose, along with applause that after the extended wait, they had finally reached their destination.
Soon passengers started to gather their belongings.
Those who’d driven on returned to the car deck while the walk-ons stood by the door leading to the exit ramp.
When boarding the ferry in Bremerton, there had been a rush as people jockeyed for seats.
Unusual as it seemed, no one appeared to feel that same sense of urgency now.
Avery supposed it had to do with the camaraderie while stranded. A common purpose that had brought them together. Hearing the first cries of a new life coming into the world had changed them. Had changed Avery.
James came to stand by her and Harrison. “I wanted to thank you,” he said, his expression radiant. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been willing to lend me your phone.”
“It was nothing,” Avery assured him.
“It was everything,” he countered. “I’ll be heading directly to the hospital, but before I leave, I wanted to give you my business card.” He handed her his card. “I’d like to send you a photo of Noelle, if you don’t mind.”
“Mind?” she countered. “I’d be thrilled.”
“She weighed seven pounds, four ounces, and is twenty inches long. Lilly thinks she’s going to be tall like her daddy.”
He started toward the end of the line, which parted like the Red Sea, as if he were Moses holding a staff. Logan had lingered on deck with his wife and daughter. When he saw James, he moved forward and offered him a ride on his motorcycle to the hospital.
As James left with Logan, people slapped his back and congratulated him again.
“Are you ready?” Harrison asked.
“Sure thing,” Avery said. “My brother sent a text. He’s waiting for us at the end of the ramp.”
Harrison reached for her hand, and together they headed toward the exit.