Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
“Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise,
the amazement of the Gods.” —Plato
As he drove the moving truck to St. Johnsbury, Max wondered what was up with Caden wanting to stay with Lexi while he was gone. Once he was in Colton’s truck on the way back to Butler, Max said as much to his brother.
“I thought that was odd, too, especially since you just got home,” Colton said. “I heard he and Mom had a lunch date at the diner. Maybe she had something to do with it.”
“He made a nice card welcoming both of us home. I didn’t expect that either.”
“He’s trying to make room in his life for her, in his own seven-year-old way.”
“It’s very sweet of him.”
“I’m sure it’s a relief, too,” Colton said. “Since he didn’t take her initial presence all that well.”
“Not at all, and I was worried that was going to be a problem now that Lexi lives in town.”
“Is he the reason why she didn’t move in with you guys?”
“Partially. She also wants the chance to live on her own for a while. She’s never gotten to do that. She’s got a lot of lost time to make up for after being sick for so long.”
“Ah, I see. Are you okay with that?”
“Sure. I’m just happy to have her back in my life.”
“And who do you have to thank for that?” Colton asked, holding his hand to his ear as if trying to hear better.
“Mom? She pushed me to go to the reunion.”
“Oh please, who pulled your head out of your ass when you were cleaning Caden’s room instead of hanging out with the only girl you’ve ever loved?”
“I think that was Lucas.”
“Shit,” Colton said with a laugh. “You’re full of it.”
“Thank you for giving me a push toward her, oh wise one.”
“Now we’re talking.”
“Can I tell you something that you’ll swear you won’t tell anyone else?”
“That’s a tall order for me.”
“I mean it, Colton. No one else.”
“Not even Lucy?”
“No one.”
“Fine. If you’re gonna be that way about it.”
“I am. Do you promise?”
“Yes. Now what is this state secret I’m being forced to keep?”
“Lexi is pregnant.”
Colton looked over at Max, making the truck swerve. “Whoa. Is it yours?”
“Shut the fuck up. Yes, it’s mine. She thought she couldn’t have kids after the treatment, so we weren’t careful.”
“Well, that’ll speed things up for you guys.”
“For sure. Hopefully before the baby arrives, we can find a place together or add on to Gramps’s house. In the meantime, she wants to live alone for a bit, and I want Caden to have time to get used to us together, so it works out.”
“Sounds like it. Congrats, Max. I’m truly happy for you and Lexi.”
“Thanks. We’re excited, and hearing she was pregnant was a lot better than hearing the cancer was back.”
“I’m sure it was.” Colton glanced over at him. “Are you going to be able to live with the worry of that happening?”
“If it means I get to live with her. The odds are pretty good that she’s going to be fine.”
“That’s great news all around.”
“It feels so good to have the big question answered, you know?”
“I do know. I remember what that was like when I realized that Lucy was the only chance I had to be happy in this life and somehow was lucky enough that she felt the same way.”
“We’re all still trying to figure out why she picked you,” Max said with a laugh.
Colton chuckled. “Me, too, brother. Me, too. But thank God she did.”
“We’re thankful for that, too.”
“It takes a special woman to handle me, and Lucy is very, very special.”
“Enough already.”
“What? I’m just saying that asking a sophisticated woman like her to move to a mountaintop and live without indoor plumbing for years was not your average ask.”
“No, it wasn’t, and you’re a lucky man.”
“And I know it. It’s worked out well for all of us, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah, it really has.”
“Thanks to Dad and Gramps.”
“Oh jeez, don’t let them hear you say that. They’re insufferable enough as it is. At least they had nothing to do with me getting back together with Lexi.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. They’ve gotten very crafty over the years. Anything is possible.”
“I don’t care how it happened as long as it did.”
The next few months would go down as the happiest of Max’s life.
Lexi started her classes in mid-January and began working part time at the store on the days she didn’t have class.
They’d waited until the three-month mark to tell everyone else about the baby, but before they did that, they had to tell Caden.
He’d gotten used to having Lexi around, and the three of them had fallen into a nice routine that included dinner together just about every day.
They went on hikes and spent time with Max’s extended family and had helped her parents and grandparents move back into their Butler home in late February.
Max couldn’t wait to finally share the news about the baby with Caden, which they planned to do after dinner. He and Lexi had made stew over the weekend, and they were having the last of it with bread and salad he’d grabbed at the store on his way home.
Lexi was picking up Caden on her way home from work, and they were due to arrive any minute.
Max was excited and nervous. He thought Caden would be pumped to be a big brother, but he wasn’t entirely sure.
He’d ordered a Big Brother shirt online and they were going to give it to him as a gift to tell him the news.
He and Lexi had talked about it endlessly and had decided on that as their plan.
She’d assured him that she felt confident Caden would be happy, but Max wasn’t as certain.
He'd been an only child for almost seven and a half years. That was a long time to occupy center stage. Caden was a special kid, and Max didn’t say that because he was his.
Everyone said it—grandparents, teachers, coaches, Scout leaders and the parents of his friends.
People had nothing but nice things to say about him, a fact that Max took tremendous pride in.
He was counting on his son to come through for him at this critical moment.
Lexi was starting to show, so they couldn’t wait any longer to tell Caden the news.
Tonight was the night.
When he saw the headlights sweep over the yard, Max decided to stop being nervous and focus on the joy. He was so happy to see them both after a long day apart.
Caden burst into the house, and Daisy ran to him, jumping into his arms to lick his face the way she did every night when they got home.
Soon, she’d be too big for him to hold. He loved the way she made Caden laugh with everything she did.
“Easy, girl. Give a man a chance to get in the door, will ya?”
Lexi came in after him, carrying Caden’s backpack and the bag she took to work at the store. Her face was flushed from the cold and fuller now due to the pregnancy. She had never been more beautiful to him than she was carrying their child.
Max hugged her and gave her a quick kiss as he relieved her of the bags. They were careful not to overdo the PDA in front of Caden. “Hi.”
“Hi there.”
He loved the way she smiled at him, the way she looked at him, the way she loved him. Being back with her again had made his already satisfying life complete in so many ways, it would take hours to list them all.
“Are you guys hungry?” Max asked.
“Starving,” Caden said, as he did every night.
“Feed Daisy, and then you can eat.”
Max was trying to get Caden in the habit of feeding Daisy twice a day, and so far, he was doing well, but sometimes he had to be reminded.
While Daisy chowed down on puppy food, Max served up the stew he and Lexi had made. They’d discovered cooking was another thing they enjoyed doing together. In fact, he enjoyed doing everything with her and couldn’t wait until they lived together full time.
She was at their house most nights for dinner and often helped Caden with his math homework, which was a relief to Max. She’d helped him with his math homework back in the day, too. He still sucked at it as badly as he had then.
They had slowly started to feel like a real family, and he gave her credit for not forcing herself on Caden, but rather allowing their relationship to grow organically.
As they enjoyed the stew and salad, Max glanced at Lexi.
She gave him a hesitant smile that lit up her eyes, letting him know she, too, was feeling all the things about what they needed to tell Caden.
Max cleared his throat and took a sip of the beer he’d opened. “So, um, Caden… Lexi and I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Are you getting married?”
“Uh, well…” Max glanced at Lexi for help.
“Hopefully, we will eventually,” she said, “but that’s not what we wanted to tell you tonight.”
Caden’s questioning gaze darted between them.
“We got you this,” Max said, handing Caden the gift bag they’d put together the night before after he was asleep.
“It’s not my birthday or Christmas,” he said suspiciously.
“Open it,” Max said, reaching for Lexi’s hand under the table.
Caden pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and then the T-shirt they’d bought him that said Big Brother and the year the baby was due. His mouth fell open. “You’re having a baby?”
“Yeah, buddy, we are, and we’re so excited to make you a big brother, because you’ll be the best one ever.”
“A baby,” Caden said as tears filled his eyes. “I’m going to be a big brother.”
“That’s right. Are you excited?”
“Yeah. Of course I am. Is it a boy or a girl?”
“We don’t know,” Lexi said. “We’ve decided to let it be a surprise.”
“What do you hope for?” Max asked him. “A baby brother or sister?”
“I’m fine with either,” Caden said as he put on the shirt. “Can I wear it to school tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Max said, pleased with how happy his son seemed about the news.
Lexi gave his hand a squeeze and smiled at him.
“So why aren’t you guys getting married? You’re having a baby, Lexi is here all the time anyway, and she helps me with math.”