52. Uh, Men
Uh, Men
Cara
Seventeen Months Later
‘Bo, are you ready?’
I call my accomplice in from the backyard and smile as the sound of her pounding feet, and Harley’s four paws echo through the house.
‘Is he here?’ she asks, and I nod yes.
‘Yes, sweetheart. Harley, to your bed.’
The big lump huffs her body into the soft bed under the living room window as the truck I’ve missed in my driveway this past week pulls to a stop outside.
‘I’m so excited.’
Bowie vibrates next to me. While Doug was in Savannah this past week working on our latest property, my wee bestie has been helping me plan a surprise here at the house, and she’s practically bursting for her dad to see it.
Opening the door, she rushes out onto the porch to greet him, and his face lights up at the sight of her.
I called him and told him I’d pick her up from school and bring her here, so to come straight to my place when he got back to town, and as he puts her down and his eyes find mine, I’m so happy that I did. My tummy flips over, and I catch my lip between my teeth as he steps toward me.
‘Hey, GC.’ I smile, and he beams, leaning in to kiss me.
‘Hey, baby. I missed you.’
‘Daddy, we have a surprise,’ Bowie squeals, and he looks between us, narrowing his gaze suspiciously.
‘You do, huh?’
‘Yep. Come on.’
She pulls his hand as he steps into the hallway and toes off his boots as she wiggles impatiently.
‘ Come on. ’
I laugh and follow as Bo pulls Doug to the stairs and up, and as we reach the landing, he looks back at me, confused.
‘Close your eyes,’ Bowie instructs, and Doug complies. She tugs on his hand, and I open the door so that they can step inside. ‘Open.’
I watch Doug’s expression as he takes in the room: Bowie’s room—here in my house.
‘Bo,’ he says so softly, and she bounces excitedly on the spot.
This was always her room. She’s had a bed in here, a nightstand with a wee lamp, and space for Harley, but it wasn’t her room; It was a guest room exclusively used by her. Now, it’s Bowie’s room, decorated exactly as she wanted and filled with her belongings, her trinkets and photos, her stuffed toys, and many, many books.
‘Baby.’ He turns to me, and I smile as I hold out my hand for his and pull him from the room, nodding to Bowie to run ahead.
As she opens the door and we step inside, his grip on my hand tightens.
The soft gray walls, broken up with empty white shelves ready to be filled, have him curious. I know that.
‘What is this?’ he asks, and I gaze up at him, but Bowie pulls on his other hand.
‘Daddy, Merida asked me if I would like for me and you and Harley to live here at the big house, with her, instead of having two houses, and I said that I would.’
He exhales as he bends down to pick her up and hug her to him.
‘You did, huh?’ He pinches her ribs, making her squeal and laugh before he puts her down, and she scowls up at him.
‘Don’t tickle me, Daddy. I warned you.’
I laugh as her little hands come to her hips, and I know she means business.
‘Well, you’re out here making decisions for me. What if I don’t want to live here in the big house, huh? Did you think about that?’
Bowie rolls her eyes and walks out of the room.
‘Uh, men,’ she announces, and I laugh as Doug’s mouth falls open. ‘If the baby is a boy, we’re not keeping it.’
And as she shuts her bedroom door behind her, Doug turns to me wide-eyed, and I step into the middle of the empty room, opening my arms out to the side.
‘Well, it’s perfect for a nursery, right?’
As the man I love rushes forward to wrap me in his arms while the firecracker we adore turns on her music, filling the house with the sounds of our happy family, I close my eyes and send up my thanks to those who came before me: my mum, Roberta, every Reynolds woman who built a life and raised a family in this house because I feel it. I feel the love, the joy, the hope, and I know there’s no such thing as a mistake… every step that every one of them took led me to this moment right here, and nothing has ever felt more right.
The End