Chapter 27 #2
Today, I had plans. Big plans. Plans to paint Lucy’s upstairs room. But instead, I get a text.
Sofie:
My guy Lou will be at your place at nine-thirty sharp.
That text came at nine twenty-nine, and before I could even respond with, “ Who is Lou? The doorbell rang.
“I’m Sofie’s housewarming gift,” he said, like it was normal to show up with a sprayer, drop cloths, and a bucket of the perfect shade of sage.
Of course, it’s perfect.
He masked the trim with the efficiency of someone who has done this a thousand times and had the entire room sprayed and rolled in under three hours. Smooth, even, clean lines. The trim is fresh and crisp.
The bathroom, he casually informed me, would “pop” with blush.
He’s not wrong, it does.
It’s soft and warm, somehow making the space feel less like a former bachelor’s room and more like a princess’s room.
As Lou packs up, my phone buzzes.
Noelle:
The movers will be there in five minutes.
The movers?
I stared at the text for a full ten seconds before laughing out loud. Apparently, I no longer do things alone.
They arrived exactly five minutes later.
Professional, quick, and efficient.
Lucy’s entire bedroom—bed, dresser, bookshelf, all her stuffed friends— upstairs in under an hour. The room is one and a half times the space she had before, and looks almost empty
Tomorrow, she and I will assemble her reading nook. Floating shelves, cushions, and her books within reach. It will be amazing, not that the other one wasn’t.
But right now, I stand in the center of the room, slowly turning, phone in hand, recording a video. Sage walls, blush bathroom, sunlight through large windows, and send it to the girls.
Me:
She’s going to love it. I can’t thank you all enough for everything you’ve done for us. Please let me know how I can help any of you at any time. Much love.
Sofie:
You both deserve all the happiness lost in the past.
Nalani:
BB WAGS for life.
Noelle:
What is wrong with you?!!
Nalani:
She’s serious, Noelle. Let her be sentimental.
I laugh.
Me:
I am serious, sentimental, overwhelmed, pregnant, and very grateful.
Claudia:
Hormones are accepted as a legal justification.
Sofie:
There is no payback. This is a community. Get used to it.
Community. I truly feel it and love it.
I was alone for so long, and Lucy has been alone her entire life, too. I will always harbor some guilt for that, but I am so grateful that it isn’t more, that she is safe, that we have each other, and now Lenzin, and this amazing community.
Me:
I am so blessed to be part of it.
I glance at the time. Scotti will be here in twenty minutes.
Lucy has no idea her entire room moved, and Lenzin has no idea either. There isn’t much you can do for a man with such means, but I know how happy he’ll be that soon, wasn’t just an idea.
I grab my bag and lock the door behind me.
Today, I get Lucy, then Erin, and well, I have a lot to tell her.
Scotti drives through traffic at JFK like the pro she is.
“Arrivals are chaos,” she says calmly. “We’ll do curbside. I’ll circle once if needed.”
Lucy loves the airplanes, loves them, and is narrating their stories, and I hope I remember everything she says, because it would be a cute little book that she can ‘work on’ while I am writing.
“That one is blue and has girls’ hockey players on it. They just won a game that only girls played. That one is going to Florida for sunshine.” She points to another. “That one looks tired; it’s going to land and rest awhile.”
I turn in my seat to grin at her and then spot Erin coming out amongst a dozen other travelers. She looks tired as she scans the pickup lane, phone in one hand, oversized tote on her shoulder, rolling suitcase behind her.
I open the door and wave. She spots me and hurries my way and then freezes as her eyes drop to my stomach and back up to my face, then right back down. “Oh, my God.”
Lucy waves wildly. “Ms. Erin!”
Scotti hops out first, smooth and efficient, retrieving Erin’s bag before Erin can process what she’s seeing.
Erin steps toward me slowly.
“Are you—”
I laugh nervously. “I am.”
She drops her bag entirely and pulls me into a hug that is equal parts careful and crushing.
“I didn’t know,” she says into my hair.
“Either did I.”
She pulls back just enough to look at me again, hands still on my arms.
“You’re… very pregnant.”
“I am moderately pregnant,” I correct.
Lucy hears us and adds, “It’s twins.”
Erin’s mouth falls open, “Twins.”
“Yes,” I say calmly.
She exhales in disbelief. “I leave you alone for five minutes.”
Scotti clears her throat gently. “Ladies. Traffic.”
We laugh and pile into the SUV.
Erin keeps looking at me like I might disappear if she blinks.
“Okay,” she says finally, once we’re moving. “I need a full explanation. Chronological. With footnotes.”
“You’re not getting footnotes,” I say. “But you’ll get context.”
Lucy leans forward between the seats.
“Daddy plays hockey, and Mommy and I are going to school to get super smarter.”
Erin turns slowly toward me again. “She’s so happy.” Then looks back at Lucy. “I’m so happy you all have each other.”
“We have a big house, with lights that always turn on, and more than just one kind of cheese in our big fridge.” Lucy kicks her feet happily. “Daddy is number nine.”
Erin smiles at her. “He is?”
“Yes,” Lucy nods solemnly. “And we went to a game. He made a goal, and we screamed.”
I wait for her to talk about what happened after, but she doesn’t.
“Are you coming to our house?” Lucy asks.
“I think?” she asks me.
“We’d love for you to stay with us.”
“A girl’s night?” Lucy asks.
Scotti merges smoothly onto the highway. “Home?”
“Yes.”
Lucy claps, “I love home!”
Scotti pulls up and hops out before I can unbuckle.
“I’ll grab the suitcase,” she says.
I make a mental note to send her something ridiculous for Christmas as I all but run to catch up to Lucy, who is already halfway to the door.
“Wait,” I call, laughing. “Keys. Access. Adult responsibilities.”
We step inside, and Lucy drops her backpack and runs straight toward her bedroom.
Erin follows more slowly, taking in the entryway, the light, and the way the house feels lived-in, in a peaceful, warm way.
Lucy skids to a stop in her doorway and gasps, seeing that her room is empty.
She turns to me slowly. “Mommy?”
Erin looks at me like I have just emotionally wrecked a toddler.
I smile. “Upstairs.”
Lucy’s eyes widen, and she sprints; we follow.
She bursts into the sage room and freezes again, but this time in awe.
She walks in slowly, like she’s entering somewhere sacred.
“This is mine,” she whispers.
“Yes.”
She spins once in the center of the room.
Erin presses her hand to her chest.
I cross to the window and close it gently. There’s still a faint draft from the painters’ earlier, but I can’t leave it open. I latch it carefully.
Lucy flops onto her bed dramatically.
“It smells new.”
“Not new, it’s the same one.”
Erin crouches beside her. “You’re upstairs now.” Lucy nods. “Promoted.”
I laugh. “Exactly.”
“And you?” Erin asks quietly.
“I moved into his room,” I say simply.
She studies me.
“You’re calm.”
“I’m choosing calm.”
“And he’s…”
“We met in September,” I rub my hand over my stomach. “I learned his family name, so it never clicked that he was …him. Life has always been warp speed to reach my goals. I’ll tell you everything after bedtime.”
We ordered dinner from Carbone because Erin is in New York, and if you’re visiting the city, you eat like you are… which is what Google told me.
Spicy rigatoni. Meatballs the size of Lucy’s fists. Caesar salad. Garlic bread that smells sinful.
Lucy eats exactly four bites and then melts sideways in her seat. “Daddy’s number ni—”
Out.
Erin laughs softly.
“School is exhausting her.” I lift her carefully. “I miss story time. Be right back.”
I carry her upstairs and tuck her into Lenzin’s bed; she can sleep in her new room tomorrow when the fumes aren’t fuming. She doesn’t even stir.
Downstairs, Erin stands in the doorway of my old room.
“So, I’m here?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re in his.”
“Yes.”
She nods once.
“Okay.”
We settle on the couch with plates balanced on our knees as the Vegas game begins.
On screen, Lenzin skates out. Even through broadcast quality, there’s stillness in him before puck drop
“You love him,” Erin says, not looking at me.
“Yes.”
“How did this happen?”
I exhale slowly. “September.”
And I tell her, about the charity event, about how he was measured and infuriatingly calm, about how he led me to put two and two together, about how I didn’t intend to fall, about how he made space for Lucy immediately, about how he never made me feel like I was stepping into his world, but like he was stepping into ours.
“And now twins,” Erin says softly.
“Yes.”
“And you’re not scared.”
“I am.”
I set my plate down. “I’m scared of it causing issues with custody.”
Erin turns toward me fully.
“She hasn’t reached out, which surprises me,” I say. “She’s too quiet, and now I’m public, and pregnant… living with a professional athlete.”
“You think she’ll try something.”
“I don’t know.”
Erin reaches into her tote. “I was waiting until we were alone.” She pulls out a manila envelope. “I received this two days ago. Yours and Lucy’s father signed this four days ago.”
My heart stutters as she hands it to me, and I open it. Relinquishment of custody, but only to me.
“He wanted out,” she says quietly. “You gave him an exit. He took it.”
My hands shake slightly as I read it again. “I didn’t reach out, but I’m grateful.”
I sit back slowly and glance at the screen as Lenzin lays a clean hit and skates away as if nothing happened.
“We just need her to do the same,” Erin says softly. “Then you three and… twins, really?”
I nod, still shocked that a man I barely know trusts me with his child, not that he was ever a father to her, either; hell, he’s been incarcerated more than half of my life.
“He’s going to be a great father,” I say again, quieter.
“Do you love him, Hildy?” Erin asks.
I nod, “He’s amazing. With her, with me… just amazing.”
“Even if that horrible woman doesn’t sign off, you’re a great mom, you own a beautiful home, and are getting a PH—”
“I don’t own the house.” I laugh. “I don’t even know who owns the house.”
She pulls out another envelope and hands it to me. “You, Hildy Sullivan, own this house.”