Epilogue, Part One
Grayson
Four Months Later
F lynn raises his eyebrows as I walk back into the kitchen. I was just here ten minutes ago, and he raised his eyebrows then when I asked for a bowl of ice cream and a bowl of Doritos .
“Let me guess,” he says. “She didn’t like them .”
I clear my throat .
“Do you have any Cool Ranch Doritos?” I ask, trying not to smile. “The spicy ones are giving her heartburn .”
Flynn rolls his eyes and tosses a hand towel over his shoulder dramatically .
“Those are the ones she wanted last week,” he says, walking to the other end of the massive kitchen and opening a cupboard. “You sure it’s the spice level and not the fact that she’s eating Doritos with ice cream ?”
I leave the two bowls in the sink and lean against the counter .
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I admit. “I’m just the messenger, you know .”
“I know,” he says, pulling out a bag of Cool Ranch. “And you’re a hell of a patient one, too. How’s the nursery coming ?”
“We’re still deciding between lions and tigers,” I say, grinning .
Flynn just laughs .
“Why not both?” he says, and hands me two bowls .
“I’ll go suggest that,” I say. “Thanks for the snacks .”
“Tell that crazy pregnant lady to come see me if she can waddle down the stairs,” he laughs .
“I’m not about to say the word waddle to her .”
“Smart man,” Flynn says, and winks before turning back to the bread dough he’s kneading .
* * *
Ella and Thomas both turn when I open the nursery door. Thomas raises one eyebrow, but Ella just looks relieved .
“Thank you so much,” she says, kissing me quickly. “I know it’s really weird, but I swear I’ve been thinking about this for the past twenty-four hours .”
She scoops up some ice cream with a Dorito and eats it. Her face says it’s bliss . I don’t question my seven-months-pregnant wife .
“Okay,” she says around a mouthful. “Now we’re thinking jaguars, since they actually live in the jungle. The whole room could be jungle-themed, you know, monkeys and birds and stuff ?”
I step up to the table, looking at the things they’ve laid out. When I found out that when he’s not Charlize, Thomas is a sought-after interior decorator, I snapped him up immediately .
He and Flynn are two people I can never, ever repay, but I can give them their dream jobs .
“I did kind of like the savannah theme,” I say. “Lions and elephants and giraffes .”
Ella eats another chip with ice cream on it, thinking .
“We could do both,” she suggests. “Unless you think that would confuse him, and then on his SATs he would say that lions live in India and never get into a good college .”
“You’re making fun of me again, aren’t you?” I tease .
“I’m not the one who bought a copy of Genius Babies and reads it every night,” she says, smiling .
Okay, maybe I’ve gone a little overboard. I may have read almost every book on pregnancy and childrearing I could find. I may have both the head of the pediatrics unit and the head of the gynecology unit on speed dial .
And I may have already ordered our unborn child a swing set that he won’t even be able to use for two years, and Ella may not know about that one yet .
But I’m excited. Really, really excited to be a dad, and I can’t help it. I’ve loved this kid since the moment Ella told me that she thought she was pregnant, and I love him more than I thought was possible .
“I think he’ll figure out tigers and lions before he’s seventeen,” I say. “At least, he will if I follow Genius Babies to the letter .”