Page 41 of Make Me

As if she heard her name, Laci comes waddling into the room, and I rush to her side and help her sit at the table. My mother runs over and rubs Laci’s nine-month pregnant belly.

“Hi, Mama. Hi, baby,” Marigold says right before shoving a piece of pancake in her mouth. Laci runs a hand through Marigold’s curls and strokes Ivy’s bun.

“Dad did a good job,” Laci says, impressed by my bun making skills.

“Daddy’s the best,” Ivy says as if that’s a foregone conclusion. I puff out my chest and smile at my baby girl.

“You want some breakfast, honey?” my mother asks.

“Just some eggs.” Laci rubs her belly. “This baby needs to hurry up because bedrest is not for the faint of heart. I can’t even go see my Ivy dance.” Her eyes fill with tears, and I walk over and kiss her cheek.

“You can stream it. Marlene is going to come stay with you until I come home. It will be nice and quiet.” She grabs my hand and kisses it.

Ivy and my mother leave for the rehearsal, and I clean Marigold’s face. Once she’s free of anything sticky, I find her favorite cartoon. Sam, Midnight, and Bashful, a basset hound we adopted three years ago, keep her company while she watches.

I look around the house and smile. It’s a little cluttered, but it’s ours. It’s the same house I had when Laci moved in next door. We’ve talked about moving into something bigger but decided to put that off until the summer.

I proposed to Laci on New Year’s Day, and she screamed yes before the words were out of my mouth. We had a summer wedding. It was outside in a gazebo filled with every flower imaginable. She was beautiful in a long flowy dress, and we both cried when we said our vows.

That wedding was for friends and family. We got married in city hall five days after I proposed. Aunt Mae, Uncle Hank, Ivy, and my mother and sister served as witnesses. We filed the petition to adopt immediately, and eight months later, Ivy was officially my daughter.

“How’s my boy?” I ask her, running my large hand over her protruding belly.

“He’s great, just like his daddy,” she says. “I can’t wait to meet him. I imagine he’ll look just like you.”

“Devastatingly handsome?”

“Definitely. And one day, he’ll be the best husband and father because of you.” I lean over and kiss my wife’s temple.

Four years together. Three kids, two dogs, one cat, and one crazy extended family. Laci and Ivy have been my world since Ivy wandered into my yard five years ago. They became mine that instant.

When Laci starts to massage her lower back, I help her off her chair and lead her back to the bedroom. Once she’s comfortably ensconced under the sheets, I slide in next to her.

“I’m so mad I can’t go see Ivy perform,” she says. I rub her big belly and wrap my arm around her.

“You won’t miss a thing.” Her pregnancy was smooth sailing until a couple of weeks ago, but her blood pressure is high, so the doctor recommends bedrest until her scheduled c-section first thing Monday morning.

“I know, but the show doesn’t end until after Christmas. I’ll be in the hospital for five days starting Monday, and I know you’ll be with me. What if—”

“Shh. Between Aunt Mae, my mother, and Margie, we have everything under control. Your only job is to bring this baby boy into the world.”

She closes her eyes and leans against me. The last four years have been amazing, but they have not been without challenges. Laci’s mother had nowhere to go once her husband left. She lost her job soon after and was on the verge of living out of her car. That was, until she showed up on Aunt Mae’s doorstep, begging for a job at the flower shop.

Aunt Mae told her no. She didn’t consider it for a second, but when Laura told her she was homeless, Aunt Mae took pity on her and let her stay in the tiny apartment above her garage. The only condition was that she could not contact Laci. If she did, she’d be out on her ass.

Laura Kemper is still in Oak Bend. She’s working at a large discount chain store and managed to get herself an apartment on the opposite side of town. As soon as she moved out of Aunt Mae’s garage, she wrote Laci a letter begging for forgiveness. Laci put the letter away and has never mentioned it again. To this day, they remain estranged, which is awkward in such a small town, especially since we tend to run into each other quite a bit.

After Marigold was born, she tried to visit the hospital, but she backed off when I threatened to call the police. She still sends birthday and Christmas presents, but Laci always sends them back unopened. I won’t be surprised if I see her at Ivy’s dance recital later today, but she never approaches. She only looks on from a distance.

The other thorn in our side was Candace. I still remember the day she barged into Mae Flowers after she heard about the engagement.

^^^^^^

Four Years Ago

“I’m so happy, I don’t know what to do with myself,” Aunt Mae says while she puts the closed sign on the door of Mae Flowers. It’s only midday, but Oak Bend is bracing for a snowstorm, and most of the businesses have already closed. “Let me see that ring again.” Aunt Mae grabs Laci’s left hand and lets out an appreciative whistle. “The flowers for the wedding are on me. No arguments. I have about a million different ideas.”

“You’ll get no arguments here,” Laci says. “But we want to get married at the courthouse soon so we can start the adoption process for Ivy. I need you to help me look for a dress.”

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