Page 10 of Delivery After Dark
“Your sister and Linc.”
Across the crowded room, they had their heads together, whispering and smiling, mindless of everything happening around them.
“I told you there was something brewing there,” Oliver said.
“I told you that.”
“When did you tell me that?”
“One of those times when you were nodding but not really listening.”
“I never do that. I hang on every word you say, my love.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sure you do.”
“Is she ready for something new?” Oliver asked hesitantly.
“I suppose that’s up to her to decide, but I like him. He seems like a solid kind of guy, unlike the one she married.”
Oliver would never get over the brother-in-law he’d once been close to cheating on Monique with a twenty-three-year-old recent college graduate. The shock of that news had stayed with him for months after it first happened, as did the blow-by-blow from one of the ugliest divorces in history. She was just getting her sparkle back after that ordeal, and he would hate to see her hurt again.
When Dara let out a little gasp, he forgot all about his concerns for Monique and focused on his wife. “What’s wrong?”
Dara rested a hand over her pregnant belly. “I… I felt her move.” She reached for his hand and placed it on her belly.
Oliver held perfectly still until he felt the unmistakable flutter rippling under his hand. His eyes flooded with tears as the memory of doing the same thing when she was expecting their late son, Lewis, appeared out of nowhere, leaving him staggered by the rush of emotion.
“Do you feel her?”
“Yes, there she is.”
A week ago, they’d found out the baby was a girl. He’d been relieved to get that news, as the thought of another boy had left him unsettled by the notion of “replacing” the son they’d lost so tragically. A daughter would be a completely different experience for them. When he’d shared that thought with Dara, she’d agreed with him.
“Everything okay, guys?” Monique’s question roused them out of their private bubble to remind him they were in a room full of people who’d be wondering what was going on.
“I felt the baby,” Dara told her sister.
Oliver moved his hand so Monique could feel her niece.
“Oh wow,” Monique said tearfully. “That’s amazing.”
The loss of Lewis had nearly ruined all of them, but this little girl… She was giving them something they badly needed: hope.
“Will we tell her someday that we were in a bar the first time we felt her move?” Dara asked, smiling.
Oliver brushed the tears off her cheek. “Maybe we can keep that part to ourselves.”
She and Monique laughed and then hugged each other tightly. Monique had been an incredible source of love and support to them during the darkness. She was as thrilled about the new baby as they were.
They reached for Oliver to include him in their group hug.
When they finally pulled back from one another, laughing and wiping away tears, he noticed a few people watching them with curiosity.
“You guys all right?” his friend Jared asked quietly.
“Just felt the baby move. We might’ve overreacted a bit.”
“No such thing. Congrats, man.”
