Page 89 of Keeper
“Exactly!” Vi adds, lifting Rocky out of her high chair. “My daughter for one.”
The warden’s head snaps all around as my family chirps out their arguments. He stammers, “I’m not sure this is the kind of problem you can throw money at.”
“We’ll be sure to find out,” Dad replies, narrowing his eyes at the man. “Now if you’ll excuse us, Sunday is family day. And as you’ve said, the park is closed, so nothing can be done about it tonight. We’ll address it first thing tomorrow.”
Tanner strides over to the door and opens it, gesturing with his hand for the warden to exit. From the doorway, the old man looks back over his shoulder and scoffs, “You Harrises. Thick as thieves and dirty as ‘em, too.”
Tanner chortles. “Yeah, we’re wicked villains building adorable playhouses for children. Be sure to write that up in your report.”
When the door closes, everyone bursts into laughter.
“I can’t believe that old man is still alive and kicking,” Dad states, trying to cover his laugh with his hand.
“His temperament certainly hasn’t improved with time,” Vi adds with a snicker.
Tanner is the next to speak. “What were you guys doing out there that got him all hot and bothered anyway?”
I look over at Poppy, who’s laughing so hard with everyone, she has tears streaming down her face. Eating up the space between us, I wrap her in my arms and kiss her forehead. “Nothing you dirty thieves wouldn’t have done.”
Everyone continues laughing and cracking jokes as they begin to clean up their dinner mess. Poppy is pulled away to chat with Belle and Indie. As I watch her with affection, Dad’s eyes find mine. He head nods for me to join him outside.
We make our way through the door, the back patio area dark, illuminated only by the light from inside. Still able to hear the muted laughter of everyone, Dads asks, “Are you ready to tell me what’s going on?” He looks at me curiously. “All I know is that you had to build a playhouse for Poppy. Your brothers and sister have been pretty tight-lipped about the rest, which is completely unusual for them, so I figure it must be big.”
I tug on my earlobe and wince, trying to find the right words but knowing there are no right words when you tell your dad you’re going to have a baby that wasn’t planned. “Well, Dad, remember how you said the other day that you want more grandchildren?”
His eyes fly wide. “Poppy isn’t—”
“She’s pregnant.” I finish his question with a statement and grip the back of my neck. There’s so much more I need to tell him. So much I need him to understand. But Dad and I don’t really talk like this, so it all feels a bit weird. “I’m sure this isn’t the way you wanted grandbabies, considering we’re not married and all that, but it’s happening. And believe it or not, I’m chuffed to bits over it. Dad, Poppy is…my best friend. She’s family and I love her. I’m quite sure I’ve loved her forever, but that isn’t an emotion I embrace easily. Now that I have, I can’t help but feel excited about this adventure with her. We’ll figure out—”
My words are cut off when my dad wraps me up into a huge bear hug. Shock and confusion are my first reactions because my dad is not a hugger. He’s not affectionate. He’s usually stoic and stiff and…not a hugger! He squeezes me so hard, my surprised laughter is muffled by his shoulder.
He claps my back heartily and pulls back, looking at me with his glassy, grey eyes. “I’m chuffed to bits, too, son.”
“You are?” I ask, struggling to believe his reaction.
He nods and I swear I see real tears forming in his eyes. “Another grandbaby for me, a cousin for Rocky…Yeah, Booker, I’m happy.”
“But I’m not doing it the proper way,” I stammer, thinking maybe he doesn’t understand what’s going on. “You were angry when you first found out Vi was pregnant.”
His face tightens. “Well, she’s my only daughter. And that was before I held that little baby in my arms.” He looks back toward the house, his eyes finding Rocky who’s currently in Gareth’s arms. “I had forgotten how much little babies light me up inside, Book. I had forgotten that’s why your mum and I had so many together. Every baby she had brought another smile crease to her face. I loved those creases, son.”
His voice catches and my eyes well with tears. Hearing him speak so openly about Mum is such a rarity. And while I don’t have any memories of her myself, she’s still a huge part of my life that I mourn.
Dad wraps one arm around me and says, “She’d be proud of you, and she’d love Poppy.” His smile turns down as a tear slips out and falls over his crease-covered face. “This isn’t a cause for tears. This is a cause for celebration.”
He turns and drags me back inside, surprising everyone when he shouts, “I’m going to be a granddad again!” We all laugh nervously at his outburst because it is so uncharacteristic for him. “Vi, do we have champagne?”
Vi beams. “I think there is a bottle in the fridge.”
“Well, get it out. We have some celebrating to do.” His eyes scan the room and land on Poppy, who has a timid smile on her face. He walks over to her, grabs her by the shoulders, and kisses her on the temple. “Pour some milk for the new mummy-to-be.”
He hugs her and I think my heart explodes inside of my chest at the sight. My three brothers all wrap her up into a group hug next. Even grumpy Gareth cracks a smile. As Poppy is passed off to Vi, who gives her an affectionate squeeze, Hayden comes over and pats me on the back. We look at each other and have a silent conversation of understanding because they went through the same thing. He’s not looking at me like the youngest Harris Brother who’s in way over his head. He’s looking at me like a man who’s about to become a father. And what a wild adventure that will be.
When Poppy first emailed me about coming home, I said it was destiny’s way of bringing us back together to rekindle our friendship. However, I think destiny must be laughing at us because she had a much grander plan all along.
I guess things work out for a reason. For most of my life, I thought I had to close my net off to others because the fear of letting too many in and losing control was overwhelming. But what I’ve realised is that opening my heart and allowing myself to love Poppy is like being caught by a beautiful safety net.
And that’s a goal I’m willing to let slip by.
