Page 108 of Second Dance
For years, I’d told myself that Grace was my miracle, my one chance at motherhood. I’d long ago made peace with it. And yet, here it was, another small miracle blooming inside me. A baby. Alex’s baby.
I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror with one hand pressed against my still-flat stomach. How would the kids react? We’d only just become a family. Would they feel displaced? Would this change everything we’d worked so hard to build? But beneath the worry, joy bubbled up, unexpected and overwhelming. A baby. Our baby.
Slipping the test into the pocket of my robe, I went into the bedroom, where Alex was reading in bed.
“Hey, you okay?” Alex asked, looking up from his book. “Still feeling sick?”
“Yes, but that’s not all.”
He set aside his book and swung his legs to the floor, getting up to meet me, his forehead wrinkled in concern. “What’s wrong?”
I started crying and smiling and shaking all at the same time. “You won’t believe it.” I pulled the test from my pocket and showed it to him. “Two pink lines. Do you know what that means?”
For a beat, he just stared at the test, his eyes moving from the pink lines to my face and back again. Then his face crumpled, and tears spilled down his cheeks. “We’re having a baby?”
“Yes.” My voice broke on the word.
He pulled me into his arms so quickly I nearly dropped the test, holding me like I might disappear. I felt his shoulders shaking as he cried—happy tears this time, not grief.
“I never thought.” He pulled back to look at me, cupping my face in his hands. “After everything … I never imagined this could happen again.”
“Me neither. What will the kids think?”
“I don’t know,” Alex said, wiping his eyes and laughing. “But they’ll adjust. They always do. We’ll tell them together.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “A baby, Gillie. Our baby.”
“Are you happy?” I asked.
“Happy doesn’t even begin to cover it.” He placed his hand gently over my stomach. “Come to bed. You need your rest.”
I fell asleep in his arms and dreamed of baby carriages and nurseries, and miracles I hadn’t dared to hope for.
The next afternoon, we all dressed up and headed to the courthouse for Grace’s adoption hearing, the five of us packed into the SUV, buzzing with excitement.
The hearing was brief but beautiful. Ben Mercer had everything in order, as always, and the judge seemed moved as he looked over the petition.
“Do you understand, Grace, that this means Alex Garcia will be your legal father from this day forward? Is that what you want?”
Grace’s chin lifted, eyes bright. “Yes, sir. He’s the dad I’ve wanted my whole life.”
The judge smiled. “Then it’s my honor to make it official.”
We all hugged, laughing and crying, before heading out for a celebratory lunch at the Tidewater Grill. After everyone had ordered their meal, I clinked my glass. “I have some news.”
All three kids turned to me, their expressions curious.
“I’m going to have a baby,” I said. “I’m eight weeks pregnant.”
Grace blinked. “What did you say?”
I smiled. “We’re having a baby.”
For a moment, silence.
“We’re having a baby?” Bella asked. “A little sister or brother?”
My eyes stung. How sweet that she’d said “we’re.” “That’s right.”
“Holy cow,” Peter said. “I didn’t see this coming.”
