with all kinds of different holiday baked treats. He really is so much smarter than I think the doctors ever gave him credit for. Oh, and look.” Those big eyes brightened as she reached for her phone in the baby bag. She easily tapped it a few times even with the baby on her hip. “Just took it the other night when I went in his room to say good night.” Orlando couldn’t get enough of that smile. It was the same as when she was cuddling the baby. He took the phone from her as she handed it to him to see a photo of a wall full of certificates and ribbons.
“He’s gotten awards for his baking and his gardening.” Orlando glanced down at her, momentarily getting caught up in that sweetly proud big smile. “One year he even grew the biggest tomato in his garden club.”
Orlando chuckled. “Biggest tomato, huh? That must’ve been exciting for him.”
“Oh, my gosh was it ever. For months, he told everyone who’d listen.” She giggled as she leaned in and slid the screen on her phone. Orlando took in that intoxicating scent of hers then smiled when he saw the selfie of her and her brother. There was no denying the love between these two, given how huge both their smiles were in the photo.
“Sounds and looks like you two have quite the bond.”
“Ugh,” she said, bringing the phone to her chest, and shook her head. “Don’t get me started. Honestly, he’s the whole reason my sister and I decided we wanted to go into this line of work. You have no idea how exciting every milestone he reaches in his life can be.” She shrugged with a small smile. “I guess you do.” She kissed the baby’s head before going on. “But with Dominic, it was that much more thrilling because of his Down Syndrome and the doctors always warning us there may be some normal milestones he might never reach. So, when he did, we were always so over the moon about it. It was almost like . . .” She paused to ponder for a moment. “Like a high you didn’t wanna come down from, it was that exhilarating. It’s why going into a profession where we could get our daily fix seemed ideal.”
Orlando listened intently as she went on about when Dominic first walked and then began to speak. “He’s not completely verbal,” she explained. “But he does make himself understood. Delia and I understand everything he tells us. Most importantly, he understands everything we tell him. And he’s such a fast learner.” It was the oddest thing, but Orlando loved seeing and hearing how lit up she got when speaking of her brother. He made a mental note to ask her more about him in the future. This was just another thing he felt himself getting sucked in about her. The longer he was around her, the more he learned about her, the more he could hardly believe his luck. On top of it all, someone this genuinely passionate about nurturing would be taking care of Little Man. They slowed for a moment as the baby lifted his finger and pointed at the ducks waddling by on their way to the park’s lake. “Ducks,” she said, kissing his little finger. “They go quack.”
The wind had picked up, and Dani shook her head to move the hair out of her face since she had her hands full with the baby and her phone now. “Here let me,” Orlando said, reaching out and pulling the strand away from her face. As he reached behind her ear to tuck the strand there, his knuckles grazed her soft cheek. When she glanced up at him, their eyes met for a moment. The words you’re beautiful nearly slipped out of his mouth, but he held them in.
“Thank you,” she said softly, but he still couldn’t pull his eyes away from hers. She finally glanced away, reaching for the blanket in the stroller and wrapping it around the baby. “It’s getting a little chilly.” With her fussing over the baby, their moment was over. Before today, Orlando couldn’t understand what it was about her exactly, but he’d never felt what he did each time he got caught in those eyes. He thought he’d imagined it those first two days at the shop, but there was no denying it now. She did something to him without trying at all. He’d begun to think his being