Just a Positive Pregnancy Test - London Casey Page 0,70
to say as a dying person. Right? It’s terrible to say. But it’s true. I hate that I’m saying this. I shouldn’t have to say this. But I’m going to. For you two.” She pointed to Silas and me. “Every damn second counts. You’re going to be tired. You’re going to get pissed off. You’re going to want to argue over little things. Here’s my advice. Just wash the dish left in the sink. Just clean up the mess on the table. And remember to slow down and enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning.”
“Oh, Dot,” I said. I reached for her and touched her knee. “Thank you.”
“Now, back to the good stuff,” Dot said. “How do you feel, Mila?”
“Big.”
“You look perfect.”
“So I’ve been told,” I said, side-eying Silas.
“Here’s the deal,” Dot said. “There’s a lot going on in my life. One thing I know for sure… I can’t wait to meet these two new babies.”
Buddy’s face lit up with happiness.
Silas laughed.
I smiled and nodded.
Dot had no idea if she was going to live long enough to see the babies, but she didn’t care.
She was dying.
I was carrying a new life in my womb.
Life… was a such a crazy thing to experience.
Chapter Thirty-Two
SILAS
“Buddy’s in love with Dot?” Zeke asked as he sat at the head of the table.
“That’s right,” Mila said.
“Well, damn,” Zeke said. “Good for him. Dot was always a looker.”
“She’s also dying,” Mila said. “It was so romantic, yet so sad.”
“That’s what life is,” Theresa said as she poured wine in a glass for herself. “And anything Dot has to say about it, you should listen to. It’s a tough thing at the end. We’ve all been there in this family.”
The entire table fell silent.
Zeke lifted his glass. “Hey. To Hank.”
“To Hank,” Michael said, raising his glass.
We all raised our glasses to Mila’s father.
“You know, I was thinking about something the other day,” Tyler said. “How much stuff do you think Dad would have built for the babies already?”
“Oh, don’t even,” Mila said. “We’d have cribs, rocking chairs, rocking horses…”
“He’d be in the garage all hours of the night,” Theresa said with a smile.
“Do you want any of those things?” Michael asked. “I mean, I’m not handy at all, but we can help…”
“No,” Tyler said. “I was just thinking for a second.”
“We’re going to fill those nurseries up,” Theresa said. “Be ready.”
Theresa looked at Michael and smiled.
There was a slight awkwardness that entered the room.
Crosby, knowing his place, looked at Edith and Thomas and grinned. “I saw Cliff the other day with a punching bag. He must be training for the elderly heavyweight fight.”
“Crosby,” Edith said. “Really?”
Crosby made fists and playfully punched the air.
“I will take that son of a bitch down,” Thomas said.
“Okay, that’s enough of that,” Theresa said. “This is a happy dinner. No Justa family drama.”
Tyler, Crosby, and Mila all started to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Lucy asked as she walked to the table.
Tyler picked her up and sat her on his lap. “Nothing. We’re just being silly adults.”
“I have a question,” Lucy asked.
“Ut-oh,” Tyler said. “Can we do this at home?”
“Why?” Theresa asked.
“She’s been asking a lot of questions about… pregnancy,” Olivia said.
“Oh, I can help with that,” Zeke said. “I can answer anything.”
“You never answer any questions,” Tyler said to Zeke.
“What’s your question, Lucy?” Edith asked.
“There’s a baby in Olivia’s belly, right?” Lucy asked.
“Yes,” Theresa said.
“I don’t get how it got there,” Lucy said. “That stuff confuses me. But the baby is going to call Daddy… Daddy?”
“Yeah,” Tyler said. “That’s right.”
“The baby is going to call Olivia… Mommy?”
“Yes,” Olivia said. “That’s right.”
“What about me?” Lucy asked.
“What about you?” Olivia asked.
Lucy swallowed hard. “If the baby calls you Mommy and I call you Olivia, will you love the baby more than me?”
Every woman at the table sucked in a breath.
Such an innocent yet heartbreaking question.
“Lucy,” Tyler said.
Olivia waved Tyler off. She touched Lucy’s hand. “Hey. Lucy. Look at me. You are and always will be my first child. My little girl. I know you didn’t come from my belly like this baby is going to. I know that’s a little confusing right now. But I want you to know something. A secret. You can’t tell the new baby, okay?”
“Okay,” Lucy said. “Here, cover the baby’s ears.”
Lucy put her hands on Olivia’s stomach.
“The love I have for you, Lucy, I can never have for anyone else. There is no loving someone more than another. There are different kinds of love. The way I love your