Page 344 of Nobody's Girl

“Apparently. It came to Eden just a little while ago. He’s getting so in tune with his gifts. I guess his openness to all of this is helping him to figure these things out more quickly than I’m able to,” I say.

“You’re doing pretty well with it too, Al. You sure are better at accepting the bizarre than I could’ve ever imagined,” she tells me.

“Once you guys are back and settled in, we’ll come for a short visit. I want to give you guys plenty of time to bond and get into a normal routine. You know you can use that credit card for all of your needs and wants, so please treat yourselves to some nice dates.”

She smiles back at me. “Damn, Al, this is all so generous. I can’t imagine how we can ever do enough for you guys to deserve it all.”

“You kept our secret, didn’t you? That’s a lot right there. You will do so much more for us in the future as well. You both deserve everything you get. I just want you to know that, Laura,” I tell her.

“I love you, Alyssa Fontaine. I’m going to miss you guys.”

“We haven’t done anything since we got here. We should all go out to dinner to celebrate your engagement and new baby,” I say.

Laura takes my hand and leads me back into the house. “Let’s go make the guys get cleaned up and take us out.”

Kyle stands up when we walk in the door. “Can you believe she said yes, Al?”

I smile at him. “Yes, I can. She would have been a fool not to. Congratulations, you guys. Laura and I have decided you two need to take us out to a fancy dinner to celebrate. I was thinking about the dinner cruise in Marina Del Rey that Eden and I went on.”

“Marina Del Rey, California?” Kyle asks.

“Yes, if you think that you can handle it, Laura,” I add.

With a nod, she says, “I would love to go. What do you think, Kyle?”

“I think, hell, yes,” he shouts.

Eden smiles at me. “Then let’s get ready and I’ll let Jeffrey know we need him to come and get us.”

Eden and I follow Kyle and Laura up the stairs to our rooms to get ready. I notice that Kyle and Laura look so much happier than they have in the last few days.

The thought that this is the way it’s supposed to be makes me feel better. I find that I’m feeling thankful for knowledge of the future. Without it, this would be practically impossible for me to take.

“The jet looks so cool. I can’t believe we have access to such cool stuff,” Laura gushes as we pull up to the tiny airport where the jet is.

“Take it all in, Laura. Your children will have such a different life than you’ve had,” I tell her.

She smiles at me as we walk up the stairs to get on the plane. “This is just surreal, Al. It’s almost overwhelming. I have an idea of how you must have felt when you found out about Eden and your destiny. It all happened so fast and that’s just what is happening to me now. I just graduated from high school and suddenly I am going to be married to a guy who I’ve only dated for a couple of months, and we’ll have a baby seven months from now. A month ago, I would never have believed it if someone told it to me.”

“Life is weird, Laura, but it’s a good weird,” I say as I take the seat next to Eden.

Simultaneously Eden and Kyle reach across us and buckle our seatbelts. It makes Laura and I both giggle. “So well taken care of, we are,” Laura says, and then gives Kyle a little kiss.

I look at Eden. “Are you ready to dance the night away before our mission starts tomorrow?”

“Yes, I am, Mrs. Fontaine,” he says, then kisses my hand lightly.

I smile at him. “I love you, Eden.”

The evening air blows through my hair as we stand on the deck of the boat. “That was the best dinner I’ve ever eaten,” Laura says as she lays her head on Kyle’s broad shoulder.

“I’m glad you were able to enjoy it, Laura. I was a little worried that you might get a little queasy with the baby and all,” Kyle tells her.

“Maybe it’s the fresh, salty air, or the fact I feel so much better about things, but I don’t feel bad at all,” she says.

Eden pulls me to dance with him as the small band starts to play. “Come on, Alyssa, dance with your husband, please.”