“Maybe. Doctor said I’m on the cusp. I just haven’t decided if I’m willing to go through the pain.”
Jon walked into the room. “I put the meat in the fridge.” He scooped Anne up off the floor and tossed her into the air. She giggled with delight. When he brought her close to him, she grabbed his face with both hands and tried to bite his nose.
Ken clapped his hands once then rubbed them together. “Perfect. I’ll get the grill going.”
Alex stood. “I got some salads from that restaurant you guys like near your office.”
Daisy pointed at Alex. “When you’re ready to learn, I can show you how to do potato salad and coleslaw.”
Alex batted her eyelashes. “I don’t need to learn. I have a restaurant and caterer list. That’s all I need to get by.” The women laughed. “Besides, Jon can cook. His mom taught him. If he wants a home-cooked meal, he can get busy or head over to the castle.”
Jon nodded. “She’s not exaggerating. But I have no complaints.” He set Anne back on the floor. “I’m going to help Ken with the grill. Did you bring the kiddie pool?”
Valerie spoke up. “It’s set up in the back yard.”
Daisy shifted to stand, and Ken scooped Rosita off of her lap. Once she gained her feet, she said, “I brought down her little swimsuit and a swim diaper. I think I set them on the kitchen table.”
“I’ll get her changed.”
He slipped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her close. Rosita leaned toward her and grabbed at her cheek. She smiled and reached a finger out. Rosita gripped it and babbled.
Kensat back in the canvas chair and hooked his shoe on his knee. Brad had a fire going in the fire pit. Jon stabbed at the coals with a metal poker.
The girls had gone inside, taking the babies away from the mosquitoes. Ken enjoyed watching the flames dance against the night. He thought over the last year and the roller coaster ride they’d experienced.
“You two doing anything for your anniversary?” Brad asked. “It’s tomorrow, right?”
Ken nodded. “Mom’s taking Rosita overnight. We’re going to Savannah. That’s about as far away as Daisy was willing to go.”
“Fair enough. We haven’t left Anne yet,” Jon said. “But Alex has a friend in New York who’s getting married in November. We’re talking about possibly leaving her then and doing an overnight.”
“I was surprised when she agreed. But, we’ve never had just the two of us.” He grinned. “Rosita has always been there in some way.”
“She’ll still be there in some way,” Brad said. “I find it fascinating as I think about the time before Alison was in our lives, and I have a really hard time remembering.”
“Same,” Jon said. “We don’t have the history of time you and Valerie do, but I know what you mean. It’s like I was always Anne’s dad.”
Ken smiled. “You always were. God is not restricted to our linear understanding of time, brothers. This has already been written. He prepared us long ago.”
It overwhelmed him, left him in awe, the way God moved through his life and Daisy’s life to bring them to the moment that they became husband and wife, one in His eyes. He loved the lasso ceremony performed at their wedding because it gave a visual representation of that idea.
Living life with Daisy had filled a hole he didn’t know existed. Everything had led to the moment he walked into her office that fateful day in late June. When he saw her, he knew, and nothing over time changed it. Coming so close to losing her had made him see it as if a spotlight shone down on it.
Most women didn’t survive an amniotic fluid embolism and many who did suffered strokes and permanent neurological damage. Daisy had full control of her mind, even though she still couldn’t remember Rosita’s birth. Her body would eventually heal all the way. The physical therapist had remarked on her amazement at Daisy’s progress. Ken knew the prayers going up on Daisy’s behalf during the traumatic days following her experience had much to do with how well she did now.
The door behind them opened. “Little Miss needs to get home and ready for bed,” Valerie said. She walked out onto the patio. “Do you want me to take her?”
Brad stood. “No. I’ll go with you.” He slipped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close. “It’s good to see Daisy moving so well. Last time we were over here, she was still really weak.”
“The improvements are starting to snowball.” He got to his feet. Jon stood with him. Ken put the lid on the fire.
As he turned, Jon slapped him on the back. “Have fun in Savannah. Try to talk about something other than the baby.”
Ken chuckled. “Don’t think that will be a problem.”
They walked inside. Daisy sat on the floor with Rosita sitting between her legs. They had a cloth book in front of them, and Daisy said the letter B while she traced it with her finger. Then she said it in Spanish.
Alex asked, “You ready?”
