“I know.” She meets my gaze worriedly.
“Angus and I found a memory care center in Minneapolis,” I say slowly. “They’ll take your mom’s insurance and depending on how much her monthly pension is, there may be an opening early next year.”
She doesn’t say anything for a beat, watching me carefully.
“Every place I’ve looked into is out of our budget.”
“With the place I found, we can subsidize, and it’ll only be about a grand a month. And we can do that, honey. I have fifty grand in the bank and I’m about to get another really big deposit. Like, six figures. We’ll put fifteen thousand aside for your mom, so we’re covered for fifteen months or so, and that’ll give you time to get your pie business up and running in Minneapolis. If that’s what you want.”
She’s quiet again, but the look on her face is thoughtful. Like she’s actually considering this.
“And we could live nearby? So I can see her often?”
“Absolutely.”
“We could rent out my house,” she says after a moment. “Or make it an Air BnB or whatever. So it brings in enough to pay the taxes but I don’t have to sell it.”
“Whatever you want.”
“I want…to be with you,” she says at last. “And I want to give birth here in New York. But then once I’m recovered, we can move to Minneapolis. Is that a fair compromise?”
Relief shoots through me.
“Very fair.” I squeeze her hand as I pull into the parking lot of the medical complex.
“There are a lot of details for us to think about.”
“And we will. Tonight. Or tomorrow. Right now, I just want to verify that we’re having a boy.”
She smirks. “You mean a girl.”
I wink. “Whatever you say, babe.”
“I love you, Tate.”
“I love you too, baby. Now let’s go find out what we’re having.”
“It’s a girl,” she stage whispers.
“Boy.” I nudge her with my hip, but we’re both chuckling.
And everything feels right in my world.
Epilogue
Summer
Tate left two days after we made up. I stayed behind for a lot of reasons. First, as I was getting further along in my pregnancy, I got tired more easily, and the thought of packing and unpacking night after night was exhausting. There were also more doctors’ appointments and a lot more pies to bake.
My business took off once I made the announcement I was expanding, and even though I’m planning to move after the baby comes, I need to bring in money in the meantime. I cut down to only waiting tables two days a week until Christmas, and then I stopped altogether.
For Christmas, Tate bought me a brand-new SUV, with built-in satellite radio and GPS system, seat and steering wheel warmers, and all-wheel drive. It’s the only new car I’ve ever had and it handles like a dream—even with my very pregnant belly in the way. Thank goodness he talked me into an automatic because everything has been tough now that I’m nine months pregnant.
I’m still wrapping my head around the idea of leaving New York, but it’s for the best. He has to be with his band most of the time, and the only thing keeping me here is a paid-off house, because Mom is going with me. We visited the memory care center right after the holidays, and it’s really an amazing place, so for now I’m just putting one foot in front of the other until the baby comes.
It’s been nice having him around, too. We’ve taken this winter to just be a couple because we know everything is going to change once the baby is here.
We’re currently doing some minor renovations on the house—fixing the rotting wood on the front steps, new appliances in the kitchen, and fresh paint—to get ready to either sell or rent it. We haven’t decided which yet, and there’s no rush since we’re going to be living here until April or May. There’s no way I can move with a newborn, so we’re playing it by ear.
