I looked around my backyard, packed with friends, family, teammates, and at the center of it all, the Cup. It was my day with it, and what a thing of beauty it was, glinting in the late July sunlight. A couple of hours ago, it had looked stunning with Cammi sitting in it while everyone did their best impressions of paparazzi.
Now in my arms, my daughter expelled the cutest snore as she snuggled in closer. This baby wrap carrier made me feel like a kangaroo, but there was no place I’d rather be with my little joey. I touched my lips to the top of her head, ensuring it was completely dry after her baptism earlier. I wasn’t religious, but after the events of the last year, I’d be a fool not to believe in a higher power.
“Can Cammi go on the swings?”
I looked down at my niece. “She’s too small, Tillington. Maybe next year.”
She frowned, not liking that. “Can I kiss her?”
I looked at Elle who smiled and lifted her daughter up to baby head level. Tilly applied a gentle kiss to Cammi’s forehead and whispered, like it was a secret, “We’ll play next year, Cammi. You, me, and Mabel.”
Finally relenting to Tilly’s urging, Elle headed off to examine the swing set’s sturdiness. I wandered over to a just-vacated Adirondack and took a seat beside the mother of my child and the woman who had somehow fallen for me, despite her better judgment.
“How is she?”
“Still out like a light. How are you, Doc?”
She smiled, a little tired, but so beautiful that my heart squeezed. “Happy.”
I’d only meant her health, but to hear her express that sentiment without me trying to pry it out of her lifted my spirits to the blue sky above our heads.
“Really?”
I had reason to be doubtful. Yesterday, she had withdrawn her name from consideration for the Harvard faculty appointment. She had also told Dr. Bilious at Lakeshore University that she would be taking a sabbatical following her maternity leave—and whether he approved it or not made no odds. While she wrote her book on the mating rituals of snails, she planned to look for another job in Chicago.
Any of this city’s big universities would be thrilled to have her, but in the meantime, she would be keeping the home fires burning. I hoped she would be content. That life with me and Cammi would be enough for her, at least for a while.
She reached over and stroked a finger along my newly shaven jaw. She missed the beard but I think she liked what was underneath, too.
“The room on the southeast side would make a good office.”
My breath hitched. “You’re moving in.”
“As soon as I’ve cleared it with Bunsen. Once he’s on board, Beaker will capitulate. He’s a follower at heart.”
She was moving in. Technically, she already had. After a couple of days in the hospital, I had taken her here the day before I flew out to Boston for Game 7. The paint smell was gone from the nursery, but she and Cammi slept in my room all the same. Rosie and Violet stayed with her, and when I returned, Franky was still here with my daughter. Where they both belonged.
“I’d better get to work on Bunny Boy. What do you think will sway him? Cat treats? More toys? His own room?”
“Just knowing he has someone else to hiss at semi-regularly will probably suffice.” She adjusted her sexy glasses. “Are you ready to have your space overwhelmed with books and toys and an academic who spaces out in the middle of conversations?”
“I’ve been ready forever.” Taking her hand, I kissed her wrist. “I just needed to meet the right malacologist.”
She smiled. “Love it when you use those big words.”
“And I love you, Francesca.” Big words or not. Everything about this woman filled my heart to overflowing.
She blinked, wiped at a tear. “I love you, too. So much.”
On cue, Cammi opened her eyes and stared up at me.
“Hey, baby girl. Decided to join the love fest, huh?”
Still staring, not even blinking, which boded well for my daughter’s future as a hockey player. My little face-off princess.
“I think she might be hungry,” Franky said. “I’ll take her inside.”
Watching them go, I reveled in this feeling of contentment. A Cup winner, a new dad, a man who had found a woman I didn’t deserve, but who I sure as hell planned to hold onto forever.
