Taking her in his arms, he hugged her long and tight, feeling the warmth of her love surround him. Why had he ever doubted that they couldn’t figure things out together? They were a team. Partners. Parents to a beautiful baby boy, one he loved more than anything.
As he thought of his son, he remembered some occasions when the child had been in pain. Recently he’d been teething, and the poor thing didn’t understand why his mouth hurt. They’d given him baby pain medicine, rubbed his gums with ointment, and held cold teething rings to his mouth. The worst part was that Parker didn’t know why he was in pain.
What would happen if they had the implant surgery? He and Annie couldn’t be in the operating room with him, hold him, or comfort him. They’d have to trust the doctors to take care of their son. The images from the internet of what the surgery consisted of flashed through his mind. Drilling holes, cutting his scalp open, inserting metal machinery inside his child’s head. Parker. His son.
That thought weakened his legs, and he would have fallen to his knees if Annie hadn’t had her arms linked snugly around his waist. How could he send his child off with strangers in that situation? If it was something to save his life, that would be a different story. But cochlear implants were elective surgery. Completely unnecessary surgery. As Carli and several others had said, it wouldn’t make him not deaf.
His whole reason for pushing this had been to placate his mother and father. What the heck kind of reason was that? Parker was his son, not theirs.
Easing back, he lifted Annie’s chin with his finger. “I think we should wait.”
She tipped her head, her expression confused.
“For the cochlear implants. You’re right. There’s no reason to put Parker through that at this age. Seeing him in pain would kill me and all simply to please my parents. And I have a feeling that still won’t please them. As Blake pointed out this afternoon, Carli has implants, and they want her out of his life. If he wants them when he gets older, we can reevaluate.”
Tears slipped from Annie’s eyes and rolled down her cheeks. “What will you say to your parents?”
“I have a few ideas,” he replied, wiping her face and kissing her cheeks. “It’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Harry. For me and for Parker. I love you so much. We’ll make sure Parker knows how much we love him, too.”
“Yes. And give him lots and lots of language. When is that next Baby Sign class?”
Chapter twenty-three
“There’snowayIcan afford this, Annie.” Carli almost fainted when she saw the price tag on one of the dresses the saleswoman had brought to the dressing room.
The boutique was exclusive, and they had been shown to a private area in the back where a dozen black and/or white dresses were hanging in her size.
“Don’t worry about the price. I get a great discount here.”
“Unless it’s a ninety-nine percent discount, I still don’t think I can afford it.”
Annie’s smile split wide like she’d been told her in-laws were retiring…to Australia. “I told you not to worry. I’ve got it covered.”
As Carli shook her head, her curls bounced around her shoulders. “You are not paying for this.”
Putting her hand on Carli’s arm, Annie’s expression softened.“I want to do this. You’ve done so much for us, helped us in so many ways. Believe me, with what Harrison makes, it’s a drop in the bucket.”
Carli didn’t even want to imagine the whole bucket. Imagine what she could do with it. Her college loans. Her parents’ house. Things for her brothers and sister. A nicer apartment. One like Blake had. Or maybe Blake’s. That’s what she’d really been thinking and part of the reason she had succumbed to Annie’s begging—being with Blake and showing him she was worthy. If a dress could even do that.
“Fine. I’ll try some on.”
Jumping up and down, Annie clapped her hands. The saleswoman threw them a strange look, then immediately erased all emotion from her face when Annie glanced her way. Wow, the Wentworths must have some clout.
After trying on a few of the dresses and modeling them for Annie, Carli thought about the benefit dinner. To say she was anxious was an understatement. At least with a dress from this store, she wouldn’t stand out for wearing the wrong thing.
“That one is gorgeous on you.” Annie made her turn around a few times as she inspected it from every angle. “Not that the others weren’t, but this one is perfect. Simple yet elegant.”
Carli had to agree. This dress was not only beautiful, it made her feel great. Like she could accomplish anything. It was all black and held up by a strap covered in rhinestones on her left shoulder. Both shoulders were bare, but the left side also had a sleeve that stopped a few inches short of her elbow. There was a large, jeweled accessory in an asymmetrical butterfly shape pinned right below her breast, breaking up all the black. It hugged her like a glove on the top, then draped once it got past her hips, skimming the ground.
“With three or four-inch heels, that will rest perfectly on the floor.” Annie’s eyes gleamed and Carli couldn’t help but get excited herself. She’d never worn anything so unbelievably elegant. Would Blake think so?
“I wish I could be there to see Blake’s face when you show up in this. Let’s find you some shoes and jewelry.”
“No, I couldn’t possibly let you pay for anything else. I have some black strappy sandals that will work fine, and my roommate, Mercedes, has more jewelry than anyone I know. She’ll have something to match the rhinestones.”
Annie bobbed her head, then signaled for the saleswoman. “If you’re sure.” She helped Carli unzip the dress, then chatted with the saleswoman as Carli slipped into the changing room. One last look and a few twirls, then she reluctantly took the dress off. She’d be wearing it again soon enough.
