Julia gazed down at her baby, who was breathing steadily, seeming to be perfectly content in her mother’s arms despite the trauma of coming out into the world for the first time. Even though she was sleeping peacefully, Julia got the sense that their little girl was full of spunk and personality, and she knew what name they should pick for her.
“I think Quinn suits her better,” she said, looking up at Cooper adoringly. “What do you think?”
“I agree,” he said, sharing warm eye contact with her before gazing down at their daughter. “Quinn it is.”
There was a short knock on the door, and a nurse entered a moment later. “Hi, Julia,” she said, all smiles. “Are you feeling ready for visitors?”
Julia laughed. “My whole family is still out there, aren’t they?”
“Sure looks like it.” The nurse’s eyes twinkled.
“I’m definitely ready. You can send all of them in.”
The nurse disappeared, and Julia settled back comfortably in the bed, excited for her family to meet Quinn.
A few moments later, the door of the room swung open and Macey raced inside, straight into her father’s arms.
“Look, honey,” he said, hugging her tightly. “You have a baby sister.”
“I know!” Macey cried joyfully, and Julia and Cooper laughed.
The rest of the family followed, all clearly trying to be quiet and not overwhelming—there were a lot of them, it was true—and grinning from ear to ear.
Vivian got to stand closest to Julia, and the rest of them circled the bed, all making soft noises of delight and staring at the baby with wonder.
“Everyone, we’d like you to meet Quinn,” Julia said, feeling her heart swell with happiness.
“Quinn.” Samantha nodded emphatically. “Good name.”
“I love it,” Hazel gushed. “I can tell that it suits her already.”
They talked in low voices, all sharing in the joy of the moment. Julia smiled at the faces around her before looking down at the newest face in their family. It was all starting to feel more real. Despite how tired she was physically, internally she felt a surge of motivation. She couldn’t wait to bring Quinn home and dive into the next chapter of their lives.
CHAPTER THREE
Vivian sat down across from Terrence at their cozy corner table at Ocean Breeze Café. He still gave her butterflies whenever they went out on a date together, and she thought to herself that he looked handsome in his clean and starched light blue dress shirt. Terrence always looked clean and tidy, but she had stopped seeing him as fussy and now saw him as faithful and dependable.
“How's your day going, sweetheart?” he asked her, his eyes on her face. She loved it when he looked at her like that. He looked as though he was memorizing her, treasuring every part of her.
“It's going very well,” she told him, returning his warm smile. “I dropped off a couple of casseroles at Julia's just now. She's doing great, and she and Cooper and Macey are just beside themselves with happiness over Quinn.”
“I'm so happy to hear that. They were already such a great little family, and I know adding this new little one to the mix is only going to strengthen their bond. Let me know if they need anything, I'd be happy to help.”
She beamed at him. Terrence was always ready to lend a helping hand, whether it was to her family or to anyone else in the community. She appreciated that about him very much. “I'lldefinitely let you know if they need help with anything,” she told him. “Right now, I think they have everything they need. Julia got all kinds of goodies at her baby shower, and they still have some baby items from when Macey was born.”
“That's good.” He nodded. “It's always important to have the right tool for the job.”
She laughed. “You sound like Jacob.”
“Good, he's a wise man.” Terrence picked up the menu in front of him and tapped on the listing for eggs benedict. “I know what I'm getting,” he told her. “What would you like?”
“Oh, I think I'll get the eggs benedict as well,” she said after perusing the menu for a few moments. Ocean Breeze Café was run by her dear friend Sally Lipton, and Vivian had eaten there countless times. She had the menu memorized, so it wasn't difficult for her to decide on what she wanted to order.
Once Vivian and Terrence had given their order to the waitress and were contentedly sipping their cups of coffee, she thought of the money that she had found in the attic. In all the excitement over Quinn's birth, she had kept it pushed out of her mind. Now that her closest confidant was sitting in front of her however, she realized that she should tell someone, and that he was the best person to tell first. Not only would he not experience the intense emotions that any of her children were sure to feel over the news, but he was certain to give her good, wise advice.
“I do have some other news,” she said slowly, her eyes on the table. She looked up at him and saw that his expression was one of concern. It was clear that he had sensed how tumultuous her emotions were about the subject. “I found something when I was going through an old trunk in the attic the other day.”
“What was it?” he asked gently.
