I nodded silently, fully understanding what she meant.
“Well,” I said slowly, “I wanted to come by today because I have some news to share with you.”
“Are you okay?” Alan asked, brow furrowing in concern.
“Oh, yes,” I said. “Nothing is wrong. The opposite, in fact.”
Taking in a deep breath, I gave them the news I’d been dreading sharing with them.
“I know this must be a shock,” I said quickly. “And please know that I don’t expect anything from you. I just wanted you to know.”
“Expect anything from us?” Andrea said, looking confused.
“Like, monetarily or anything,” I replied. “Or coming to appointments, or anything like that. I can’t imagine how this must feel, God knows I’ve had so many complicated feelings about it, and–”
“Abigail Thompson, I want you to listen to me right now,” Alan interrupted. “Our son may be gone,” he choked out. “But that doesn’t mean you stopped being our daughter. Baby or not, we are always going to be your family. Expect anything from us? Itwill be a joy and a privilege to love you and our grandbaby. And to support you in any way we can.”
He rose from his rocking chair and joined us on the couch, and the three of us held each other and cried together until none of us had any tears left.
“I love you so much,” I said, my voice sounding odd through my stuffy nose. “And I want this Little One to know their grandparents–the incredible people that raised their father. So much of him came from you, and that’s a bond you’ll share forever. And I am so thankful for it.”
After much more hugging and crying, I left their house and made my way back to my own. Now that everyone knows, the reality has truly set in. Little One won’t just be a blend of Aaron and me, but the entire sum of everyone who has ever loved us.
How lucky we both are.
Chapter 5
Jack
Eight Weeks
Asharp knock on my office door makes me jump, sending paperwork flying off my desk and onto the floor in front of me.
“Sorry, sir,” Tyler apologizes quickly, scooping the papers up and handing them back to me. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me sir? We’re the same age, Ty,” I say gruffly, trying to straighten the papers back into some semblance of organization.
“Yeah, but only one of us is the deputy chief,” he replies, sitting in the chair across from me, stretching his long limbs out in front of him. Eyeing the stack of papers on my desk, he continues, “And I sure am glad of it, I’d lose my mind dealing with this bullshit.”
“Yeah, well, someone has to do it,” I mutter, abandoning the shuffled reports. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, the guys were just wondering,” he says slowly, almost timidly. “When do you think you’ll be back out there with us? The field isn’t the same without you, man.”
My jaw clenches so tightly I worry I might crack a molar. It’s been two months since I left my office in the station to respond to an actual emergency. It’s not that I don’t want to–helping people is the whole reason I wanted to become a firefighter in the first place.
But the thought of racing toward a tragedy when I don’t know exactly what to expect sends my heart into my throat and I just…freeze. So I make up excuses to stay behind–”I’ve been up for too many hours and would be a liability”, or “the station is understaffed tonight, someone needs to stay here in case a second emergency comes in.”
Nevermind that I’m the one who does the schedule and have been purposefully understaffing us for weeks.
“I don’t know, Ty,” I bite out. “There are a shit ton of reports to do, God knows y’all don’t keep up with your own paperwork.”
“Is it the paperwork? Or is it something else?” he presses.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” There’s a heavy beat of silence before he responds again.
“It’s okay if you’re not ready, Jack,” he says softly, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, brown eyes full of concern. “No one blames you. Any one of us would respond that way if it had been our friend. We just want you to know that we’re here for you. No matter how long it takes.”
“Thanks,” I mumble, unsure how to respond to such an earnest sentiment from the same guy who nearly broke both of his ankles after slicking the fire pole with baby oil. “Is that all?”
