White Orchids
Formation
Tyler couldn’t help but feel a little nervous as he took in his surroundings. The room they had been placed in was small and cramped, and overflowing with files and broken toys. It was windowless, and the only lighting came from a flickering bulb hanging above his head. The chair he was in hurt his back, and there was a faint smell in the air of something stale. The uncomfortable atmosphere was getting to him; self doubt and anxious thoughts were running through his mind uncontrollably. The screams and shouts of playful children coming from just outside the walls were bleeding into his brain, filling it with questions that couldn’t be answered. What if he fell in love with this boy, and Nicki didn’t want him? And was he truly ready to be a father if she did?
He glanced over at her for support, and found her to be off in her own world. She was staring straight ahead, eyes glued to the enormous manila folder on the desk in front of them. Tyler had to assume that it belonged to the boy they were about to meet, and guessed that thickness wasn’t a good thing when it came to records like that. His hands crossed in his lap, thumbs twiddling to keep him busy. If he checked his watch again, he risked losing his mind altogether. They’d been waiting more than a half an hour for Amelia to return and to meet their possible son.
Hoping to pass the time with some conversation, he looked at Nicki. “How ya doing?” he asked simply.
“Been better,” she muttered, her legs shaking ferociously beneath her.
“Are you nervous?”
Finally she looked at him. “Of course I’m nervous, Ty. We walked in here, and all of the sudden it dawned on me that I might be walking out as a mother. That’s just…”
“Weird,” he finished for her, watching as she nodded her head.
“I feel like we didn’t have any time to adjust, we don’t even have a room ready for him, I don’t know what kind of shit kids like to eat – “
“Hey,” he said, interrupting her rambling. “If you aren’t ready for this, it’s fine. Just tell me before we sign anything. I can’t deal with us bringing this kid home and you wanting to change your mind, because you can’t.”
“Tyler, I’m not an idiot,” she snapped. She leaned back into her seat and sighed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. You know how I get when I’m nervous.”
He reached across the space between their chairs to grab her hand. She accepted it instantly, wrapping her fingers around his and playing with them absentmindedly. A tiny bit of relief surfaced at the familiar feel of her hands, and knowing that something so simple could help calm the both of them down. He would never admit it, but he felt the same way she did. Their lives were very possibly about to turn upside down, and it seemed both too rash and too sudden.
While he was trying to think of something comforting to say to her, there was a knock on the door and it swung open. They both turned in their chairs and looked over their shoulders as Amelia crept into the room.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” she said, sounding frazzled and out of breath, “Some of the children got in a fight, it was a bit messy.” Amelia must have noticed their worried expressions, and she put her hands up and smiled. “Don’t worry, Liam wasn’t involved. He mostly keeps to himself. He’s extremely well behaved, but a bit reserved, as we went over on the phone.”
Tyler nodded, but his mind wasn’t taking part in the conversation the way his body was. Liam. Liam was the boy who he might be taking under his wing, the boy he might be raising as his own.
“So, do we get to meet him?” Nicki asked quietly, still fiddling with his hand.
Amelia’s smile grew wider. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll bring you both out to see him.”
“I’m ready,” he said.
He’d been ready since the moment they stepped into the building. It was his hope that once he met the little boy, the fears and the worries would disappear. The most he could wish for was to have a natural bond with him, and for Nicki to feel the same.
“I am too.”
Clapping her hands together excitedly, Amelia ushered them out of their seats and into the hallway. The adoption center was a remodeled school, which seemed fitting to hold a bunch of children. The inside was relatively nice, but it didn’t have the homey feel that he knew a child would crave. They were led outside, to one of the biggest playgrounds Tyler had ever seen. He scanned over all of the kids running around and playing, their ages ranged anywhere from toddler to teenager. It broke his heart to think that some of the kids before him would remain there until adulthood, never knowing the loving embrace or the wise advice of parents. Now, more than ever, he was ready to face the challenge before them.
Tyler didn’t have to be introduced to figure out which boy was Liam. He was the only one not playing with a group; he was by himself, inspecting a field of clovers. But it wasn’t the lack of socializing that gave it away. He’d met Liam before. He was the same boy who asked for his autograph the day at Chipotle, when Nicki had an episode over losing their baby. He was the same face that haunted his dreams night after night, remembering how devastated she had looked when this sweet little boy came up to him.
“Oh my God,” he said under his breath, trying to rub his eyes to make sure that he was fully awake.
Luckily, Nicki didn’t hear him. It would only have worried her, anyhow. He tried to keep calm as Amelia showed them the way, directly to the boy with the sand colored hair, searching for four leaf clovers.
“Tyler? Do you recognize him?” she asked hesitantly, clenching her hand tightly around his forearm.
“How is this possible?”
Amelia turned around, just before reaching the edges of the clover field.
“Are you two alright? You look a bit pale. If you’ve changed your minds – “
“No. No we haven’t changed our minds,” Nicki said flatly, slowly drifting towards the little boy.
Tyler followed, and watched as his figure cast a shadow over Liam’s work. He looked up, and the expression on his face seemed to match the ones on theirs.
“Mr. Seguin?”
Instantly, a smile threatened his lips. Liam mirrored him, grinning just as wide. Tyler took a knee to get down to his level, and could tell by the movement of Nicki’s shadow that she’d done the same.
“It’s nice to meet you again, Liam,” he said, sticking out his hand.
He took it eagerly and tried his best to give Tyler’s hand a firm squeeze.
“You too Mr. Seguin!”
“Do you remember my wife, Nicki? She was with me that day I signed the napkin of yours.”
Tyler glanced at her, feeling elated when he saw that her face was shining just as bright as his. It already felt right. He wasn’t uncomfortable, he didn’t feel afraid. He felt ready.
“Hi Liam,” she said shyly.
“Yeah, I remember you! My mommy thought you were really pretty.”
Her cheeks flushed and Tyler could barely hold back a laugh. Even a little kid could embarrass her. Speaking of which…
“How old are you bud?” he inquired, watching as he tried to hold up the correct number of fingers, just like Bella did.
“Four and a half!” he exclaimed proudly. There was a brief moment of silence, too short for anyone to bring up anything else. “Why are you here? Are you visiting like you did at that Elementary School?”
“Something like that, yeah. We’re friends with Amelia,” he explained, not wanting to give him any false hope. “We’re gonna go talk with her again really quick, but I promise we’ll be back to see you again, okay?”
“Okay, cool!”
He stood up, and was about to help Nicki to her feet when he noticed that she was carefully picking something out of the ground. She held it up to her face, inspecting it. After flashing a smirk at Tyler, she crawled forward and handed it out for Liam.
“Found one with four leaves,” she said, offering it to him.
“Are you giving it to me?”
“Yeah, I picked it for you. Make sure you get someone to take a picture of it, those are really hard to find.”
Tyler could have cried watching her interact with him. She was so sweet and nurturing to a boy that she’d really only known for a matter of minutes. It didn’t matter what she thought, or how much doubt she had. She was ready to be a parent.
“I will,” Liam promised, twirling the tiny green plant between his fingers. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” she said, giving his hair a soft tousle.
Nicki tried to push herself up, and there was no way Tyler was going to let her do it on her own. It had been a bad idea to let her squat anyways, with her equilibrium being so off. He grabbed her by the elbows and lifted her up, falling back a step when more weight than he had been expecting leaned against him. Stumbling a bit, she finally regained her balance, and laced her fingers between his as they trekked back to the spot where Amelia was waiting for them.
“So – “
“Ty, I don’t even think you have to ask.”
“So we’re seriously doing this,” he stated more than asked.
“I’m serious about it. I know we don’t know him that well, and it’s still a bit weird to me to think that we’re going to have a stranger in our house, but that felt so natural. I didn’t feel awkward around him like I thought I would.”
“Neither did I.” He stopped before they reached Amelia, tugging Nicki back by her arm. He placed his hands on her shoulders and held her gaze, looking for even an ounce of indecision. “This might be your last chance to back out, babe. Are you really ready for this?”
“Yes,” she answered simply.
It surprised him that she only had a one word response; he expected novel length explanations of everything she was thinking and feeling. Her tone of voice was firm and believable, however, so he didn’t question her. Amelia saw them coming and headed over to them, sparing them the short walk up the grassy hill that they’d come from.
“How did it go?” she asked, stepping between them and putting a hand on each of their backs.
“Better than expected.”
“Wonderful.”
“Does this mean Liam has a family?”
The two of them exchanged nods, and Amelia let out a small squeal of delight.
“Did you tell him why you were here?”
“Not really,” Tyler responded, taking a deep, luxurious breath of AC as they stepped back into the building. “He asked if I was here to visit, and I just went along with it.”
“That’s fine, we still have some paperwork to deal with anyhow. We usually let the adoptive parents break the news, would you both be interested in doing that? Or would you rather I took care of it?”
“I’d like to do it,” Nicki said quickly. “If that’s what you want.”
“Course I want to.”
“Lovely! You can choose to do it whenever you’re ready. If you have the time, we can get through all of this paperwork today and send it in for verification this afternoon. It should only take twenty four hours to process, so you’d be looking at taking him home on Thursday. I know it’s a holiday, but I almost feel as though it would aid him in adapting to his new home. He’s probably never celebrated the Fourth of July before, and I think the new, fun experiences could ease some of the tension that children normally feel when transitioning out of our system.”
“I think Thursday would be fine, is that okay with you Ty?”
He tried not to look at her like she had three heads. Thursday wasn’t soon enough. Tyler wanted to take him home that very instant, he wanted to start getting to know the boy he would eventually be comfortable calling his son.
“Actually, I don’t know if this is allowed,” he said hesitantly, unsure of how Amelia would react.
“But is there any way he could come home with us today? Not to stay, just so that he can see where he’s going to be living. And it would be nice to let him pick out his room so we can redecorate before he moves in.”
Amelia opened the door to her office for them, and waited for them to sit down before she answered his question.
“Technically, no, you aren’t allowed to bring them home until the paperwork is finalized.” His head hung, it had been stupid of him to get his hopes up. “But,” she continued, “If I came along as his supervisor, I don’t see any problem with that.”
** * * *
“Which one of us is gonna do it?” Tyler asked.
Nicki slung an arm around his waist as they peered across the playground, watching their new son playing alone on the swings.
“I think you should do it. Did you see his face when he realized who was walking up to him?”
He nodded and quickly pressed his lips to the top of her head.
“Let’s do this, then.”
Her arm fell from his waist, only to grab his hand as they stepped onto the squishy material that covered the rough asphalt that the playground was built on. Nicki’s heart was beating faster than it ever had before, and she couldn’t seem to figure out why she was so nervous in the first place.
There was no doubt in her mind that Liam would be ecstatic to hear the news. She squeezed Tyler’s hand for some extra support, and when his thumb rubbed back and forth across her skin, she threw her shoulders back and swallowed her nerves. It was going to be an adjustment, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle. Together.
When Liam saw that they were coming towards him, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.
“You came back!” he shouted, kicking his legs as he swung.
“I told you we would,” Tyler said, letting go of Nicki’s hand to take the swing next to him.
She did the same, and soon they were on either side of Liam, waiting for his swinging to cease so that they could talk to him.
“You like swings?” Nicki asked, trying to get to know him as much as she could in such a short amount of time.
“I love them! They’re my favorite! There was a swing set near where I used to live, my mommy used to take me there all the time.”
Tyler shot her a look, and she knew that the next day they would be hard at work in the backyard, assembling a swing set.
“Listen Liam, I have something to ask you buddy.”
“Sure Mr. Seguin! What is it?”
His little legs tried to touch the ground to stop the motion of his swing, but they couldn’t quite reach. At the same time, Nicki and Tyler reached out to grab a chain, holding it still. Neither of them could hide the smiles on their faces, and she felt an overwhelming urge to lean over and kiss him.
“First of all, you can call me Tyler. None of this Mr. Seguin business.”
Liam giggled and started to twist the chains attached to the swing, oscillating himself back and forth, so that he was facing Tyler one second and Nicki the next.
“Okay Tyler!”
“Much better,” he said, switching his focus between her and Liam. “So how do you like living here?”
“Um, it’s okay I guess. I wish my mommy was here, but Ms. Amelia acts kind of like a mommy sometimes. She makes us breakfast and stuff.”
Tyler nodded and looked to Nicki one last time before asking, “How would you like to come live with us?”
The little boy’s sparkling green eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“Really?”
“Really,” Nicki said, smiling warmly at him.
“That would be so cool!” he exclaimed, rocketing off of the swing to stand in front of them.
They rose with him and knelt again, hoping not to intimidate him the way adults sometimes did to children.
“Are… are you gonna be my daddy?”
Nicki nearly choked at the mention of the word. She glanced at Tyler, whose eyes had begun to water. He stayed quiet, most likely because he was afraid he would lose it if he tried to speak. She placed a hand in the center of his back, hoping to relax him, although she wasn’t sure if it was possible. Finally, he was getting what he wanted so desperately.
“If you want me to be,” he said, his voice coming out strained and crackly.
Liam nodded viciously and ran into his arms. He whispered something in Tyler’s ear, something that made his hug grow twice as tight. As strange as it was, she was sure that she could already feel the bond forming between them. She knew her husband well enough to see in his eyes that he was in love with this boy. The moment they approached him, bent over in the small clover field, a part of his heart belonged to him. Although it saddened her slightly to know that she would no longer be the only object of his affections, it was beautiful to watch him change and shift in front her, from a man to a father.
“Is everyone ready to go?” a voice asked from behind them.
They turned to see Amelia standing at the edge of the playground, holding Liam’s backpack in her hand.
“Where are we going?” he inquired excitedly, pulling away from Tyler and running forward to take
his bag.
“We’re going to see your new home, Liam.”
** * * *
“Woah this car looks just like Iron Man’s!” Liam shouted as Tyler strapped him into the car seat that he’d so conveniently decided to bring, just in case.
He laughed and connected the buckle around his tiny stomach.
“You like superheroes?”
“Yeah, they’re like, the coolest!”
Tyler smiled before shutting his door and climbing into the driver’s seat. They had a bit of a drive ahead of them, and figured he might be able to utilize the time together to get to know Liam.
“Who’s your favorite superhero?” he asked, placing a hand on Nicki’s thigh.
He could feel both her apprehension and her excitement. It went without saying that there would be a string of long, emotional talks later that night, once they were home and alone. But for now, she seemed content, tracing over the back of his hand the way she had done so many car rides before.
“I dunno if I can choose,” Liam said, “Spiderman is pretty awesome, but I like Batman because he’s really just a normal guy, did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah! His name is Bruce Wayne and he’s got lots of money so he builds all this stuff to fight crime and put the bad guys in jail! You got lots of money too, right? You could be batman!”
Everyone in the car chuckled a little, and Liam’s delighted laugh rang through Tyler’s ears. He probably had no idea why they were laughing, but he went along with it anyways.
“I could be Batman,” he said, playing along, “But then I’d have to give up playing hockey.”
“You can’t stop! You’re my favorite player!”
The fingers that were once so busy on his hand came to a halt. They laced between his own, and the warmth from Nicki’s palm was incredibly soothing. His eyes darted quickly from the road to look at her, only long enough to catch a glimpse of the tears falling down her cheeks. Until then,
Tyler hadn’t considered the emotional effects this whole thing might have on her. She was already the most sensitive person he knew, and she’d become a bit unstable from being pregnant. Of course it would take a toll on her to adopt a child, even if she was as happy about it as he was.
“Do you watch a lot of hockey?” Nicki asked, trying to hide the fact that she was quietly sobbing in the passenger seat.
“I used to! In the winter when it was real cold, the restaurants near where I used to live would let me come in, and sometimes they would even give me food! I watched it on the big TVs in there. But I wanted to go to a game soooo bad, because I was right across the street and I could hear all the cheering and it seemed really really fun!”
There was a squeeze on Tyler’s hand, and without looking at her, he knew exactly what she was trying to tell him. It was impossible to ignore Liam’s blissful ignorance. He had no idea just how badly he had it. It seemed as though he didn’t think of being homeless as a bad thing, rather as the way his life had panned out. He couldn’t figure out whether he was too young to understand the seriousness of his situation or if his mother had brainwashed him into thinking it was normal.
Either way, it was probably for the best. Tyler had to briefly worry about the way Liam would grow up, if he would see things differently than other children did. Maybe it wasn’t too late to change the way he thought about things.
“Well you can come to all of the games this year if you want, you even get to sit in a special box,”
Tyler said, “Nicki goes to all of them, too.”
In the backseat, there was silence.
“You okay honey?” Amelia asked.
“I can go to all of them?”
Looking at him through the mirror, Tyler saw that Liam’s face was currently the spitting image of Nicki’s. His sea green eyes were bloodshot, his childish, rosy cheeks were stained with tears, and his body language emitted a range of emotions that he couldn’t comprehend.
“Of course you can,” he said, unsure of what else could possibly lighten the mood. “So do you like animals?”
He seemed to be distracted by the question and instantly perked up.
“Some of ‘em!”
“What about dogs?”
“Dogs are kinda scary,” he mumbled.
“Well I’m just warning ya bud, we have a dog. But I promise he’s the nicest dog you’ll ever meet. Do you think that’ll be okay?”
That was another thing that he had never thought of. Tyler’s family always had a dog or two running around, and it was obvious the first time Nicki came to his apartment that it wouldn’t be an issue for her. Marshall was like a child to them; he didn’t even want to consider what they would do if Liam couldn’t live with him.
A muted “Maybe,” was the only answer he received.
Tyler searched wildly for something else to say. There was so much that he needed to learn about the boy in his backseat, much more than he could absorb in a single car ride. He wished that he could know everything about him that day, but was wiser than that. It would take months, years even, until he truly understood who he was.
Failing to come up with anything, he leaned back in his seat and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. To his right was a crying wife. Behind him was a boy who had probably already lived through more than the both of them combined, and a woman who was oblivious to everything going on around her. Suddenly, he began to feel overwhelmed. Nicki was already a handful sometimes, and they had two more on the way. What made him think that he could take care of four people, when he could barely take care of one?
Busy, frantic thoughts ran rampant through his mind for the remainder of the drive, and relief shot through him as he reached the driveway, hoping Liam might cheer up and get excited all over again. Luckily, his wish came true.
“Is that your house?!”
“It’s yours now too, sweetie,” Nicki said softly, nonchalantly brushing her fingers down Tyler’s arm.
A smile threatened to ruin his gloomy expression, and eventually it won. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. It could be so easy to forget sometimes that he had a partner in crime, someone who was always first on the scene when it came to dealing with his issues and making him feel better.
If she thought they were ready to take on such a life changing challenge, then they were. She would never agree to anything of that magnitude if she wasn’t entirely sure that they would be able to do it.
“This is where I get to live?!”
Tyler chuckled, keeping Nicki’s hand firmly in his own as he pulled up the drive. “Just wait til you see the inside, Nicki spent a lot of time making it really nice.”
“What about my room?”
“You can pick whatever bedroom you want honey, as long as it’s not ours,” Nicki answered.
After putting the car in park and cutting the engine, he took a moment to look at her. Whatever had come over her just minutes ago seemed to have faded; her eyes were sparkling again and the tiny smile that always rested on her face had returned.
Amelia took over the task of getting Liam out of his car seat, and Tyler seized the moment and pulled Nicki flush against him, briefly catching a glimpse of surprise on her face before pressing a reassuring kiss on her lips. He was already learning that they would have significantly less time to be affectionate, and promised himself that every chance he got, he would make sure they took advantage of it.
Nicki stared up at him; her pretty face was flushed, but calm. Dragging the back of a finger along the side of her cheek, he whispered a quiet “I love you,” before joining Amelia and Liam, who were waiting patiently to be taken inside.
“You ready Liam?” he asked, extending a hand for him to hold. He was tall for a four year old, and didn’t struggle like Bella did when it came to reaching his hand. Liam accepted it graciously, and when Tyler looked down he could see the mammoth sized grin that covered almost half of his
face.
The whole group remained quiet on the walk up to the front door, and when they stepped through the doorway and into the foyer, a gasp came from below them.
“It looks like a castle,” Liam whispered in amazement, breaking away from Tyler to explore. They stood and watched as he approached the grand marble staircases tentatively. He ran his hands across the iron railings, paying close attention to the details that had been carved into them back when the house was built.
From the living room came the familiar thundering that they always associated with Marshall’s presence, and Tyler held his breath, waiting to see how Liam would react. When Marshall finally appeared, Liam was obviously frightened by his size and ran as fast as he could to hide behind Nicki.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Tyler cooed, taking a knee on the floor. “He’s a good boy, he won’t hurt you. Here, watch.” He made eye contact with his dog, who seemed a tad confused about why someone had just sprinted away from him. “Marshall, sit,” he commanded. Pride filled him as he did what he said, and he threw out a “Stay,” as he got up, only to kneel again by Marshall’s side.
From there he could see Liam clinging to Nicki’s leg, as though his life was about to end.
“Liam, sweetie, if I go pet the dog, will you come with me?” Nicki somehow detached him from her leg, and began slowly inching across the room. He watched as her soothing tone convinced Liam to face his fears and walk towards Marshall. He stopped halfway and looked back at Nicki for assurance. “I’m still here, hon,” she said, following a foot or so behind.
Tyler motioned forward with his hand, trying to show him that it was alright. Marshall stayed put on the floor beside him, staring at the stranger who was timidly approaching him. Eventually, Liam was just inches away, and he looked at Tyler for confirmation that it was okay. He nodded and smiled, showing him what to do by running a hand across Marshall’s soft fur. Liam copied him, and his obedient dog stayed still as stone the entire time. Once he started to laugh and became more comfortable, a long, sloppy tongue stuck out and licked his face.
A little boy’s giggles filled the room, a sound Tyler was sure he would never hear echoing through his hallways. Nicki and Amelia closed in on them, and a very familiar hand landed on Liam’s head, gently stroking his fluffy, blonde hair. It was then he knew that she was just as in love as he was; that this unfortunate child was the beginning of something they’d been searching for so desperately.
“So are you gonna be okay with Marshall?” he asked, praying that Liam had come around.
“Yeah, I like Marshall,” Liam murmured, playing with Marshall’s silky ear.
“I bet you’ll end up – “
Tyler was off of his feet in milliseconds. He recognized the way Nicki’s voice trailed off, and caught her just before she hit the floor. Her body was heavier than normal in his arms, and panic took no time to set in.
“Are you okay?” he asked frantically, letting himself fall to the ground and propping her up on his lap. Her head lolled back onto his shoulder, momentarily seeming unconscious. “Can you hear me? Nicki?”
A dull moan came from her partially opened mouth, allowing his heart to begin beating again. He slid backwards against the wall, using it as support while he lifted her off of the floor. She tried to help, but the moment her legs tried to support her weight she collapsed again.
“Just let me help you,” he whispered, dragging her into the kitchen and lifting her onto the island.
“Don’t let Liam see,” she said, obviously straining to get the words out.
“Why? I’m sure – “
“Because Ty, were supposed to be taking care of him. How can he depend on us if I can’t even take care of myself? Take him upstairs, show him the rest of the house.”
“I can’t just – “
“Tyler,” she snapped, gaining a bit of her strength back. “Do this for me. Please.”
He trapped her face in his hands, nodding as he realized he didn’t have any other option. After placing a gentle kiss on her lips, he turned to leave her. Tyler walked quickly, afraid that something might happen in his absence.
“Is she okay?” Liam asked, now sitting on the floor beside Marshall.
“She’s not feeling so good right now,” he explained. Turning to Amelia, he asked, “Can you go in the kitchen and make her some tea? She’ll tell you where it is.”
“Of course.” He tried to dismiss Amelia’s concerned expression. Although she knew quite a bit about them, she didn’t know the details of Nicki’s pregnancy, and she wasn’t around to see the effects it had on her. Waiting for her to disappear from the foyer, he grabbed Liam’s hand again and grinned.
“You wanna go pick out your room?”
** * * *
“Are you alright, sweetheart?” Amelia placed a warm hand on the top of Nicki’s thigh, instantly comforting her, the way a grandmother might. She stared into her wrinkled, grey eyes, finding nothing but true interest and worry.
“It’s a pregnancy thing,” she said passively. “It’s actually how we found out. With all of the complications – “
“Ah, no need to go any further darling, I understand. Your husband asked me to brew you some tea?”
Nicki smiled to herself, flooded with warmth from the extent of Tyler’s care. “It’s in a little container in the cabinet to the right of the sink,” she directed, watching as Amelia followed her directions.
“Yup, that’s it. Took me a day to bag all of those, the tea came loose. Some kind of herbal mumbo
jumbo.”
“Sometimes that mumbo jumbo is the best remedy,” Amelia laughed as she found the teapot and filled it with water.
“The mugs are in that cabinet,” Nicki said, pointing to her left. The dizziness had abated, but the risk of getting off of the island was not one she was about to face without the strength and support of Tyler’s arms. She waited in silence as her acquaintance took care of her as if she was a daughter. The bond she felt with other women when pregnant increased ten fold, like there was some unspoken rule that women had to look out for those who were carrying children. When a steaming mug was placed by her side and Amelia took a seat on a stool in front of her, she decided to take advantage of the boys’ absence. “Is there anything we need to know about Liam?”
“Well, that depends on what you mean. If you’re worried about his mental state, I can assure you although he’s been through a lot, he’s a perfectly normal four year old boy. You’ve seen that he’s a bit shy, but it’s my hope that once he has a good home and starts his schooling he’ll blossom socially like the rest of our children have.” There was a momentary lull in conversation as Nicki tried to find another question she could ask. “Your husband mentioned that you didn’t have an easy time growing up, either. I know it’s not my place, but I think that might help form a stronger bond between you and Liam. You’re someone who can relate to what he’s felt, and what he’ll feel as he grows up with the memories of his childhood. I can’t thank you enough for bringing this boy in… I have to say, I wasn’t sure if he would ever make it out of the system. Potential parents, they like the talkative, friendly children. They tend to overlook the quiet ones.”
Nicki took a sip of the piping hot tea, letting it slide down her throat and calm her still unsteady nerves. “From what I’ve seen, Liam is anything but quiet. Although he’s extremely polite for a boy who grew up on the streets of Boston.”
“You can thank his mother for that,” she said, a soft smile pulling at her pruned cheeks. “And you can thank your husband for his liveliness. He’s the first person that Liam’s opened up to, and I can see why. If your hero popped up when you needed him most, wouldn’t you be a bit enamored?”
She nodded slowly, trying to let it sink in that someone could see her husband as a hero. Someone other than her. He thought she was being cute when she called him “her superman”. How blind he could be sometimes.
“Listen, Nicki, I don’t want to come off as rude when I ask this,” she hesitated, trying to get a read on Nicki’s expression. She sat coolly on the island, like she didn’t have a care in the world. “I’m simply looking out for Liam. Do you really think you’ll be able to take care of him the way he needs? I was pregnant once, I’m aware of how difficult it can become to do much of anything as you move further along… and once those twins are born, you’re really going to have your hands full. I don’t mean to imply – “
“We’ve thought this all through, believe me,” she answered, crossing her legs and leaning her weight back on her hands. “I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Tyler’s younger sister is coming to live with us and help out. Even then, I know it’s going to be difficult sometimes, especially when he’s on the road. But Liam needs a home, and at first that was what drove me to take him in. I don’t know if Ty mentioned this to you…” She paused, still having a hard time believing what she was about to say. “We’ve met Liam before. Back in the spring, when the miscarriage was still hanging over us, that was when he came up to us and asked for his autograph. And I thought to myself, I know he doesn’t look like either of us, but that could have been our little boy, in a few years time. I couldn’t get him out of my head, there was something so sweet about him, something that I didn’t notice in other kids. It almost seems like, well, fate.”
Amelia looked shocked, and Nicki gathered that it wasn’t something Tyler bothered to tell her. She shook her head in disbelief. “I understand that you and your husband aren’t religious people, but I have to tell you, this is God’s hand at work. There’s no other explanation.”
Although she could think of a couple of explanations, she decided to keep quiet. Just because she was skeptical of God didn’t mean that he didn’t exist, somewhere, in some form. In her life alone there had been dozens of instances that should have made her believe that there was a higher power at work.
Both girls smiled as excited footsteps made their way down the stairs, growing louder the closer they came to the kitchen. If Nicki didn’t know better, she could have sworn by their matching grins that Tyler and Liam were related. Maybe he was already picking up on Tyler’s habits.
“Did you pick a room sweetie?” she asked, about to hop down from the island when she caught Tyler’s eye. He crossed the room and lifted her underneath her arms to help her safely to the floor, swiftly touching his lips to the top of her head before giving her some space.
“Uh huh!” an ecstatic Liam shouted. “I picked the one with the giant window!”
“Oh, that’s a good choice!” she said, suddenly matching his excitement. “What color do you want the walls to be?”
“Uhh… my favorite color is red. Is red okay?”
Nicki tousled his hair before inching by him and sifting through one of their messy kitchen drawers. Underneath stacks of old mail and coupons, she found the booklet of paint samples they used when they first moved in. On her way back to Liam she flipped through the pages in pursuit of the color she saw in her mind. “How about this one?” She showed him the booklet, pointing to a maroon swatch.
“I like that,” he responded, tilting his head as he examined it. “It reminds me of Fall. Fall’s my favorite season.”
“Fall’s my favorite season too,” she murmured, overwhelmed with feelings for this boy that she barely knew. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his tiny forehead. In the midst of the act,
Nicki realized she was unsure if they had established that level of comfort yet. But Liam stayed still; he didn’t back away or squirm. When she pulled back, she was met with beautiful green eyes, ones that held emotions not too different from her own.
“Uh, listen babe,” Tyler started shyly, very aware that he was about to break up a moment. “Some of the guys texted me, Patrice is organizing some kind of workout or something at the Garden. I’m gonna take Amelia and Liam back on my way. Will you be okay for a few hours?”
Standing up and backing away from Liam, she used a stool to support her still wobbly body.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
He glanced at Amelia, giving her the heads up to take Liam out to the car so that they could have a minute. She smiled and said a farewell to Nicki before placing a hand on Liam’s shoulder.
“Wait!” he said, breaking away from her. Her ran up to Nicki and threw his arms around her legs.
“I’m gonna miss you.”
“I’m gonna miss you too, honey,” she whispered as her eyes filled up with tears. “Just one more day, then you’ll be here for good.”
“One day’s a long time.”
“It’ll go by in the blink of an eye,” she assured him, rubbing his bony back. “And if you get lonely, you ask Ms. Amelia to borrow her phone. She’ll give you our number, and we can talk as much as you want.”
“Really?”
“Really. I promise it’ll be Thursday in no time.”
He looked up at her, and that was the moment she truly fell in love with him. That was all it took; just a few nice words and the trust in his eyes. She remembered being young, afraid and sometimes alone, and how much it meant to her when a someone would take care of her. She saw a part of herself in him, a part that was long gone, thanks to the life given to her by Tyler.
It tore her apart to watch him leave, and she wanted to find some way that he could spend the night with them. She wanted his company while Tyler was gone, she wanted to know all about him, and find other things they had in common. She wanted to learn all of his hopes, all of his dreams for the future. She needed to know his fears, and figure out how to protect him from them at all costs.
A pair of hands on her hips disrupted her thoughts, and a thick body eclipsed her view of her new son. Her eyes travelled up slowly, appreciating each dip in Tyler’s tee shirt as it draped over his abs. Before she could meet his eyes, her scan was interrupted by a pair of warm lips on her forehead.
“You were so good with him,” he whispered, pulling her into a gentle, cozy hug. “He really likes you, Nicki. He wouldn’t stop talking about you when we were upstairs. Said you remind him of his mom.”
Nicki’s vision became foggy as the wetness that had been building up finally escaped her eyes. She sobbed into his solid shoulder, calming herself much quicker than she normally did. After sniffling a bit, her head finally rose to face her husband.
“You’re going to be the most amazing mother to this kid, I just know it,” he said, brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I’m so proud of you.” His forehead fell to hers, and she breathed in his scent, spiraling into a state of bliss.
“Why?” she asked, unwilling to remove herself from him.
His arms reached higher, locking around her shoulders. His heavy head dropped to her shoulder and she was overcome with love, both from him and for him. “Because,” he started, his breath warm on her neck. “You’re taking on so much, for me, and for Liam, even for our babies. You should never have gone along with all of this; you should have been a little bit selfish and told me that there was no way in hell that we could manage taking care of a kid right now. I know you felt that way, at least when I first brought it up. But you gave me a chance, you gave him a chance. And I can already tell that you’d do anything for him, the same way you’d do for me and our children. You amaze me, babe. You always have.”
Unable to form a worthy response, she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. “You should get going, Ty.”
He lifted his head from her shoulder and nodded, somehow giving her the feeling that he didn’t want to leave. “I know, I’m going. Promise me you’ll stay in, okay? Don’t do anything strenuous. I’ll be back before you know it.” His lips found hers one last time, lingering much longer than they should have. It did nothing but leave her wanting more.
Watching as he turned his back and left, it dawned on Nicki that this may be one of the last times that she was left alone in their big, empty house.
** * * *
Tyler inhaled a long breath of fresh AC as he walked through his front door, a grin spreading wide across his face the second he entered the foyer. Most of the lights in the house were off, but he saw Nicki through the window as he pulled his car into the garage. She’d been sitting in the kitchen, in the same place he’d left her three hours ago.
The deeper into the house he moved, the stronger a mouthwatering scent became. His smile doubling in size as he realized that she must have made him something for dinner. He nearly tripped over Marshall’s sleeping body in the doorway to the kitchen, most likely because he was too focused on the form in front of him. It was ridiculous and pathetic, but he’d missed her terribly, since the moment he walked out of the door.
Nicki heard his clumsy footsteps and turned on the stool, with a smile matching his own. “Hi
baby.”
“Hey,” he said, exchanging hello’s the same way they always did. Somehow, it never failed to make his heart soar. He placed a hand in the center of her back and sat on the stool next to her, peering over her arm at a piece of paper that she was pondering over. “Whatcha doing?”
She turned her head to look at him, and he watched as her hair fell gently in front of her face.
“Making a To-Do list for tomorrow. It’s gonna be one long day,” she sighed, looking at the list like it was some kind of monster.
“It won’t be so bad. We’ll be together all day,” he reminded her, earning a soft giggle of agreement.
“So what’s on the agenda?”
“I think the most important thing is to get Liam’s room ready. Then we have to go shopping for the party on Thursday. We should probably get him some clothes too, just to last until we have the time to take him. I doubt he’s got much. Uhh… I should most likely clean the guest bathrooms, at least the ones your mom and dad will be using. Then there’s Lisa’s room. And the one Cass wants. And, shit, looks like Bella’s gonna have to sleep on the couch, or with her parents. I never thought this place would get so crowded,” she admitted, leaning her head against his shoulder. “It feels good.”
Tyler left a kiss on her head and rested his cheek on top of it. “So I told the guys.”
“What’d they say?”
“Well, Tuuk thought we were nuts. Bergy gave me a pat on the back. And Looch told me to treat you like a queen, and if I didn’t he’d kick the shit out of me.”
Jolly laughter filled the room, something that had been far too rare over the past year. “Milan, always looking out for me. I bet Liam’s gonna go nuts when he gets to meet all of them.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” he mumbled, briefly caught up in thoughts of turning Liam’s life around, in a big way. “By the way, they offered to help tomorrow if we need it. I figured they could help paint or something.”
“Oh, Ty, that would be perfect. I feel like I owe them all my life.”
“Nah, they love you. A hell of a lot more than they love me,” he said, grinning. He took his cheek off of her head and scanned over the list she’d made. “I see you got my hint about the swing set.”
“I know you, and all of your antics Ty,” she chuckled. “If we’re gonna have a bunch of kids running around, I think a swing set is a great idea. You know, I’ve always wanted to have sex on a swing…”
“You are not going to make this easy, are you?” he teased, roughing up her hair, much to her dismay. “I’m already trying to plan sneaky ways to get it on with a kid in the house.”
“Oh yeah?” she asked, her interest obviously piqued. “Got anything good?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Nothing. I figured I’d just leave it up to you.”
“I’m sure I can come up with something,” she purred, moving her hand carefully up his thigh. “But for now, what do you say to us celebrating our last few nights alone in the house?”
His eyes squinted and his lips pursed, evoking a playful giggle from Nicki. “You got it babe,” he said, making his voice much deeper than it naturally was. Tyler cupped one of her cheeks in his hand, trying to etch into his brain every detail of every second that passed. Their lives were about to change drastically, and he looked forward to it. But after this, there was no turning back. They would no longer have the freedom they had now, not for another two decades. It wouldn’t just be the two of them anymore. There would be another person to care for, someone who would hog the love that they had for each other.
He dug into his pocket, searching for his iPhone. To distract Nicki he leaned forward, kissing her softly as he looked over her shoulder at his phone. After pressing play, he let his phone fall to the island and closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss that was doomed to end the moment she heard the music.
”Hey pretty girl won’t you look my way,
Love’s in the air tonight.
You can bet you’d make this old boy’s day,
Hey pretty girl won’t you look my way.”
Once he felt Nicki’s smile against his lips, he stepped down from the stool and offered up his hands.
“Can I have this dance?”
He glanced over at her for support, and found her to be off in her own world. She was staring straight ahead, eyes glued to the enormous manila folder on the desk in front of them. Tyler had to assume that it belonged to the boy they were about to meet, and guessed that thickness wasn’t a good thing when it came to records like that. His hands crossed in his lap, thumbs twiddling to keep him busy. If he checked his watch again, he risked losing his mind altogether. They’d been waiting more than a half an hour for Amelia to return and to meet their possible son.
Hoping to pass the time with some conversation, he looked at Nicki. “How ya doing?” he asked simply.
“Been better,” she muttered, her legs shaking ferociously beneath her.
“Are you nervous?”
Finally she looked at him. “Of course I’m nervous, Ty. We walked in here, and all of the sudden it dawned on me that I might be walking out as a mother. That’s just…”
“Weird,” he finished for her, watching as she nodded her head.
“I feel like we didn’t have any time to adjust, we don’t even have a room ready for him, I don’t know what kind of shit kids like to eat – “
“Hey,” he said, interrupting her rambling. “If you aren’t ready for this, it’s fine. Just tell me before we sign anything. I can’t deal with us bringing this kid home and you wanting to change your mind, because you can’t.”
“Tyler, I’m not an idiot,” she snapped. She leaned back into her seat and sighed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. You know how I get when I’m nervous.”
He reached across the space between their chairs to grab her hand. She accepted it instantly, wrapping her fingers around his and playing with them absentmindedly. A tiny bit of relief surfaced at the familiar feel of her hands, and knowing that something so simple could help calm the both of them down. He would never admit it, but he felt the same way she did. Their lives were very possibly about to turn upside down, and it seemed both too rash and too sudden.
While he was trying to think of something comforting to say to her, there was a knock on the door and it swung open. They both turned in their chairs and looked over their shoulders as Amelia crept into the room.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” she said, sounding frazzled and out of breath, “Some of the children got in a fight, it was a bit messy.” Amelia must have noticed their worried expressions, and she put her hands up and smiled. “Don’t worry, Liam wasn’t involved. He mostly keeps to himself. He’s extremely well behaved, but a bit reserved, as we went over on the phone.”
Tyler nodded, but his mind wasn’t taking part in the conversation the way his body was. Liam. Liam was the boy who he might be taking under his wing, the boy he might be raising as his own.
“So, do we get to meet him?” Nicki asked quietly, still fiddling with his hand.
Amelia’s smile grew wider. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll bring you both out to see him.”
“I’m ready,” he said.
He’d been ready since the moment they stepped into the building. It was his hope that once he met the little boy, the fears and the worries would disappear. The most he could wish for was to have a natural bond with him, and for Nicki to feel the same.
“I am too.”
Clapping her hands together excitedly, Amelia ushered them out of their seats and into the hallway. The adoption center was a remodeled school, which seemed fitting to hold a bunch of children. The inside was relatively nice, but it didn’t have the homey feel that he knew a child would crave. They were led outside, to one of the biggest playgrounds Tyler had ever seen. He scanned over all of the kids running around and playing, their ages ranged anywhere from toddler to teenager. It broke his heart to think that some of the kids before him would remain there until adulthood, never knowing the loving embrace or the wise advice of parents. Now, more than ever, he was ready to face the challenge before them.
Tyler didn’t have to be introduced to figure out which boy was Liam. He was the only one not playing with a group; he was by himself, inspecting a field of clovers. But it wasn’t the lack of socializing that gave it away. He’d met Liam before. He was the same boy who asked for his autograph the day at Chipotle, when Nicki had an episode over losing their baby. He was the same face that haunted his dreams night after night, remembering how devastated she had looked when this sweet little boy came up to him.
“Oh my God,” he said under his breath, trying to rub his eyes to make sure that he was fully awake.
Luckily, Nicki didn’t hear him. It would only have worried her, anyhow. He tried to keep calm as Amelia showed them the way, directly to the boy with the sand colored hair, searching for four leaf clovers.
“Tyler? Do you recognize him?” she asked hesitantly, clenching her hand tightly around his forearm.
“How is this possible?”
Amelia turned around, just before reaching the edges of the clover field.
“Are you two alright? You look a bit pale. If you’ve changed your minds – “
“No. No we haven’t changed our minds,” Nicki said flatly, slowly drifting towards the little boy.
Tyler followed, and watched as his figure cast a shadow over Liam’s work. He looked up, and the expression on his face seemed to match the ones on theirs.
“Mr. Seguin?”
Instantly, a smile threatened his lips. Liam mirrored him, grinning just as wide. Tyler took a knee to get down to his level, and could tell by the movement of Nicki’s shadow that she’d done the same.
“It’s nice to meet you again, Liam,” he said, sticking out his hand.
He took it eagerly and tried his best to give Tyler’s hand a firm squeeze.
“You too Mr. Seguin!”
“Do you remember my wife, Nicki? She was with me that day I signed the napkin of yours.”
Tyler glanced at her, feeling elated when he saw that her face was shining just as bright as his. It already felt right. He wasn’t uncomfortable, he didn’t feel afraid. He felt ready.
“Hi Liam,” she said shyly.
“Yeah, I remember you! My mommy thought you were really pretty.”
Her cheeks flushed and Tyler could barely hold back a laugh. Even a little kid could embarrass her. Speaking of which…
“How old are you bud?” he inquired, watching as he tried to hold up the correct number of fingers, just like Bella did.
“Four and a half!” he exclaimed proudly. There was a brief moment of silence, too short for anyone to bring up anything else. “Why are you here? Are you visiting like you did at that Elementary School?”
“Something like that, yeah. We’re friends with Amelia,” he explained, not wanting to give him any false hope. “We’re gonna go talk with her again really quick, but I promise we’ll be back to see you again, okay?”
“Okay, cool!”
He stood up, and was about to help Nicki to her feet when he noticed that she was carefully picking something out of the ground. She held it up to her face, inspecting it. After flashing a smirk at Tyler, she crawled forward and handed it out for Liam.
“Found one with four leaves,” she said, offering it to him.
“Are you giving it to me?”
“Yeah, I picked it for you. Make sure you get someone to take a picture of it, those are really hard to find.”
Tyler could have cried watching her interact with him. She was so sweet and nurturing to a boy that she’d really only known for a matter of minutes. It didn’t matter what she thought, or how much doubt she had. She was ready to be a parent.
“I will,” Liam promised, twirling the tiny green plant between his fingers. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure,” she said, giving his hair a soft tousle.
Nicki tried to push herself up, and there was no way Tyler was going to let her do it on her own. It had been a bad idea to let her squat anyways, with her equilibrium being so off. He grabbed her by the elbows and lifted her up, falling back a step when more weight than he had been expecting leaned against him. Stumbling a bit, she finally regained her balance, and laced her fingers between his as they trekked back to the spot where Amelia was waiting for them.
“So – “
“Ty, I don’t even think you have to ask.”
“So we’re seriously doing this,” he stated more than asked.
“I’m serious about it. I know we don’t know him that well, and it’s still a bit weird to me to think that we’re going to have a stranger in our house, but that felt so natural. I didn’t feel awkward around him like I thought I would.”
“Neither did I.” He stopped before they reached Amelia, tugging Nicki back by her arm. He placed his hands on her shoulders and held her gaze, looking for even an ounce of indecision. “This might be your last chance to back out, babe. Are you really ready for this?”
“Yes,” she answered simply.
It surprised him that she only had a one word response; he expected novel length explanations of everything she was thinking and feeling. Her tone of voice was firm and believable, however, so he didn’t question her. Amelia saw them coming and headed over to them, sparing them the short walk up the grassy hill that they’d come from.
“How did it go?” she asked, stepping between them and putting a hand on each of their backs.
“Better than expected.”
“Wonderful.”
“Does this mean Liam has a family?”
The two of them exchanged nods, and Amelia let out a small squeal of delight.
“Did you tell him why you were here?”
“Not really,” Tyler responded, taking a deep, luxurious breath of AC as they stepped back into the building. “He asked if I was here to visit, and I just went along with it.”
“That’s fine, we still have some paperwork to deal with anyhow. We usually let the adoptive parents break the news, would you both be interested in doing that? Or would you rather I took care of it?”
“I’d like to do it,” Nicki said quickly. “If that’s what you want.”
“Course I want to.”
“Lovely! You can choose to do it whenever you’re ready. If you have the time, we can get through all of this paperwork today and send it in for verification this afternoon. It should only take twenty four hours to process, so you’d be looking at taking him home on Thursday. I know it’s a holiday, but I almost feel as though it would aid him in adapting to his new home. He’s probably never celebrated the Fourth of July before, and I think the new, fun experiences could ease some of the tension that children normally feel when transitioning out of our system.”
“I think Thursday would be fine, is that okay with you Ty?”
He tried not to look at her like she had three heads. Thursday wasn’t soon enough. Tyler wanted to take him home that very instant, he wanted to start getting to know the boy he would eventually be comfortable calling his son.
“Actually, I don’t know if this is allowed,” he said hesitantly, unsure of how Amelia would react.
“But is there any way he could come home with us today? Not to stay, just so that he can see where he’s going to be living. And it would be nice to let him pick out his room so we can redecorate before he moves in.”
Amelia opened the door to her office for them, and waited for them to sit down before she answered his question.
“Technically, no, you aren’t allowed to bring them home until the paperwork is finalized.” His head hung, it had been stupid of him to get his hopes up. “But,” she continued, “If I came along as his supervisor, I don’t see any problem with that.”
** * * *
“Which one of us is gonna do it?” Tyler asked.
Nicki slung an arm around his waist as they peered across the playground, watching their new son playing alone on the swings.
“I think you should do it. Did you see his face when he realized who was walking up to him?”
He nodded and quickly pressed his lips to the top of her head.
“Let’s do this, then.”
Her arm fell from his waist, only to grab his hand as they stepped onto the squishy material that covered the rough asphalt that the playground was built on. Nicki’s heart was beating faster than it ever had before, and she couldn’t seem to figure out why she was so nervous in the first place.
There was no doubt in her mind that Liam would be ecstatic to hear the news. She squeezed Tyler’s hand for some extra support, and when his thumb rubbed back and forth across her skin, she threw her shoulders back and swallowed her nerves. It was going to be an adjustment, but it was nothing they couldn’t handle. Together.
When Liam saw that they were coming towards him, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.
“You came back!” he shouted, kicking his legs as he swung.
“I told you we would,” Tyler said, letting go of Nicki’s hand to take the swing next to him.
She did the same, and soon they were on either side of Liam, waiting for his swinging to cease so that they could talk to him.
“You like swings?” Nicki asked, trying to get to know him as much as she could in such a short amount of time.
“I love them! They’re my favorite! There was a swing set near where I used to live, my mommy used to take me there all the time.”
Tyler shot her a look, and she knew that the next day they would be hard at work in the backyard, assembling a swing set.
“Listen Liam, I have something to ask you buddy.”
“Sure Mr. Seguin! What is it?”
His little legs tried to touch the ground to stop the motion of his swing, but they couldn’t quite reach. At the same time, Nicki and Tyler reached out to grab a chain, holding it still. Neither of them could hide the smiles on their faces, and she felt an overwhelming urge to lean over and kiss him.
“First of all, you can call me Tyler. None of this Mr. Seguin business.”
Liam giggled and started to twist the chains attached to the swing, oscillating himself back and forth, so that he was facing Tyler one second and Nicki the next.
“Okay Tyler!”
“Much better,” he said, switching his focus between her and Liam. “So how do you like living here?”
“Um, it’s okay I guess. I wish my mommy was here, but Ms. Amelia acts kind of like a mommy sometimes. She makes us breakfast and stuff.”
Tyler nodded and looked to Nicki one last time before asking, “How would you like to come live with us?”
The little boy’s sparkling green eyes grew as wide as saucers.
“Really?”
“Really,” Nicki said, smiling warmly at him.
“That would be so cool!” he exclaimed, rocketing off of the swing to stand in front of them.
They rose with him and knelt again, hoping not to intimidate him the way adults sometimes did to children.
“Are… are you gonna be my daddy?”
Nicki nearly choked at the mention of the word. She glanced at Tyler, whose eyes had begun to water. He stayed quiet, most likely because he was afraid he would lose it if he tried to speak. She placed a hand in the center of his back, hoping to relax him, although she wasn’t sure if it was possible. Finally, he was getting what he wanted so desperately.
“If you want me to be,” he said, his voice coming out strained and crackly.
Liam nodded viciously and ran into his arms. He whispered something in Tyler’s ear, something that made his hug grow twice as tight. As strange as it was, she was sure that she could already feel the bond forming between them. She knew her husband well enough to see in his eyes that he was in love with this boy. The moment they approached him, bent over in the small clover field, a part of his heart belonged to him. Although it saddened her slightly to know that she would no longer be the only object of his affections, it was beautiful to watch him change and shift in front her, from a man to a father.
“Is everyone ready to go?” a voice asked from behind them.
They turned to see Amelia standing at the edge of the playground, holding Liam’s backpack in her hand.
“Where are we going?” he inquired excitedly, pulling away from Tyler and running forward to take
his bag.
“We’re going to see your new home, Liam.”
** * * *
“Woah this car looks just like Iron Man’s!” Liam shouted as Tyler strapped him into the car seat that he’d so conveniently decided to bring, just in case.
He laughed and connected the buckle around his tiny stomach.
“You like superheroes?”
“Yeah, they’re like, the coolest!”
Tyler smiled before shutting his door and climbing into the driver’s seat. They had a bit of a drive ahead of them, and figured he might be able to utilize the time together to get to know Liam.
“Who’s your favorite superhero?” he asked, placing a hand on Nicki’s thigh.
He could feel both her apprehension and her excitement. It went without saying that there would be a string of long, emotional talks later that night, once they were home and alone. But for now, she seemed content, tracing over the back of his hand the way she had done so many car rides before.
“I dunno if I can choose,” Liam said, “Spiderman is pretty awesome, but I like Batman because he’s really just a normal guy, did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah! His name is Bruce Wayne and he’s got lots of money so he builds all this stuff to fight crime and put the bad guys in jail! You got lots of money too, right? You could be batman!”
Everyone in the car chuckled a little, and Liam’s delighted laugh rang through Tyler’s ears. He probably had no idea why they were laughing, but he went along with it anyways.
“I could be Batman,” he said, playing along, “But then I’d have to give up playing hockey.”
“You can’t stop! You’re my favorite player!”
The fingers that were once so busy on his hand came to a halt. They laced between his own, and the warmth from Nicki’s palm was incredibly soothing. His eyes darted quickly from the road to look at her, only long enough to catch a glimpse of the tears falling down her cheeks. Until then,
Tyler hadn’t considered the emotional effects this whole thing might have on her. She was already the most sensitive person he knew, and she’d become a bit unstable from being pregnant. Of course it would take a toll on her to adopt a child, even if she was as happy about it as he was.
“Do you watch a lot of hockey?” Nicki asked, trying to hide the fact that she was quietly sobbing in the passenger seat.
“I used to! In the winter when it was real cold, the restaurants near where I used to live would let me come in, and sometimes they would even give me food! I watched it on the big TVs in there. But I wanted to go to a game soooo bad, because I was right across the street and I could hear all the cheering and it seemed really really fun!”
There was a squeeze on Tyler’s hand, and without looking at her, he knew exactly what she was trying to tell him. It was impossible to ignore Liam’s blissful ignorance. He had no idea just how badly he had it. It seemed as though he didn’t think of being homeless as a bad thing, rather as the way his life had panned out. He couldn’t figure out whether he was too young to understand the seriousness of his situation or if his mother had brainwashed him into thinking it was normal.
Either way, it was probably for the best. Tyler had to briefly worry about the way Liam would grow up, if he would see things differently than other children did. Maybe it wasn’t too late to change the way he thought about things.
“Well you can come to all of the games this year if you want, you even get to sit in a special box,”
Tyler said, “Nicki goes to all of them, too.”
In the backseat, there was silence.
“You okay honey?” Amelia asked.
“I can go to all of them?”
Looking at him through the mirror, Tyler saw that Liam’s face was currently the spitting image of Nicki’s. His sea green eyes were bloodshot, his childish, rosy cheeks were stained with tears, and his body language emitted a range of emotions that he couldn’t comprehend.
“Of course you can,” he said, unsure of what else could possibly lighten the mood. “So do you like animals?”
He seemed to be distracted by the question and instantly perked up.
“Some of ‘em!”
“What about dogs?”
“Dogs are kinda scary,” he mumbled.
“Well I’m just warning ya bud, we have a dog. But I promise he’s the nicest dog you’ll ever meet. Do you think that’ll be okay?”
That was another thing that he had never thought of. Tyler’s family always had a dog or two running around, and it was obvious the first time Nicki came to his apartment that it wouldn’t be an issue for her. Marshall was like a child to them; he didn’t even want to consider what they would do if Liam couldn’t live with him.
A muted “Maybe,” was the only answer he received.
Tyler searched wildly for something else to say. There was so much that he needed to learn about the boy in his backseat, much more than he could absorb in a single car ride. He wished that he could know everything about him that day, but was wiser than that. It would take months, years even, until he truly understood who he was.
Failing to come up with anything, he leaned back in his seat and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. To his right was a crying wife. Behind him was a boy who had probably already lived through more than the both of them combined, and a woman who was oblivious to everything going on around her. Suddenly, he began to feel overwhelmed. Nicki was already a handful sometimes, and they had two more on the way. What made him think that he could take care of four people, when he could barely take care of one?
Busy, frantic thoughts ran rampant through his mind for the remainder of the drive, and relief shot through him as he reached the driveway, hoping Liam might cheer up and get excited all over again. Luckily, his wish came true.
“Is that your house?!”
“It’s yours now too, sweetie,” Nicki said softly, nonchalantly brushing her fingers down Tyler’s arm.
A smile threatened to ruin his gloomy expression, and eventually it won. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. It could be so easy to forget sometimes that he had a partner in crime, someone who was always first on the scene when it came to dealing with his issues and making him feel better.
If she thought they were ready to take on such a life changing challenge, then they were. She would never agree to anything of that magnitude if she wasn’t entirely sure that they would be able to do it.
“This is where I get to live?!”
Tyler chuckled, keeping Nicki’s hand firmly in his own as he pulled up the drive. “Just wait til you see the inside, Nicki spent a lot of time making it really nice.”
“What about my room?”
“You can pick whatever bedroom you want honey, as long as it’s not ours,” Nicki answered.
After putting the car in park and cutting the engine, he took a moment to look at her. Whatever had come over her just minutes ago seemed to have faded; her eyes were sparkling again and the tiny smile that always rested on her face had returned.
Amelia took over the task of getting Liam out of his car seat, and Tyler seized the moment and pulled Nicki flush against him, briefly catching a glimpse of surprise on her face before pressing a reassuring kiss on her lips. He was already learning that they would have significantly less time to be affectionate, and promised himself that every chance he got, he would make sure they took advantage of it.
Nicki stared up at him; her pretty face was flushed, but calm. Dragging the back of a finger along the side of her cheek, he whispered a quiet “I love you,” before joining Amelia and Liam, who were waiting patiently to be taken inside.
“You ready Liam?” he asked, extending a hand for him to hold. He was tall for a four year old, and didn’t struggle like Bella did when it came to reaching his hand. Liam accepted it graciously, and when Tyler looked down he could see the mammoth sized grin that covered almost half of his
face.
The whole group remained quiet on the walk up to the front door, and when they stepped through the doorway and into the foyer, a gasp came from below them.
“It looks like a castle,” Liam whispered in amazement, breaking away from Tyler to explore. They stood and watched as he approached the grand marble staircases tentatively. He ran his hands across the iron railings, paying close attention to the details that had been carved into them back when the house was built.
From the living room came the familiar thundering that they always associated with Marshall’s presence, and Tyler held his breath, waiting to see how Liam would react. When Marshall finally appeared, Liam was obviously frightened by his size and ran as fast as he could to hide behind Nicki.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Tyler cooed, taking a knee on the floor. “He’s a good boy, he won’t hurt you. Here, watch.” He made eye contact with his dog, who seemed a tad confused about why someone had just sprinted away from him. “Marshall, sit,” he commanded. Pride filled him as he did what he said, and he threw out a “Stay,” as he got up, only to kneel again by Marshall’s side.
From there he could see Liam clinging to Nicki’s leg, as though his life was about to end.
“Liam, sweetie, if I go pet the dog, will you come with me?” Nicki somehow detached him from her leg, and began slowly inching across the room. He watched as her soothing tone convinced Liam to face his fears and walk towards Marshall. He stopped halfway and looked back at Nicki for assurance. “I’m still here, hon,” she said, following a foot or so behind.
Tyler motioned forward with his hand, trying to show him that it was alright. Marshall stayed put on the floor beside him, staring at the stranger who was timidly approaching him. Eventually, Liam was just inches away, and he looked at Tyler for confirmation that it was okay. He nodded and smiled, showing him what to do by running a hand across Marshall’s soft fur. Liam copied him, and his obedient dog stayed still as stone the entire time. Once he started to laugh and became more comfortable, a long, sloppy tongue stuck out and licked his face.
A little boy’s giggles filled the room, a sound Tyler was sure he would never hear echoing through his hallways. Nicki and Amelia closed in on them, and a very familiar hand landed on Liam’s head, gently stroking his fluffy, blonde hair. It was then he knew that she was just as in love as he was; that this unfortunate child was the beginning of something they’d been searching for so desperately.
“So are you gonna be okay with Marshall?” he asked, praying that Liam had come around.
“Yeah, I like Marshall,” Liam murmured, playing with Marshall’s silky ear.
“I bet you’ll end up – “
Tyler was off of his feet in milliseconds. He recognized the way Nicki’s voice trailed off, and caught her just before she hit the floor. Her body was heavier than normal in his arms, and panic took no time to set in.
“Are you okay?” he asked frantically, letting himself fall to the ground and propping her up on his lap. Her head lolled back onto his shoulder, momentarily seeming unconscious. “Can you hear me? Nicki?”
A dull moan came from her partially opened mouth, allowing his heart to begin beating again. He slid backwards against the wall, using it as support while he lifted her off of the floor. She tried to help, but the moment her legs tried to support her weight she collapsed again.
“Just let me help you,” he whispered, dragging her into the kitchen and lifting her onto the island.
“Don’t let Liam see,” she said, obviously straining to get the words out.
“Why? I’m sure – “
“Because Ty, were supposed to be taking care of him. How can he depend on us if I can’t even take care of myself? Take him upstairs, show him the rest of the house.”
“I can’t just – “
“Tyler,” she snapped, gaining a bit of her strength back. “Do this for me. Please.”
He trapped her face in his hands, nodding as he realized he didn’t have any other option. After placing a gentle kiss on her lips, he turned to leave her. Tyler walked quickly, afraid that something might happen in his absence.
“Is she okay?” Liam asked, now sitting on the floor beside Marshall.
“She’s not feeling so good right now,” he explained. Turning to Amelia, he asked, “Can you go in the kitchen and make her some tea? She’ll tell you where it is.”
“Of course.” He tried to dismiss Amelia’s concerned expression. Although she knew quite a bit about them, she didn’t know the details of Nicki’s pregnancy, and she wasn’t around to see the effects it had on her. Waiting for her to disappear from the foyer, he grabbed Liam’s hand again and grinned.
“You wanna go pick out your room?”
** * * *
“Are you alright, sweetheart?” Amelia placed a warm hand on the top of Nicki’s thigh, instantly comforting her, the way a grandmother might. She stared into her wrinkled, grey eyes, finding nothing but true interest and worry.
“It’s a pregnancy thing,” she said passively. “It’s actually how we found out. With all of the complications – “
“Ah, no need to go any further darling, I understand. Your husband asked me to brew you some tea?”
Nicki smiled to herself, flooded with warmth from the extent of Tyler’s care. “It’s in a little container in the cabinet to the right of the sink,” she directed, watching as Amelia followed her directions.
“Yup, that’s it. Took me a day to bag all of those, the tea came loose. Some kind of herbal mumbo
jumbo.”
“Sometimes that mumbo jumbo is the best remedy,” Amelia laughed as she found the teapot and filled it with water.
“The mugs are in that cabinet,” Nicki said, pointing to her left. The dizziness had abated, but the risk of getting off of the island was not one she was about to face without the strength and support of Tyler’s arms. She waited in silence as her acquaintance took care of her as if she was a daughter. The bond she felt with other women when pregnant increased ten fold, like there was some unspoken rule that women had to look out for those who were carrying children. When a steaming mug was placed by her side and Amelia took a seat on a stool in front of her, she decided to take advantage of the boys’ absence. “Is there anything we need to know about Liam?”
“Well, that depends on what you mean. If you’re worried about his mental state, I can assure you although he’s been through a lot, he’s a perfectly normal four year old boy. You’ve seen that he’s a bit shy, but it’s my hope that once he has a good home and starts his schooling he’ll blossom socially like the rest of our children have.” There was a momentary lull in conversation as Nicki tried to find another question she could ask. “Your husband mentioned that you didn’t have an easy time growing up, either. I know it’s not my place, but I think that might help form a stronger bond between you and Liam. You’re someone who can relate to what he’s felt, and what he’ll feel as he grows up with the memories of his childhood. I can’t thank you enough for bringing this boy in… I have to say, I wasn’t sure if he would ever make it out of the system. Potential parents, they like the talkative, friendly children. They tend to overlook the quiet ones.”
Nicki took a sip of the piping hot tea, letting it slide down her throat and calm her still unsteady nerves. “From what I’ve seen, Liam is anything but quiet. Although he’s extremely polite for a boy who grew up on the streets of Boston.”
“You can thank his mother for that,” she said, a soft smile pulling at her pruned cheeks. “And you can thank your husband for his liveliness. He’s the first person that Liam’s opened up to, and I can see why. If your hero popped up when you needed him most, wouldn’t you be a bit enamored?”
She nodded slowly, trying to let it sink in that someone could see her husband as a hero. Someone other than her. He thought she was being cute when she called him “her superman”. How blind he could be sometimes.
“Listen, Nicki, I don’t want to come off as rude when I ask this,” she hesitated, trying to get a read on Nicki’s expression. She sat coolly on the island, like she didn’t have a care in the world. “I’m simply looking out for Liam. Do you really think you’ll be able to take care of him the way he needs? I was pregnant once, I’m aware of how difficult it can become to do much of anything as you move further along… and once those twins are born, you’re really going to have your hands full. I don’t mean to imply – “
“We’ve thought this all through, believe me,” she answered, crossing her legs and leaning her weight back on her hands. “I haven’t stopped thinking about it. Tyler’s younger sister is coming to live with us and help out. Even then, I know it’s going to be difficult sometimes, especially when he’s on the road. But Liam needs a home, and at first that was what drove me to take him in. I don’t know if Ty mentioned this to you…” She paused, still having a hard time believing what she was about to say. “We’ve met Liam before. Back in the spring, when the miscarriage was still hanging over us, that was when he came up to us and asked for his autograph. And I thought to myself, I know he doesn’t look like either of us, but that could have been our little boy, in a few years time. I couldn’t get him out of my head, there was something so sweet about him, something that I didn’t notice in other kids. It almost seems like, well, fate.”
Amelia looked shocked, and Nicki gathered that it wasn’t something Tyler bothered to tell her. She shook her head in disbelief. “I understand that you and your husband aren’t religious people, but I have to tell you, this is God’s hand at work. There’s no other explanation.”
Although she could think of a couple of explanations, she decided to keep quiet. Just because she was skeptical of God didn’t mean that he didn’t exist, somewhere, in some form. In her life alone there had been dozens of instances that should have made her believe that there was a higher power at work.
Both girls smiled as excited footsteps made their way down the stairs, growing louder the closer they came to the kitchen. If Nicki didn’t know better, she could have sworn by their matching grins that Tyler and Liam were related. Maybe he was already picking up on Tyler’s habits.
“Did you pick a room sweetie?” she asked, about to hop down from the island when she caught Tyler’s eye. He crossed the room and lifted her underneath her arms to help her safely to the floor, swiftly touching his lips to the top of her head before giving her some space.
“Uh huh!” an ecstatic Liam shouted. “I picked the one with the giant window!”
“Oh, that’s a good choice!” she said, suddenly matching his excitement. “What color do you want the walls to be?”
“Uhh… my favorite color is red. Is red okay?”
Nicki tousled his hair before inching by him and sifting through one of their messy kitchen drawers. Underneath stacks of old mail and coupons, she found the booklet of paint samples they used when they first moved in. On her way back to Liam she flipped through the pages in pursuit of the color she saw in her mind. “How about this one?” She showed him the booklet, pointing to a maroon swatch.
“I like that,” he responded, tilting his head as he examined it. “It reminds me of Fall. Fall’s my favorite season.”
“Fall’s my favorite season too,” she murmured, overwhelmed with feelings for this boy that she barely knew. She leaned forward, pressing her lips to his tiny forehead. In the midst of the act,
Nicki realized she was unsure if they had established that level of comfort yet. But Liam stayed still; he didn’t back away or squirm. When she pulled back, she was met with beautiful green eyes, ones that held emotions not too different from her own.
“Uh, listen babe,” Tyler started shyly, very aware that he was about to break up a moment. “Some of the guys texted me, Patrice is organizing some kind of workout or something at the Garden. I’m gonna take Amelia and Liam back on my way. Will you be okay for a few hours?”
Standing up and backing away from Liam, she used a stool to support her still wobbly body.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”
He glanced at Amelia, giving her the heads up to take Liam out to the car so that they could have a minute. She smiled and said a farewell to Nicki before placing a hand on Liam’s shoulder.
“Wait!” he said, breaking away from her. Her ran up to Nicki and threw his arms around her legs.
“I’m gonna miss you.”
“I’m gonna miss you too, honey,” she whispered as her eyes filled up with tears. “Just one more day, then you’ll be here for good.”
“One day’s a long time.”
“It’ll go by in the blink of an eye,” she assured him, rubbing his bony back. “And if you get lonely, you ask Ms. Amelia to borrow her phone. She’ll give you our number, and we can talk as much as you want.”
“Really?”
“Really. I promise it’ll be Thursday in no time.”
He looked up at her, and that was the moment she truly fell in love with him. That was all it took; just a few nice words and the trust in his eyes. She remembered being young, afraid and sometimes alone, and how much it meant to her when a someone would take care of her. She saw a part of herself in him, a part that was long gone, thanks to the life given to her by Tyler.
It tore her apart to watch him leave, and she wanted to find some way that he could spend the night with them. She wanted his company while Tyler was gone, she wanted to know all about him, and find other things they had in common. She wanted to learn all of his hopes, all of his dreams for the future. She needed to know his fears, and figure out how to protect him from them at all costs.
A pair of hands on her hips disrupted her thoughts, and a thick body eclipsed her view of her new son. Her eyes travelled up slowly, appreciating each dip in Tyler’s tee shirt as it draped over his abs. Before she could meet his eyes, her scan was interrupted by a pair of warm lips on her forehead.
“You were so good with him,” he whispered, pulling her into a gentle, cozy hug. “He really likes you, Nicki. He wouldn’t stop talking about you when we were upstairs. Said you remind him of his mom.”
Nicki’s vision became foggy as the wetness that had been building up finally escaped her eyes. She sobbed into his solid shoulder, calming herself much quicker than she normally did. After sniffling a bit, her head finally rose to face her husband.
“You’re going to be the most amazing mother to this kid, I just know it,” he said, brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I’m so proud of you.” His forehead fell to hers, and she breathed in his scent, spiraling into a state of bliss.
“Why?” she asked, unwilling to remove herself from him.
His arms reached higher, locking around her shoulders. His heavy head dropped to her shoulder and she was overcome with love, both from him and for him. “Because,” he started, his breath warm on her neck. “You’re taking on so much, for me, and for Liam, even for our babies. You should never have gone along with all of this; you should have been a little bit selfish and told me that there was no way in hell that we could manage taking care of a kid right now. I know you felt that way, at least when I first brought it up. But you gave me a chance, you gave him a chance. And I can already tell that you’d do anything for him, the same way you’d do for me and our children. You amaze me, babe. You always have.”
Unable to form a worthy response, she wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. “You should get going, Ty.”
He lifted his head from her shoulder and nodded, somehow giving her the feeling that he didn’t want to leave. “I know, I’m going. Promise me you’ll stay in, okay? Don’t do anything strenuous. I’ll be back before you know it.” His lips found hers one last time, lingering much longer than they should have. It did nothing but leave her wanting more.
Watching as he turned his back and left, it dawned on Nicki that this may be one of the last times that she was left alone in their big, empty house.
** * * *
Tyler inhaled a long breath of fresh AC as he walked through his front door, a grin spreading wide across his face the second he entered the foyer. Most of the lights in the house were off, but he saw Nicki through the window as he pulled his car into the garage. She’d been sitting in the kitchen, in the same place he’d left her three hours ago.
The deeper into the house he moved, the stronger a mouthwatering scent became. His smile doubling in size as he realized that she must have made him something for dinner. He nearly tripped over Marshall’s sleeping body in the doorway to the kitchen, most likely because he was too focused on the form in front of him. It was ridiculous and pathetic, but he’d missed her terribly, since the moment he walked out of the door.
Nicki heard his clumsy footsteps and turned on the stool, with a smile matching his own. “Hi
baby.”
“Hey,” he said, exchanging hello’s the same way they always did. Somehow, it never failed to make his heart soar. He placed a hand in the center of her back and sat on the stool next to her, peering over her arm at a piece of paper that she was pondering over. “Whatcha doing?”
She turned her head to look at him, and he watched as her hair fell gently in front of her face.
“Making a To-Do list for tomorrow. It’s gonna be one long day,” she sighed, looking at the list like it was some kind of monster.
“It won’t be so bad. We’ll be together all day,” he reminded her, earning a soft giggle of agreement.
“So what’s on the agenda?”
“I think the most important thing is to get Liam’s room ready. Then we have to go shopping for the party on Thursday. We should probably get him some clothes too, just to last until we have the time to take him. I doubt he’s got much. Uhh… I should most likely clean the guest bathrooms, at least the ones your mom and dad will be using. Then there’s Lisa’s room. And the one Cass wants. And, shit, looks like Bella’s gonna have to sleep on the couch, or with her parents. I never thought this place would get so crowded,” she admitted, leaning her head against his shoulder. “It feels good.”
Tyler left a kiss on her head and rested his cheek on top of it. “So I told the guys.”
“What’d they say?”
“Well, Tuuk thought we were nuts. Bergy gave me a pat on the back. And Looch told me to treat you like a queen, and if I didn’t he’d kick the shit out of me.”
Jolly laughter filled the room, something that had been far too rare over the past year. “Milan, always looking out for me. I bet Liam’s gonna go nuts when he gets to meet all of them.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” he mumbled, briefly caught up in thoughts of turning Liam’s life around, in a big way. “By the way, they offered to help tomorrow if we need it. I figured they could help paint or something.”
“Oh, Ty, that would be perfect. I feel like I owe them all my life.”
“Nah, they love you. A hell of a lot more than they love me,” he said, grinning. He took his cheek off of her head and scanned over the list she’d made. “I see you got my hint about the swing set.”
“I know you, and all of your antics Ty,” she chuckled. “If we’re gonna have a bunch of kids running around, I think a swing set is a great idea. You know, I’ve always wanted to have sex on a swing…”
“You are not going to make this easy, are you?” he teased, roughing up her hair, much to her dismay. “I’m already trying to plan sneaky ways to get it on with a kid in the house.”
“Oh yeah?” she asked, her interest obviously piqued. “Got anything good?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Nothing. I figured I’d just leave it up to you.”
“I’m sure I can come up with something,” she purred, moving her hand carefully up his thigh. “But for now, what do you say to us celebrating our last few nights alone in the house?”
His eyes squinted and his lips pursed, evoking a playful giggle from Nicki. “You got it babe,” he said, making his voice much deeper than it naturally was. Tyler cupped one of her cheeks in his hand, trying to etch into his brain every detail of every second that passed. Their lives were about to change drastically, and he looked forward to it. But after this, there was no turning back. They would no longer have the freedom they had now, not for another two decades. It wouldn’t just be the two of them anymore. There would be another person to care for, someone who would hog the love that they had for each other.
He dug into his pocket, searching for his iPhone. To distract Nicki he leaned forward, kissing her softly as he looked over her shoulder at his phone. After pressing play, he let his phone fall to the island and closed his eyes, enjoying the kiss that was doomed to end the moment she heard the music.
”Hey pretty girl won’t you look my way,
Love’s in the air tonight.
You can bet you’d make this old boy’s day,
Hey pretty girl won’t you look my way.”
Once he felt Nicki’s smile against his lips, he stepped down from the stool and offered up his hands.
“Can I have this dance?”
Notes
Hi everyone! I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to get up, I had to deal with some family issues, but most importantly I could not for the life of me figure out how to write this chapter. It gave me a hard time, to say the least. But I think I really like how it came out, and I hope you all do too! Again, sorry I made you all wait so long!! Thank you SO much for reading <3PS, for any of you who saw Tyler's Instagram video, you'll recognize the song at the end :P Honestly that song is what got me through this chapter, I listened to it the whole time I wrote. For those of you who haven't heard it, it's called Hey Pretty Girl by Kip Moore!
Update soon!!!!! Love this story!!!!!
11/14/15