by Red Phoenix
“We are,” she answered feeling truly grateful.
As if to contradict her, Anthony began to fuss loudly.
“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Brie told Sir when she couldn’t comfort him. “I just fed him, and his diaper is dry.”
She handed Anthony to Sir, but he had no better luck than she did trying to calm him down.
Hope became upset hearing the baby cry and kept patting Brie, wanting Brie to help her little brother.
“Let me try,” Rytsar stated. The deep tenor of his voice suddenly filled the room with his presence as he sang his mother’s lullaby.
Instantly, Anthony quieted as he stared in the direction of his voice.
Rytsar sang the song several times. Brie looked at Hope and smiled, noticing she was struggling to keep her eyes open. By the time he was finished, both children were fast asleep.
Brie whispered, “Your voice has worked its magic.”
“I can tell you’ve kept your promise, radost moya,” he stated proudly.
“Yes, they hear your voice every night before bed,” she assured him.
“I am pleased.”
The three spoke quietly while the children slept. Sir continued to play with Brie’s hair, and it wasn’t long before her own eyelids grew heavy.
Brie tried to fight it off, but exhaustion overwhelmed her as she listened to the soothing voices of both men.
“Complete,” she murmured.
“What was that?” Sir asked, interrupting his conversation with Rytsar.
She turned her head toward him with a sleepy smile. “It feels complete.”
“Yes, it does, babygirl,” he whispered, kissing her gently.
The next morning, Brie’s parents came to keep Brie company while Sir drove the Lotus home to pick up the family car.
Brie thought nothing of it and enjoyed the time alone with her parents, especially her father. There was a greater ease between them now than existed in years past. Brie had always been good friends with her mother growing up, but her father had held certain expectations of Brie that she never seemed to meet.
His lofty expectations left her feeling like she never measured up and that caused tension between them. But things were starting to change…
Brie wasn’t sure if it was because her father was getting mellower with age, or if he had finally come to accept the path she’d chosen. Regardless, she felt closer to her dad in this moment than she had her entire life.
When it finally came time for her to be discharged, Dr. Glas insisted on personally escorting her out of the hospital. As he pushed the wheelchair toward their car, he said with a lopsided grin, “It has been a pleasure, Mrs. Davis.”
Brie smiled up at him. “I will forever be grateful to you, Dr. Glas.” Glancing at her son wrapped in the blue, knitted blanket, she added, “And I will always remember this delivery with fondness.”
“As will I, Mrs. Davis.”
He then shook Sir’s hand firmly. “If you should need my services in the future, please don’t hesitate to call.”
Sir chuckled. “I’m certain that won’t be necessary but thank you.”
Brie sighed as they pulled away from the hospital. She couldn’t help thinking of Kylie and Faelan. Neither of them got to experience this moment of leaving together with their baby girl.
It was heartbreaking.
Brie glanced up at the sky, overwhelmed with sadness for Faelan.
Sir reached out to take her hand. “Is something wrong, babygirl?”
“Faelan…” she choked out.
“We will see him through the wilderness,” he stated with conviction.
Brie nodded, trusting that they would.
He squeezed her hand reassuringly. “It is important to concentrate your energy on yourself and the children for now, so you will be strong enough to help him when the time comes.”
“That is…” She almost said “wise”, but thankfully caught herself in time. “…exactly what I will do, Sir.”
“Good.”
The drive home was nothing like the drive to the hospital. Sir drove to the beach at a leisurely pace to make sure her parents kept up with them in their own car.
Once they arrived home, Brie was surprised to see a number of vehicles parked at the house. “What’s going on?”
Sir smirked. “Rather than feign ignorance, I’ll tell you the truth. Ms. Taylor refused to cancel your baby shower.”
Brie laughed. “Oh, my goodness. That was supposed to be today, wasn’t it?” She looked back at Anthony and smiled. “You little troublemaker.”
“I told them to keep it short so you can rest, but I thought you might enjoy a small gathering.”
Brie recognized the Reynolds’ van and Lea’s beat-up car, as well as Mary’s fancy new wheels. “This is exactly what my heart needed, Sir.”
He helped her out of the car before getting Anthony from the car seat. As they walked up to the door, he said, “You can choose to act surprised or not. It’s totally up to you, babygirl.”
The door swung open before they even reached the porch.
Lea cried, “It’s Stinky Cheese and her littlest Brie!”
Giggling, Brie hugged Lea tightly, then noticed Mary standing behind her.
“It’s good to see you, Mary.”
She shrugged. “Whatever…”
“No, I’m serious,” Brie insisted, releasing Lea to hug Mary.
The girl was stiff in her arms, but whispered, “Good to see you too, Stinks.” Brie gave her an extra squeeze before letting go.
Brie immediately bent down to catch Hope, who came barreling toward her excitedly. Lifting her up, Brie cuddled Hope against her, telling the Reynolds, “You wouldn’t think she saw me last night, would you?”
“It’s the way of little girls,” Brie’s mother said, walking up to her. “Hope will always need her mommy no matter how old she gets.”
Brie smiled at her mom before turning back to Judy. “I want to thank you for watching Hope for us, and for last night’s gift.”
“The truth is we love watching these two play together, Brianna. It’s purely selfish on our part.” Judy coxed little Jonathan to say hi to her, but he was suddenly overcome with shyness and hid behind her legs.
Judy glanced at Anthony in Sir’s arms. “It’s wonderful that Jonathan has another cousin to play with.”
“Do you want to see, Anthony?” Brie asked Jonathan.
He just looked up at her with wide eyes.
Brie handed Hope to her mother and took Anthony from Sir. Walking to the couch, she sat down and unwrapped Anthony from the blanket so Jonathan could get a better look at him.
But Jonathan remained where he was until Brie’s mother put Hope down and she toddled toward her little brother. It seemed to break Jonathan of his shyness, and he quickly raced over to join Hope.
It wasn’t until then that Brie noticed Candy hanging up the last of the baby shower decorations. When Lea saw the direction of Brie’s gaze, she cried, “Surprise! It’s your second After Baby Baby Shower.”
“Oh, my goodness, you guys,” Brie squealed in mock surprise. “You shouldn’t have!”
Lea gave Mary a hip bump. “See, I told you she’d love it.”
Mary rolled her eyes, but Brie could see a glint of satisfaction on her face. “I don’t know why you insist on having your babies before the baby showers, Stinks.”
Brie laughed. “Don’t blame me. It’s these little munchkins.”
“Well, I for one am happy to get a closer look at your little alien,” Lea cooed, walking over with Candy to ogle the baby. “They’re so much cuter outside the stomach.”
Brie shook her head, laughing at Lea.
“So, we’re sparing you the lame-ass games this time, since time is limited,” Mary informed her, rolling her eyes at Lea.
“But, if you want one, I’ve got it in my car,” Lea piped up. “The game involves diapers and chocolate candy bars.”
Brie groaned at the thought,
“I’ll pass.”
Candy giggled. “I remember how Lea creamed us with the clothespin game.”
“Oh, I love that game!” Brie’s mother piped up.
“Thankfully, today it’s just about stuffing Brie’s deflated belly with food,” Mary stated, pointing to the kitchen counter laden with finger foods. “Got any preferences, Stinks?”
Brie was about to stand up when her father stopped her. “You just tell me what you want, little girl, and I’ll get it for you.”
Brie looked up at her dad in surprise. “I…well, I’d like a little of everything.”
“You got it,” he answered, heading to the kitchen.
She glanced at her mother in astonishment. Her dad had never served her before in his entire life.
When the doorbell rang, Sir offered to answer it. “Brie, you may want to see this,” he called out after opening the door.
Brie stood up with Anthony cradled in her arms and walked toward the foyer. The moment she saw who was in the doorway, her heart skipped a beat.
“Tono!”
She couldn’t believe he was standing there in the flesh beside Autumn.
Brie ran to him and, without thinking, pressed her head against his chest. She closed her eyes, needing to hear his heartbeat. Tears ran down her cheeks as she listened to the strength of each beat.
Suddenly realizing that Sir was the only other person in the room, besides Autumn, who knew about Tono’s health scare, she quickly pulled away. To cover up her emotional outburst, Brie wiped her eyes with one hand and muttered, “I’m sorry. Must be the hormones. It’s just so good to see you two.”
She took Autumn’s hand and squeezed it. “I seriously can’t believe you’re here!”
Autumn grinned at Brie. “Tono insisted I come for your baby shower.”
“Little did we know we’d get to meet your son in person.” Tono chuckled warmly, looking down at the baby.
Brie’s heart burst with joy when she gently placed her son in his arms. “Tono Nosaka, I’m honored to have you to meet our son, Anthony Alonzo Davis.”
“The honor is mine.” Tono looked down at the child with tenderness.
Autumn stroked Anthony’s cheek lightly. “He’s so tiny, Brie…”
She laughed. “He’s actually bigger than Hope was when she was born.”
“It’s hard to believe she was ever that small,” Autumn remarked, glancing at Hope.
Leaning in, Autumn whispered to Brie, “Thank you for the basket. It meant so much to me.”
Brie smiled at Autumn in pleasant shock. “I still can’t believe this is real…”
Glancing at Candy, Mary, and Lea, it suddenly dawned on Brie. “Autumn was the only one missing from my first baby shower…”
Lea nodded proudly. “It wouldn’t be the same without her, so I sent her an invitation.” She squealed excitedly. “But I didn’t know until yesterday that she was actually coming.”
Tono told Brie, “We decided to take a couple of days off so we could make the trip.” He looked down at Anthony again. “It was a fortunate choice.”
Brie was concerned about Tono’s health and asked, “But…what about…” She hesitated. “…the tour?”
Tono understood the nature of her concern and smiled reassuringly. “This trip was important to both of us.”
Brie was touched that they’d come, but still worried about him. “I…”
Her father walked up to her carrying two plates piled with food. “I got everything you asked for. Now, sit down and enjoy it before it gets cold.”
Brie blushed at the amount of food he had amassed on the plates and was thankful they weren’t in Italy where she would feel pressured to eat it all. “Thanks, Daddy.”
She whispered to Tono under her breath, “My dad gave me enough for three people…”
He chuckled quietly.
“Everyone needs to fill up their plates,” Lea stated, grabbing Autumn’s arm. “This is a celebration, people!”
Although it was easy to see how thrilled Lea was to see Autumn, Brie could tell by the expression on Autumn’s face that she needed this reunion even more.
Tono handed the baby to Brie’s mother, who had been standing beside him, anxious to hold the baby.
“Ren, would you like to join Brie on the couch? I’d be happy to get you anything you like,” Sir offered.
“A tall glass of water sounds good.”
“I will hear of no such thing, Tono Nosaka!” Lea cried. “You flew Autumn halfway across the world and deserve to be pampered for that.”
The moment Tono sat down, Shadow appeared at his feet and let out a low, welcoming meow.
Brie grinned. “Wow, he must have been missing you, too.”
Tono bent down to pet the large black cat. “We are two old souls.”
Lea came waltzing over to him carrying a plate heaped with food. “I remember all your favorites. I think you’ll really like the mini-pizzas I made especially for you,” she said with a wink.
As Tono stared at the huge plate, Brie commented, “Looks like you and I have a similar problem.”
Knowing Tono couldn’t eat anything Lea had dished up because of his restricted diet for his condition, Brie took several items from his plate and plopped them onto hers while no one was looking.
She giggled. “Mine’s so ridiculously full, nobody will even notice.”
Sir joined them, handing Tono the glass of water.
“Thank you, Sir Davis.”
Sir nodded. “I’m glad you could make it.”
“How are you feeling?” Brie asked Tono quietly.
He leaned in and told her in a low voice, “I was given clearance to travel. There is no reason for you to worry.”
She looked him over with a critical eye. Tono had lost weight, as well as muscle tone, but other than that, he looked like himself even down to the gentle look in his chocolate brown eyes.
“I’m grateful you’re here,” she confessed, not realizing how much she’d needed to see him face to face.
Tono glanced at Sir. “Thank you again for making the arrangements.”
“Think nothing of it, Ren.”
Brie tilted her head. “You arranged this, Sir?”
“It was needed.”
She stared at him in surprise, completely speechless.
Sir winked at her. “You’d better start eating, my dear. Your father is eyeing your consumption closely.”
Brie obediently picked up one of the mini pizzas from her plate and held it up for her dad to see before shoving it into her mouth and giving him a thumbs up.
Tono watched her with amusement. “Your father seems very attentive toward you.”
“Yes,” she said after chewing and swallowing. “Things have changed between us lately.”
“My heart is glad to hear it.”
Even though she knew it was a difficult subject for Tono, she asked him, “How are things with your mother?”
“We continue to speak on a weekly basis.”
“But nothing has changed between you?”
“I give her whatever she requires. She wants nothing more from me.”
Brie frowned slightly.
“She has given me my freedom,” he reminded her gently. He glanced over at Autumn. “It is the greatest gift she is capable of giving, and I am profoundly appreciative of it.”
Brie understood that Autumn was in his life because of it. “I hear what you are saying, Tono, but is it wrong that I wish more from your mother?”
Rather than answering, he asked, “Have you heard anything more about the film?”
She shook her head but smiled. “I’m following your advice and have moved on. Actually, I’ve uncovered something interesting—”
The sound of Anthony’s tiny wail suddenly filled the air. Brie immediately excused herself, her breasts aching in response to his cries. Brie retreated to the private patio out back to feed him and was grateful when Mary came to join her.
“You doing ok
ay, Stinks?”
“I should be asking you that,” she said, undoing the front of her bra. Anthony immediately latched on and began to suckle.
Mary waved off Brie’s concern. “I saw that exchange between you and Tono. What’s going on with the rope freak?”
Brie sighed, silently cursing Mary’s keen observation skills. “I am…not allowed to discuss it.”
“It’s his health, isn’t it?”
When Brie said nothing, Mary nodded. “Yeah, Lea’s oblivious because she’s so wrapped up in seeing Autumn again that she failed to question your strange interaction or the physical change in Tono.”
“He’s fine,” Brie insisted.
“Sure he is…”
“So, what’s going on with you? I can’t handle the radio silence, especially knowing you’re with Greg again.”
“I’m fine.”
Brie realized Mary had chosen to answer her with the same reply Brie had given her about Tono.
Before she could question her on it, however, Mary threw her off by telling her, “I’ve thought of the perfect name for the new kid.” She nodded toward the baby. “Since your nickname is Stinks, you should name this one Little Stinker.”
Brie stared at Mary in shock. “Wait! That sounded an awful lot like Lea humor.”
“No! Not even close.”
Brie raised an eyebrow as she gently patted Anthony on the butt. “I think living with Lea has rubbed off on you.”
Mary sneered. “God, I hope not!”
“It’s not such a bad thing, you know…”
Mary’s phone rang and she glanced at it nervously. “Greg is calling. He doesn’t know I’m here, so I’m going to slip out. Just tell everyone I’m a shitty friend and leave it at that.”
Brie grabbed her hand. “No, please don’t go, Mary. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.”
Mary stared at Brie for a moment, then shook her head. “Price is too great.”
As she got up to leave, she fished a small present from her purse and tossed it on the chair she’d been sitting on. “I’m happy for you, Brie.”
Brie felt her stomach twist in a knot as she watched Mary turn and leave. Shaken by her sudden departure, Brie slowly picked up the package she’d left behind.
She opened it and found a small snow globe of the Disney castle with the words I still believe engraved on the stand.