by Vivian Ward
It was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard Damon say; all I could do was toss my head back in laughter.
“I guess I’ve got a wedding to plan,” I smiled, admiring my ring.
“And a grand re-opening!” Damon added. “I know exactly what we’ll do for that.”
“Once you get the place re-opened, I’ll fill you in on all the ins and outs,” my dad said to him. “You might be a hell of a mechanic, but you’ll need to know the rest of the business.”
A few weeks later, we had our grand re-opening and Damon even got the local news to show up, and they did a small piece about it. Everyone from town came to it, and people from all over were lined up, waiting to view our inventory.
There was something for everyone; I’d hired entertainment for the kids and had concessions ready for anyone who wanted them.
The proudest moment was when Damon stood next to my dad’s wheelchair, and the two of them cut the red ribbon together when they finally opened the lot. We had so many sales that first night that I was filling out paperwork on car titles until almost eleven. Thank goodness, my dad meant it when he said he’d take care of Bentley.
Damon took them back to the house around 8, and my mom put Bentley to bed until we were able to lock up at the car lot. Now all I had to focus on was the wedding, and hiring the right contractors to build our house.
I was impressed when they told me they could have our dream home built in less than two years; a year if I wanted to take standard everything, but I wanted it customized.
I planned an early summer wedding for the following year and held it at the same church that my parents were married in. It was a superb wedding, complete with violets and daisies, an elegant band and plenty of guests.
Bentley was our ring bearer, which took great practice on his part, and my cousin’s daughter, Chrissy, accompanied him as our flower girl as she sprinkled petals all along the aisle.
Our freshly built house was ready to move into two months after we tied the knot, just in time for when we came back from our honeymoon in the Cayman Islands.
I had never seen anything so beautiful, and I loved the white sandy beaches so much that I bottled some of it up and brought it back home with me; which is proudly displayed with an array of seashells above the mantle in the living room.
Epilogue
The last four years have flown by, and I found it near impossible to believe that my baby was starting kindergarten. He was so excited for his first day of school that he didn’t go to sleep until after midnight.
He kept climbing out of bed to make sure his glue was in his backpack, and then his crayons, and then he had to check on his clothes to make sure I’d set them out for him.
My dad had taught him how to tie his shoes; they had become the best of friends and did almost everything together. Having him and my mom watch Bentley was the best thing that I could have done for them, and I hoped they’d continue to babysit the baby that was due in just five weeks.
At the end of summer, I was ready to have our new baby. It had been the longest, hottest, most miserable summer in my entire life.
“Hey doll, lookin’ beautiful today,” Damon said as he sat down at the breakfast table.
“Thanks, I don’t feel so beautiful. Did you wake up Bentley? I don’t want to be late on his first day of school.”
“He’s up, but he’s not happy about it. He was so tired that he didn’t even realize today was his first day of school.”
“I’m sure once his eyes finally open, and he gets his teeth brushed, he’ll be excited about getting to meet his teacher today.”
“Are your parents still coming with us to drop him off?”
“Yeah, dad called while you were in the shower. I told him we’d come pick them up just as soon as Bentley was ready for school.”
I seriously doubted that dad was going to wait for us to pick them up; they were just as excited as Bentley and ready to go. Right as I was plating Bentley’s sausage and eggs, I heard a light knocking on the back kitchen door; it was mom and dad. I motioned for them to come in.
Dad was walking quite well on his prosthetic leg. It took him a while to get used to it, and it had to be adjusted several times before it fit properly, but once the doctors got it right and dad started wearing it, it was like second nature to him.
“Hey, mom and dad. Want some breakfast? There’s plenty here if you’re hungry.”
The truth was, I’d made enough for them when I started cooking because I knew they’d be over. When I was a little girl, he was always more excited than I was when it came to going back to school at the beginning of the year. They loved that boy so much.
“Yeah, I’ll take a few pieces of sausage if you don’t mind.”
After breakfast, everyone climbed inside our SUV and Damon drove us to school for Bentley’s first day. He was so giddy that he could hardly contain himself.
“Now you be good today and make sure you give your teacher the supplies from your backpack, so she knows you brought everything you need. Okay?” I asked Bentley.
“Okay, mommy.”
“Have a good day, buddy. Remember, you’re going to ride the bus home this afternoon, and grandma and grandpa will pick you up from the bus stop,” Damon told him.
We each took our turns hugging him before leaving, and it took everything I had not to cry as we walked down the hallway.
“You gonna be okay?” Damon asked, putting his arm around me.
I couldn’t hold my tears back anymore.
“My baby’s leaving me, Damon. He’s growing up so fast, and now he won’t be at home playing with mom and dad,” I dried my eyes, not wanting to look weak in front of the other moms and teachers.
“Here,” my dad passed me a thick, gold-squared picture frame.
It was folded in half, each side containing an unknown 3x5 picture inside. I almost didn’t want to open it, afraid of what was going to be inside.
“Go on, open it up.”
“Now?” I asked.
He and mom shook their heads, “Yes, now.”
Slowly, I unfolded it and saw a picture of my mother on one side and a picture of a much smaller, much younger me.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a picture of your mom on your first day of school. You can’t tell it in that picture, but she was balling the morning she dropped you off. Just remember that things get better and that he’s going to grow up a fine young man, just like you grew into a fine, young woman.”
That was all it took. I wasn’t sure if it was the pregnancy hormones, losing my baby on the first day of school, or how sweet my parents were, but I came unglued and started sobbing uncontrollably as I hugged them.
Four and a half weeks later, I was in labor at the hospital giving birth to a precious baby girl. Natalie weighed six pounds, four ounces and was the most adorable baby girl I’d ever seen.
Damon and I cooed over her as Bentley climbed into my lap, snuggling up to his baby sister as my mom snapped pictures of our latest addition.
“That’s one beautiful granddaughter I have,” my dad smiled as he looked down at her after Damon put her in her bassinet.
“She’s amazing, just like her mom,” Damon said, kissing the top of my forehead.
“Flattery will get you nowhere,” I laughed.
“So I guess this isn’t the time to ask if you want one more?” he teased.
“Maybe, but it’ll be a while. Right now, I just want to enjoy our little Natalie; they grow so fast.”
I looked over at Bentley, who was the only reason we were all one big, happy family as he tiptoed over his sister’s bassinet, talking gibberish to her. It was obvious that he adored and loved her as much as everyone else in the room, and he was going to make an excellent big brother to her.
One day, she’d be as big as he was, but for that moment, I just wanted to cherish the memory and never forget how important or precious my family was or how it all started out.
Vivian
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About the Author
Vivian Ward was born in Brooklyn, New York but now lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Growing up the daughter of a single mother, her life was a struggle from day to day. When things got hard, she retreated to her room where she would write about fantasy worlds that would take her away from reality. Even as an adult, her passion for writing never went away and now she hopes to share it with the world.
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