In Her Hands

by Rebekah Blackmore

  Amy smiled at her and nodded. Ronnie rolled her eyes again and shifted her weight onto her hip, resting her arm on the top of her barely-there bump. Amy pulled her legs up under herself and reached out to grab Ronnie's hand, rubbing her thumb in circles on her wrist. “Tommy woke up an hour ago and ate some ice cream. I tried to give him some broth, but the antibiotics were upsetting his stomach pretty badly. Dr. Bursten gave him something to help keep him comfortable until the worst is over. He said that he will probably spend most the next few days sleeping.” She glanced out the window before pointing her thumb at it. “If it's still nice out, I was thinking that we could take Morrison down to the courtyard, let her feed the ducks or something?”

  Ronnie smiled at the memories of feeding the ducks with the kids before Andrea had come back into the picture. When Ronnie didn't answer out loud, though, Amy bit her lip and shook her head. “Never mind, I'm sure you get enough of the courtyard when you're working－”

  “I'd love to go with you and Morrison,” Ronnie interrupted, squeezing Amy's hand. “It tends to get busy when shifts start to change, so we should go ahead and go down now.”

  Amy's cheeks spread into a wide smile. Ronnie smiled back before getting up and going over to the bed, where Morrison had moved on from whispering to her unicorn to whispering to her brother. Ronnie put a hand on her head, getting her attention. Morrison glanced over her shoulder at her before rolling back over to to her brother. “No hold you. Hold Tommy.”

  Ronnie tapped her shoulder, holding her hands out. “Do you want to go feed the ducks with Mommy and me?”

  Morrison's face lit up, and she scooted away from her brother so that Ronnie could pick her up. “Yeah! Duckies!” She started to bounce on the bed, but Ronnie stopped her, quickly scooping her up before making sure that Tommy had not been disturbed.

  Amy got out of the chair and took Morrison from Ronnie's arms. Morrison let out a happy sound and wrapped her arms around Amy's neck, kicking her legs up and squeezing Amy tightly. “Hi, Mommy!” she said, giving Amy a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

  Amy kissed Morrison's hair in response. “Hi, baby. Are you ready to feed the duckies?”

  “Duckies!” Morrison nodded before holding up her stuffed unicorn. “Look, Mommy, corn-corn!”

  Amy let out an over-exaggerated gasp. “That is the most gorgeous unicorn I have ever seen! Did Ronnie get that for you?”

  “Yes!” Morrison hugged the stuffed animal tightly, moving so that she could lay her head on her mother's shoulder. Amy bounced her daughter and held the door open for Ronnie.

  The women started down the hall toward the elevator. When they reached a door halfway down the hall, Ronnie reached down and squeezed Amy's hand. “I'm going to grab some food for the ducks. Do you want anything?” Amy shook her head. “All right. I'll meet you at the elevator.”

  Amy and Morrison started walking again, and Ronnie went into the nutrition room. She opened up a cabinet and grabbed a container of oatmeal for Morrison to feed the birds with as well as a can of Sierra Mist for herself to settle her stomach. She went back into the hall and made her way down to Amy and Morrison, who were already in the elevator and holding the door open. Once Ronnie was in, Morrison excitedly hit the button for the lobby before carrying out a full conversation with her unicorn.

  It only took a minute to get down to the courtyard. Amy was right－it really was beautiful outside. The sun was shining, there was a soft breeze, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. There were already patients, family members, and staff scattered all around, so Ronnie led Amy over to the one secluded spot that she could see behind the fountains. It was in the shade, and there were a few ducks and ducklings waddling around for Morrison to play with.

  When Morrison saw the ducklings, she squealed and squirmed out of Amy's arms. “Stay close,” Amy said, crouching down and handing her some of the oatmeal that Ronnie had grabbed for her. Morrison nodded and ran over to one of the ducklings, throwing oatmeal at it before trying to pet it. Amy watched her and smiled before reaching down and grabbing Ronnie's hand, pulling her over to one of the benches.

  “Play right there, sweetheart,” Amy called to her daughter before turning so that she was facing Ronnie. She out her elbow on the back of the bench and leaned her head against her hand. She looked back and forth between Ronnie and Morrison, flipping Ronnie's hand over and drawing designs with her fingertip on Ronnie's palm. “So, are we going to talk about this?”

  Ronnie bit her lip, her butterflies coming back. “If you want to talk about it.”

  “Well, do you/?”

  Ronnie shrugged before nodding slightly and looking down at their hands. “I don’t think there’s much to talk about. You know what I want, Amy."

  Amy tugged on Ronnie's hand to get her to look up at her. “You know what I want, too.” She reached out and gently ran her hand over Ronnie's belly, rubbing her thumb right above Ronnie's belly button. “You have to think about more than yourself right now. I'd understand if you just wanted to focus on taking care of a little one, and not a whole family.”

  Amy looked sad as she looked over to Morrison. “I love you, but if seriously do this, you're going to be jumping straight into having three kids. Do you really want that?” She looked back at Ronnie, her eyes shining as she bit her lip. “It's not fair for any of us if we get into a relationship and you decide this is all too much. You were right at the store－you have to put the baby first.”

  Ronnie laced her fingers with Amy's again and lifted her hand to kiss her knuckles. “What's one more kid? I'd be jumping into two kids if I wasn't pregnant. It won't be that big of a difference, will it?” She reached out and ran her fingers through Amy's hair. “I love you, too, by the way.”

  Amy's face lit up as she heard Ronnie say those three little words for the first time. She let out a happy laugh and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against Ronnie's. “I love you so much.”

  Ronnie tilted her head up and gave her a quick kiss. “I love you, too.” She leaned back and squeezed her hand. “So are we in agreement that we're doing this?”

  Amy nodded. “We're doing this.”

  22

  A week later, everything seemed like it was falling into place. Tommy was responding well to the medications, Amy and Ronnie were closer than ever, and Kenny and Ronnie were finally getting to know more about their baby.

  Ronnie had tears running down her cheeks as she turned her phone on after the first ultrasound, and Kenny was beaming at the sonogram in his hand. He wiped away a tear before grabbing Ronnie by the hand and pulling her into a hug. “Thank you,” he said, kissing her on the cheek and putting his hand on her belly.

  Ronnie hugged him back before letting go. “What are you thanking me for? You had just as much a part in making this baby as I did.”

  Kenny rolled his eyes. “For letting me be a part of this baby's life.” He took his hand off Ronnie's belly and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He took a picture of the sonogram and typed something into his phone before putting it back into his pocket.

  Ronnie did the same thing, taking a picture of the sonogram and sending it to Amy with a row of hearts. Amy responded almost immediately, warming Ronnie's heart as she typed out the question that had been on her mind all day.

  [Received 05/15/2020. 13:03. From: Amy]. He looks perfect. I can't wait to meet him!

  Ronnie hesitated before hitting send. [Sent 05/15/2020. 13:04. To: Amy] Are we going to tell Tommy and Morrie?

  [Received 05/15/2020. 13:05. From: Amy] we can tell them tonight. I love you!

  Ronnie started to type out a response, but she stopped when she heard Kenny laugh. Ronnie looked up to see him staring at the sonogram again, shaking his head and grinning.

  He looked up when he felt Ronnie's eyes on him, smiling. “Carrie thinks it's going to be a boy.”

  The corner of Ronnie's lip quirked up. “Amy does, too.”

  Kenny shook his head again. He let out a breath and put his hand on Ronnie
stomach again, his eyes wide. “Wow. We are really having a baby.” He looked up at Ronnie. “How much longer until we can feel him move?”

  Ronnie snorted. “Am I the only one who thinks she's a girl?”

  Kenny shrugged. “My mom thinks its a girl.”

  “My mom ‘won't form an opinion until she knows who's house we are raising her in’.” She gave Kenny a pointed look.

  Kenny raised an eyebrow. “We live in the same town as each other; that's good enough. Carrie is already clearing out her office for when he's with us.” He stuck his tongue out. “Are you making plans with your girl?”

  Ronnie flushed. “Down the road, maybe. We still have time to figure it out.” She bit her lip before shyly adding, “I'd really like to, though.”

  Kenny started to say something else, but he was interrupted by an alarm on his phone. He unlocked the screen and clicked a button, turning the screeching down. “Well, I better get back to work, I guess.” He pulled her into another hug, kissing her cheek. “I'm glad we're getting along so well.” He pulled away and held his hand up. “I'll see you around.”

  Kenny glanced down at the sonogram again as he turned and left, still shaking his head and murmuring to himself as he tucked the envelope into his back pocket. Ronnie watched him until he reached the end of the hall before looking back down at her phone. She went back to her conversation with Amy and hit the “call” button, raising the phone up to her ear while she waited for her to answer.

  Amy answered after the second ring. “Hey, sweetie.”

  “Hey. I'm about to head out, do you need anything before I come up to the hospital?” She walked down the hallway, adjusting her purse on her shoulder before switching her phone to the other ear.

  “Actually, Tommy's doctor just came in and said that they are going to discharge him in the next few hours.” Ronny could hear the smile in Amy's voice. “He's going to have to take it easy over the next couple of days, but Dr. Bursten says that he is fine to finish recovering at home.”

  “That's fantastic! I bet he's excited to be out of the hospital.”

  “He's asleep right now, but I'm sure he's going to be excited when he wakes up.” Ronnie could hear Morrison saying something in the background. Amy sighed. “Do you mind just stopping by the hospital and picking Morrison up? She's been bored all morning and keeps asking for you. I'd prefer you stay up here with me, but . . . ”

  She trailed off, but Ronnie understood what she was saying. She had stayed at Amy's house the night before with Morrison, but she and Amy hadn't really gotten to spend any time together in the week that they had been together. Amy had been staying with Tommy at the hospital, and Ronnie had been working every other day. Regardless, she always loved spending time with Morrison, and her day off was no exception. “Yeah, definitely. I'll be up in like twenty minutes, okay?”

  “Okay. Would you mind stopping by the store and picking up something simple for dinner, then? I don't know what time Tommy and I will get home, but that'll be one less thing for us to worry about.” There was talking again in the background, as well as Morrison's happy squeal. “Morrison is excited to go with you. Listen, I'll see you when you get here, okay? Dr. Bursten just walked in.”

  “Okay, I'll see you soon. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Ronnie slid her phone into her purse and started making her way down to the parking lot. She put the sonograms in the front pocket to keep them safe. She normally put her purse in Morrison's car seat whenever she was driving, and she didn't want the metal buckles to accidentally scrape one centimeter of those precious photographs.

  She made it up to Tommy's room twenty minutes later, her heart filling as she looked in at the little family present there. Tommy was asleep, but Amy and Morrison were sitting in a chair in the corner of the room reading a book about ducks. They looked up when they heard a knock in the doorway.

  Morrison let out an excited squeal when she saw Ronnie. She squirmed off of Amy's lap and ran over to Ronnie, holding her arms up and jumping on her when Ronnie crouched down to her level. “Hi, Ronnie!” the girl exclaimed, puckering her lips out and placing a sloppy kiss on Ronnie's cheek when she leaned forward. “I miss you!”

  “I missed you, too, honey.” Ronnie hugged Morrison and pulled her to her chest before standing up, wincing as she felt a pull in her back.

  Amy was up like a shot, putting one hand on Morrison's back and the other on Ronnie's side. “Are you okay? Do you need me to take her?”

  Ronnie shook her head, but before she could r answer, Morrison shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around Ronnie's neck. “No, Mommy, I stay with Ronnie!”

  Amy kissed Morrison on the head before looking back over at Ronnie. Ronnie shook her head again. “I'm fine, sweetheart, really. My back is just a little sore.” She angled her chin down and leaned forward.

  Amy leaned up and gave her a quick kiss before entangling their fingers and swinging their hands gently. “It will probably be a few hours before Tommy and I make it home. You remember where the spare key is, don't you?”

  Ronnie nodded. “I do. We'll stop by the store and take care of dinner for Mommy and Bubba tonight, won't we, Morrison?” Ronnie bounced Morrison on her hip and made a face at her.

  Morrison giggled. “Yes! Help Ronnie!”

  Amy smiled. “Okay, if you two troublemakers are sure.” She kissed Ronnie again before tickling Morrison's sides. “You be a good girl for Ronnie, Morrie, and we'll have a special surprise for you tonight.”

  Morrison squealed. “Surprise!”

  Amy grinned as she met Ronnie's eyes. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “We will see you at your house, okay?”

  Amy nodded. “Okay.”

  Ronnie grabbed the diaper bag before walking around the bed to kiss Tommy on the forehead. She started to straighten back up, but Morrison whimpered and puckered her lips, so Ronnie leaned forward again so that Morrison could kiss her brother goodbye. Ronnie waited until Morrison was done before straightening up again, her back twinging again at the movement. She put a hand on her lower back and took a deep breath as she moved Morrison to a different position on her hip. “Are you ready to go, Morrie?”

  Morrison nodded excitedly, throwing her hands up. “Surprise!”

  Ronnie nodded. “That's right, sweetheart. Now tell Mommy and Tommy goodbye.“ She started to walk towards the door, turning before she got to the hallway so Morrison was facing the room.

  Morrison flapped her hand back and forth. “Bye, Mommy, bye, Bubby!”

  Ronnie smiled at Amy. “We will see you later.”

  ***

  Ronnie and Morrison arrived back at the house nearly two hours later. The ache in Ronnie's back had worsened, and she was out of breath as she tried to carry both Morrison and the groceries to the front door. She stepped onto the stoop and crouched down, loosening her grip on Morrison as the toddler's feet touched the floor.

  Morrison screeched when she started to slip. She lifted her legs up and dug her nails into Ronnie's neck. “No, hold you, hold you!” she exclaimed, squealing again when Ronnie shook her enough to dislodge her grip.

  “Sweetheart, I have to put you down so we can get inside.” She rolled her neck, using the hand that was around Morrison's hips to try and push her feet down.

  “No! Hold you!”

  Ronnie tried a third time before sighing. She dropped the grocery bags next to the step and went over to a potted plant on the corner of the porch. She tightened her grip on Morrison and bent down, feeling around the back of the pot until she felt a trap door. She opened it and pulled out the key.

  Ronnie had just gotten the door unlocked when she felt a distinct wetness pool against her waist and run down the side of her leg. She closed her eyes and let out a breath as Morrison started crying and apologizing, burying her face and spreading mucus along the base of Ronnie's neck.

  Ronnie did her best to stay calm as she took the groceries into the kitchen
before carrying Morrison into the bathroom. She put her down on the floor, crouching down in front of her to help her remove her leggings and her panties. Morrison was still crying and hiding her face in her hands.

  “Shh, it's okay, sweetheart, I'm not mad,” Ronnie said, pulling Morrison’s hands down from her face and wiping away her tears. “Lets get you cleaned up then we can watch a movie until Mommy and Bubby get home. Can you go potty for me like a big girl?”

  Morrison stuck her thumb in her mouth and nodded, stepping up on her stool and getting up on the toilet. When she started to go, Ronnie smiled at her. “Good job, Morrie! You're such a good girl.”

  She waited until Morrison was done before getting a washcloth and wiping her down. She tossed the dirty rag into the hamper and took Morrison into her bedroom, grabbing her a pair of stretchy pants and a tee shirt.

  Once Morrison was dressed, Ronnie put her down by her toys. “Go ahead and play while I put the groceries away and then we will watch our movie, okay? Do you want to watch it in the living room or in here?”

  Morrison thought for a moment before shaking her head. “Mommy's room.”

  Ronnie shrugged. She doubted that Amy would care. “Okay. Mommy's room it is.”

  Ronnie kissed Morrison on the forehead before going back down to the kitchen. She followed the whimpering sound in the corner of the room to Tadpole's crate, where the puppy was anxiously waiting to get out and play. Ronnie leaned down and opened the crate, jumping out of the way as Tadpole darted out and starting running in circles around the island counter excitedly.

  Ronnie opened the back door and let the puppy out into the yard. She left the door open and started putting the groceries away, startling when she felt a cold nose against the back of her knee a moment later. “Did you go potty?” Ronnie asked the dog, reaching down and scratching him on the head. The puppy wagged its tail in response before running out of the kitchen and making his way up the stairs to Morrison's room. Ronnie chuckled and shook her head, putting her focus back on putting away the groceries.