Unexpected Arrivals(94)
That room was still empty.
“It’s hot today.” Cora put a baseball hat on my head.
I hated hats. Still, I loved Cora, so I left it.
She grabbed my bag of toys and our towels, and I ran down the path behind our house to the shore.
“Wait for me, Legend,” she called.
One day, I’d be big enough not to have to stop in the sand. One day, I’d be able to run straight into the water and dive in the waves just like my daddy did. Today, as I bound toward the sand and jumped over piles and dodged holes, I almost ran into a little girl who was walking in circles, talking on the phone. When I looked around, her mama wasn’t far away, and then before I could say anything, Cora did.
“She’s cute.”
“Thank you.” The lady smiled at Cora. “I’m Jade, and that’s my daughter, Aria.”
They shook hands, which I thought was silly; I didn’t know why grownups did that—seemed like a fast way to pass germs.
“I’m Cora, and this is Legend. He’s five. How old is your little girl?”
“Oh, she’s two and a half.”
Aria walked in a big eight on the sand going back to her mom and then gave her the phone before running over to me. I thought she was going to tackle me like a football player. Instead, she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the wet sand.
Cora waved at me when I looked back to make sure she was close by, and she pointed at the bag of toys. I ran back to get them, leaving Aria on her bottom in a puddle. When I grabbed the handles of the bag, Cora smiled while she talked to the lady she’d met.
I’d done my job—Cora had found a friend, and I hadn’t wasted all my wishes on shooting stars.
Later that night, after Cora had read me stories, my daddy came in to kiss me goodnight. Instead of messing up my hair and hugging me like he always did, he kneeled on the floor, and Cora sat up. Both of them took my hands, and I wondered what horrible thing they were going to tell me. My mama and Dottie always did this when something bad happened, and I immediately started to cry. I got five years with my mama; there was no way Daddy and Cora’s turn was up already.
“What’s wrong, little man?” My daddy was worried, but I had to put on a brave face. If he was sick, I’d be a big boy and put on my superhero cape—my mama told me I was a warrior. “Why are you crying?”
I shook my head, unwilling to answer until they told me.
Cora took my chin and turned my head in her direction. Her smile was sweet like my mama’s. “Your daddy and I have something to tell you.”
My chest puffed out as I took a deep breath, and I waited for how bad it would hurt to hear. My eyes squeezed shut, and I heard my mama tell me she loved me in my heart, just as Cora brushed her finger on my cheek and wiped away a tear.
“Don’t cry.” She laughed, and I opened my eyes. “We hope this is something you’ll be happy about.”
I fought my frown, and even as I opened my mouth, I could tell I wasn’t doing a good job of hiding it. “W-what?” I hiccupped.
My dad stood and picked me up before setting me in his lap on the bed. He had big arms, and no one could hurt me when they were around me…but Cora needed to be inside them, so she was safe, too. I pulled on her hand until she landed in the middle of our hug. Once everyone adjusted, my daddy finally told me their secret.
“You know how you asked for a brother for that room next door?”
“You got me a brother?” I practically screamed in my daddy’s ear. “Where is he?” I tried to get out from the pile, but neither of them let me go.
“He’s not here just yet, Legend.” Cora’s eyes were happy when she pointed to her belly. “He’s still in here. He’ll be here in a few months, and you’ll get to meet him then.”
My shoulders slumped. I hated waiting, but I really wanted a little brother…until I realized he would be theirs—and I wasn’t. “Will you love him more than me?”
Daddy turned me in his lap. “Never. That’s a promise.”
“Can I name him? My mama said names are important. That’s why she named me Legend.”
“They are.” Cora looked confused. “Do you know why your mom picked Legend?”
I nodded my head and smiled like I would if I said, “cheese”—big and happy. “Because a legend is as powerful as a dream but as fragile as a thought.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but it had been important to my mama, so I made sure to remember it. And whatever it was, it meant something to Cora, too, because she started to cry like girls do when they watch a silly movie.
When the baby finally came, I was already six, so Daddy and Cora let me name her. It wasn’t a brother like they’d said, but she wasn’t so bad. They’d made me a promise never to love her more than they did me, so that’s what we named her—as a reminder.
And Promise Carpenter was my favorite girl in the whole world…next to Cora.
THE END