Against the Odds (Fighting to Survive #2)(8)

“Thank you, I just hope you got it right.” I joke. I look around the room at our friends, who are all dressed in work clothes, and say, “Thank you all for everything. This is so thoughtful and generous of all of you.”

“I wish that were true, but the truth is, we needed a break from the kids.”

Everyone laughs and Angel says, “It really is kind of selfish on our part.”


I don’t believe them for one minute.

“Let me change and we can start painting.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Angel says. “If you help, it’ll speed up my day away from the twins. You and Bobby are leaving and we are staying.”

“Come on, Sweets. We have plans for today.”

Robert

Leah and I leave the house and let the girls do their thing. I moved the ladder and supplies they said they would need near the basement door. I also got Jamie’s baby bed put together so it’ll be ready for them. When Emma called me and she said they wanted to do this, I was reluctant at first. Leah and I don’t really have friends and this is such a selfless gift. To give up their entire Saturday to paint and decorate. Emma told me to call Angel with the exact paint color and style of baby bedding we wanted. Since we didn’t know if it is a boy or a girl, the style was difficult. I saw some of Angel’s work and she has excellent taste. I told her kind of what Leah was thinking, but we didn’t decide on anything for certain.

I rented a room at the Marriot Grand Resort for the night. We have never been there and we plan on going back soon. We went to the marketplace and bought stuff to make breakfast. We had dinner at the restaurant called the Grill. It was nice and relaxing. We walked around, holding hands and watching the various activities the resort had planned for the kids. They had open fire pits where the children and adults made s’mores — so called because after you eat one, you want some more — and then they watched The Little Mermaid on a big outside movie screen.

“Jamie would have loved this,” Leah says.

“Yes, she would have.”

“Maybe we can bring…”

Leah stops in the middle of her sentence. I know she is talking about our other daughter. It sounds so odd to say that. We have another daughter, our daughter. I don’t know if she stopped because she didn’t want to finish the sentence, or because she doesn’t know what to call her. We have a daughter and we don’t even know her name.

“I think that is an excellent idea.”

“Who doesn’t love The Little Mermaid?” she smiles.

Later that night we sit on the balcony that overlooks the lake. The moon was full and the reflection glistened off of the water.

“This is nice,” she says, sipping her hot tea.

“It is.”

“Do you wanna go home?” she asks.

I look over at her and ask, “You don’t want to stay?”

“I do, but I can’t wait to see the nursery.”

I smile, stand and take her hand in mine. “Come on, Sweets. If you want to go home, we’ll go home.”

Leah practically runs into the house and up the stairs to see the nursery. I’m further behind her down the hallway when I hear her say, “Aww.” She stands outside in the hall looking into the bedroom with her hand over her mouth. I walk behind Leah and look inside the nursery. The walls are painted sage green, a large, thick white area rug is in the center of the floor, and Jamie’s white baby bed is set up under the large double window. The room is decorated in sage green and white circles. These are Leah’s favorite colors and they go well with a boy or a girl. In the nursery are also a dressing table, a dresser, a white rocking chair, and a bookshelf.

Leah and I slowly walk into the room and she begins to cry. She lightly touches the items on the bookshelf and I realize they are items from Jamie’s bedroom. Jamie’s books, a small picture frame holding a photograph of Jamie and a large picture frame holding a photograph of all three of us. Jamie’s ballerina music box is on the top of the bookshelf. I wonder if Leah will be upset about Jamie’s things being moved but then I realize they are tears of joy. I am also happy they incorporated Jamie’s things into the new nursery. She will always be our daughter and she will always be a part of this family.

“I can’t believe how beautiful this looks,” she says.

“They did a fantastic job.” I walk over to the baby bed and see Jack strategically placed in the center of the bed. He looks clean and new. I pick him up and realize it is new.

“Leah,” I say, showing her the stuffed rabbit.

“How did they get Jack so clean?” she asks as she walks over to take him from me. She looks at him and smells him. “He’s new. Where did they get this from?”

I smile, “I have no idea, but this is a nice surprise.”

Leah wraps her small arms around me. I rub her back with my large hands. “We need to do something special for them and call them all to thank them.”

Leah says, “They did so much more than just paint and decorate — they brought life into this room.” I know what Leah means. This was just an empty room before, but now, it has a part of Jamie living in it. “This will make such a great nursery for our baby,” she says excitedly.


“It will.” I look around the room at the lamp on the dresser and the curtains. They are all sage green with white circles. I have to wonder how long they planned on doing this. Everything matches and fits this room perfectly. I walk over and crack open the window to let the room air out. Although the paint fumes are faint, I don’t want Leah breathing them in all night.