Chapter 24

Chapter

Twenty-Four

DASH

The nightwe got home from the fertility clinic, we made love several times, both anxious and elated at the prospect of what was to come. The next day, we decided not to make love again until we heard from the fertility doctor about the health and motility of the sperm in case we needed to give another specimen.

Work went on as usual, though there was an air of excitement at Dearly & Son after Amelie returned on Friday. We had no guests, thankfully, but Keir and I busied ourselves by emptying out the spare bedroom of our apartment and donating the old bedroom set inside.

Saturday morning, there was a delivery to the apartment. I signed for the large box and tipped the driver before I carried the box into the dining room and put it on the table. Keir was making omelets for our breakfast.

“Who’s that from?”

“Lucy. Oh, this must be the box of your father’s stuff she mentioned when I called her a couple of weeks ago about the roses. Did you not return her call?”

“Damn! I completely forgot.” I turned to see him pick up his phone. It rang twice.

“Sorry, Mom. I’m sorry I cut our call short the other day, but I’ve been really busy. It slipped my mind that I needed to call you back. Do you still need us to come down to help you? I just got the box.” It wasn’t on speaker, so I couldn’t hear Lucy’s side of the conversation.

Keir plated the omelets and reached for the two pieces of bread that popped up from the toaster. I went to the kitchen to get the butter and jelly, along with the salsa I loved on my eggs.

“Okay. Thanks again, Mom. I’ll let you know what I find out. Love you too. Bye.”

Keir plugged in his phone and carried the plates into the dining room. I grabbed utensils and our coffee mugs and sat at the dining table across from him. “How’s your mom? Are we still needed in Monterey?”

“No. They spoke to some of the residents who lived where they were planning to buy. They said the units are shoddily built and there are lots of problems with the electricity, so they’re going to put Lenny’s condo up for sale and stay in hers for the time being. Lenny mentioned wanting to travel since he’s retired, so they’re looking at their options.”

“Good for them. They deserve to enjoy themselves at this point in their lives. When are we supposed to hear from the doctor about the sperm?”

My comment wasn’t meant to upset him, but suddenly, Keir pushed away from the table. “Do you think there’s something wrong with my sperm?”

The fear on his face had me leaving my chair and turning his so I could get closer to him. “No, baby, I think your sperm is perfect. I’ve loved every drop I’ve consumed.”

Suddenly, Keir burst out laughing, making me laugh too. It seemed to have settled his nerves, which was what I was hoping for.

“Dearly, it’s a matter of getting all the information to make the proper decisions. Just like all that stuff we hauled out of the spare room yesterday. We’re preparing for the possibility of needing a nursery. If for some reason we don’t, we can plan something else for that room.”

Keir leaned forward and kissed my lips before settling back in his chair. “Thank you, love. I’m just nervous because we haven’t heard from them. Lake is supposed to be implanted on Wednesday, and I had hoped they’d call yesterday if there was a problem.”

I sighed. “I know, but I’m guessing there was nothing wrong which is why they didn’t call. Now, eat up.”

I stood and returned to my chair, cutting into the delicious food. Finally, Keir dug in, which was a relief.

Once the breakfast dishes were in the dishwasher, Keir took a box cutter to the package sent by his mother. He began pulling out the bubble wrap she’d padded everything with and opened each item slowly.

First was a Victorian telescope in a lovely rosewood box. It was gold, though a little tarnished, and a note was inside.

Great Great Grandpa Dearly’s Nautical Spyglass used during the Haitian Revolution, circa 1801-1805. (France lost.)

Keir chuckled. “My great-great-grandfather was part of a liaison group sent to Haiti to try to calm the enslaved people who were revolting against the wealthy landowners. He didn’t live in France then, having already moved to London. He was fluent in many languages, so he went along as a translator. Family lore has it that when he saw the treatment of the enslaved people, he fled to the United States.”

Keir gently replaced the scope into its box and set it aside. There were a few more things inside: a German helmet with a spike on top from World War I that had also been his great-great-grandfather’s, and some antique embalming tools that had been Keir’s great-grandfather’s, the first Dearly to open a funeral home.

The last thing in the box was an honest-to-god scroll with one handle. “What’s that writing?”

Keir studied it, turning it every which way, but still couldn’t figure it out. “No idea. I’m guessing it’s very, very old.” He touched a piece of the parchment toward the bottom, but it flaked off to emphasize how brittle it was.

“That’s cool. Wonder if Jo or Scotty—maybe Jonas—would know what it is. They’ve all been around for a damn long time.” I collected the bubble wrap and the box to take for recycling, sure that Keir would want his father’s keepsakes.

“Okay, so we’ll tackle that mystery another day. What do you want to do today?”

Keir opened his mouth to speak just as the landline rang. He walked over to the phone in the kitchen. “Dearly & Son Funeral Home. Keir Dearly speaking.”

And the weekend was suddenly filled up.

Wednesday morning,Keir was busy with a funeral, so I picked up Lake and took her to the fertility clinic for the embryo transfer. There were four viable embryos, so the doctor recommended only implanting one zygote since Lake was under thirty. I agreed—as if I knew shit about it. I didn’t know what the hell a zygote was until Lake explained it to me when the doctor stepped out.

I kissed her forehead before they took her from the doctor’s office to an exam room. I headed out to the waiting room to do exactly that—wait.

“Are you and your wife having trouble making a baby?” I turned to my left to see a little old woman with a bag of yarn.

“Jo?”

“I’m Eloise. I’m here with my granddaughter who is getting an EFG procedure.”

I stared at the older woman to see if it was actually Jo punking me because her aura was snow white. The woman had a hook of some kind and continued to move the yarn through her fingers to make a chain.

“Uh, she’s not my wife. She’s a dear friend, and she’s going to carry a baby for my husband and me.”

I expected her to be scandalized by two men having a baby, but she just smiled. “That’s wonderful. What a selfless thing for that young woman to do. My granddaughter and her wife are trying to have a baby, but her wife, Nicole, is deployed right now, so I came with Penelope for the transfer.”

She then put her hand up to her mouth as though she was telling a secret. “Her mother, my daughter, is a bitch and disowned her. I then disowned her. She’s one of those religious fanatics anyway. Penny is a wonderful woman. I’m proud to call her my family.”

How could I not move over to sit next to her? “So, how about you? You single?” I couldn’t help but tease her. It was just the way I believed my mother would engage with strangers if she were still alive.

Eloise’s face turned a little pink, and she giggled. “You’re a flirt. Back in my day, I’d have been all over you if you were straight. Tell me about your husband.”

We talked for an hour while the women we loved were behind that light-blue door that led back to the place where babies were made in an unconventional way. Regardless, those babies were more than wanted.

Eloise was telling me about her son, who had died in the Gulf War, when a tall woman came through the blue door with a huge smile. “Grandma, are you bothering this man?”

I stood and grinned. “Not at all. She was entertaining me while I was waiting for my friend.”

“Oh, Penny, this is Dashiell. His friend is getting EFG and carrying a baby for him and his husband. How do you feel, sweetheart?”

“It’s IVF, Grandma. I’m fine. I just need to go home and lie down. You ready?”

Eloise stood and gave me a hug. “Best of luck, Dash. Maybe we’ll see each other at the hospital in nine months?”

I hugged her back and then shook hands with Penelope. “Best of luck to you and your wife.”

“Same to you.”

She took Eloise’s arm and the two left the clinic while I waited for Lake. Ten minutes later, she came through the blue door with a big smile. “Okay. I have a zygote inside me.”

I gently hugged her before I helped her to a chair, being very careful with her. She was carrying precious cargo, not that she wasn’t precious herself. I hurried to the receptionist. “Is there anything I need for Lake?”

“No. She just needs to take it easy for the next twenty-four hours, and then she can go back to regular activity. She should call the emergency number if she experiences any spotting. We’ll see her here next week to check progress.”

I nodded before I walked over to where Lake was sitting. Without asking, I hoisted her into my arms and carried her out of the clinic, putting her in the front seat of my SUV as she protested the whole way.

“What the hell are you doing? I can walk, Dash!” Her voice was high and shrill, and people were staring, but I didn’t care.

“Do you wanna come stay with us? I didn’t even think about that.” I buckled her into the front seat. Her hands were slapping at me like a duck on a pond, and I couldn’t hold the laugh.

“I’m not staying with you! You guys just cleared out the spare room in preparation for making a nursery. Plus, I have a child at home. Keir already told me I couldn’t help with the Calvin funeral because of this. Don’t make it seem as though I’m helpless, Dash.”

Fuck! “Okay, I’m being overbearing, so let me do this. I’ll take you home, and you can get into bed. I’ll pick up Jamie from your parents’ house and make the two of you dinner. How’s that sound?”

Lake gave me a big smile, so I started the SUV and headed toward Danny’s old condo where the two of them lived. I dropped Lake off and went to the Griner’s house to pick up Jamie.

Jamie was happy to see me, running over to give me a hug. It was incredible. Her hair was growing out, and it was a soft blonde, just like her mother’s. It was so good to see her looking healthy and happy instead of how I’d seen her that day in The Mystic Palm when some lunatic broke in and tried to rob the place. Thankfully, Lilith had been there to stop anything that could have harmed anyone.

Once we were on the road back to the condo with Jamie in her booster, she spoke up. “How’s Momma?” I glanced into the rearview mirror to see her staring at me.

“She’s resting at home. I’m going to make you two dinner, so we’re going to the grocery store. You’ll have to tell me what you want to eat, okay?”

“Where’s Keir?”

I knew Jamie liked Keir because he loved playing games with her. He would buy games to have at the funeral home for kids, and he enjoyed trying them out with Jamie. It was another reason why I knew he’d be a great father.

“He had a funeral today. He’ll be bummed when he finds out I got to hang out with you.” She smiled and looked out the window.

When we pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store near the condo, I hopped out and walked around to the back seat to open the door for Jamie. I took her hand and helped her off the running board. “Okay, so what’s your favorite meal?”

“Mine is pizza, but Mom’s is tuna steak and salad. Do you know how to cook tuna?” Jamie stared at me as though she didn’t trust me.

“Pizza I can do, but I think your Mom can’t eat tuna right now. Is there something else?” I remembered reading about mercury in seafood and how it was bad for pregnant women, but I wasn’t sure of the details. Avoiding tuna might be the best idea.

“Oh! She loves broccoli. Can we put it on pizza?”

“I guess we can put anything on pizza. Let’s go shopping.”

Forty-five minutes later, we checked out and took the groceries to the condo. Jamie went to her mother’s bedroom to check on her while I unpacked groceries and put things away as best I could.

As I was looking for a skillet, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Keir.

Where are you? The funeral is over, and I’m taking Mr. Calvin to the cemetery. I’ll be done in an hour. Can I come to where you are?

I grinned. My Dearly was my heart.

I’m at Lake’s. Come here. Jamie and I are making pizza with broccoli. HELP!

Tossing my phone on the counter, I found what I was looking for and set it on the burner. I opened the ground sausage and dumped it into the skillet, turning on the burner to cook it.

Jamie ran into the kitchen and hopped up on a stool where the heads of broccoli were sitting. “Can I break it up? Momma’s okay right now, but she says she needs to rest.”

I took a deep breath. “Yes, you can break it up, and I’ll chop it smaller for the pizza. Yeah, your momma needs to rest, but there’s no need to worry. Tell me about school. How’s that going?”

Jamie told me about the spring music concert at her school. They were performing a musical that sounded fun. I’d never done anything of the sort in elementary school, and Jamie seemed so excited that it made me smile.

The sausage was simmering on the stove—I wasn’t a great cook, but I was trying. When Lake came into the kitchen, I pulled out a chair for her immediately. “Sit, please.”

Lake sat at the island, glancing around the kitchen. “What are you two up to?”

“We’re makin’ dinner. Broccoli and sausage pizza. Does that sound good?” Jamie was staring at her mother with love in her eyes, and I admired it. I hoped I saw that look in the eyes of our daughter.

“It sounds incredible.” She then turned to me with a smile. “Where’s Keir? I’d like both of you to be here right now. I feel like I need both of you.”

The knock on the door made me grin. “Jamie, can you go let Keir in?”

I knew my husband was outside that door, and my heart took flight. When Jamie opened the door, Keir’s grin made me crave him.

He was carrying a pink box, and when he hugged Jamie, I knew he was thrilled to be there with us... especially with the possibility of our baby being inside Lake.