Lys was full-on crying now. I felt like a bastard as she continued, “And even after we got you sober, I thought you were going to just fade away. You walked around like you were already dead. I have been scared shitless for three years that I’d come home from work and you’d be in that chair, dead.”
She wasn’t wrong. I’d considered it more than once.
“Then this girl shows up and suddenly you’re alive again. Rose, Sophie, and I are so thrilled we have our dad back. I feel like I can breathe again. So don’t fuck this up. I don’t care that she’s your sister. Don’t you dare fuck this up. We need you. Especially…”
“Especially what,” I asked.
“…especially now with Rose having the baby soon.”
Yeah, that was true but there was something else. She wasn’t telling me the whole truth but I decided to let Lys tell me in her own time. I moved to the couch and pulled Lys into a hug. “I love you, kid. Thank you. For everything.”
“Love you too, Pop.”
Lys headed toward the stairs, which surprised me. Normally she’d hit the hot tub after work for a bit.
“Not using the hot tub,” I asked.
“Nope. Just a shower and bed,” Lys answered and she put her hand on her belly.
Ah.
I smiled and looked at her. She returned the smile and said, “Shit. Don’t tell Sophie you know.”
My smile got a lot wider.
“All those appointments and errands,” Lys said, “Sperm bank. I came back positive yesterday. Sophie confirmed it this morning.”
“Can I tell Amy?”
“Yeah, but she has to act surprised when we tell you all. She can’t let on.”
I got up and hugged Lys again. “You’re going to be a great mom. You’re both going to be great parents.”
“We had good teachers,” Lys sniffed and went upstairs.
I quickly dialed Amy.
“Hey,” she answered, “I thought you were going to text. But I’m really glad you called.”
“You sitting down,” I asked.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?”
“Not a damn thing. Lys is pregnant.”
“What? How? Who?”
I explained to Amy what I had just found out and she was as overjoyed as I was. “But we don’t know this,” I said. “Sophie isn’t ready for people to know and wants to tell us all together.”:
“David,” she said, “this weekend we need to figure out how to tell Clare and Chris we’re more than brother and sister. We don’t have to tell them right away but we need to figure it out and be ready. I don’t want to hide.”
“I agree, Amy. I love you.”
“Love you, too. I still expect the text when you go to bed, mister.”
We hung up and I went about shutting the house up for the night. Sophie would be home soon but I was too damn tired to stay up. As I crawled into bed I sent a message to Amy, “The man misses you and loves you very much.”
Ding
Amy: “Love you, too. Talk to you tomorrow.”
I laid back, turned off my light and went to sleep with a very happy smile on my face.
*Lyrics from “Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” by Elvis Presley
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