Jas tilted her face up to his and they shared a kiss, as Maia slipped her hand into mine. I glanced at her and she smiled. I wanted one of those moments, too. I wondered how Maia would look with a swollen belly. Probably even more beautiful than she did right now. I pulled her hand and leaned over to kiss her quickly on the forehead, writing myself a mental note to talk to her about that later.
It’d been a while since I’d last thought about having kids. It wasn’t something Em and I had spent a lot of time talking about, but I just assumed it would happen eventually. When she disappeared, it wasn’t an issue anymore, nor had it been since.
We settled down at the table to eat. Bridget was quiet, but I could see she was trying hard to relax. She sat next to Alex, and I saw her reach for his hand a couple of times, squeezing tight and giving him a gentle smile. He tolerated it well. I had no idea what social circles he moved in these days, but I got the definite feeling it had been a long while since he’d just sat down to dinner like this.
It should never be underestimated, the power of love. The love of family, of friends, it was quite something. It had pulled me back from the brink before, and now, I could see how it might do the same for him.
Maia was fairly quiet, too, but I think for different reasons. She was exhausted. She needed to sleep, but the last few days had held few opportunities for that. I was hoping we might slip away after dinner and give her the chance to try and catch up. She hadn’t mentioned any more hallucinations or strange incidents recently, but if she didn’t get some proper sleep soon, I had visions of my own – of dragging her off to the doctor, kicking and screaming. If we were to begin digging into who she really was, she would need to at least have some decent sleep under her belt. It might be a long haul.
“I have a little announcement to make,” Jas said, as Vinnie returned to the table with a round of drink refills for us all.
She glanced up at him with a shy smile, and then reached over for Bridget’s hand. “We’ve decided on a name for the baby.”
Bridget smiled. “I thought you weren’t going to tell us till the big day?”
“I know, but we thought we might tell you now instead,” Vinnie said, sitting down on the other side of Jas. “While we’re all together.”
Jas looked over at him and then back at Bridget. She looked nervous suddenly.
“We want to call her Emily Rose,” she said. “If that’s okay with you.”
From where I sat, even I could see the tears that had sprung into Bridget’s eyes. My heart broke for her. It was a beautiful gesture, and one I knew Em would’ve loved. I’m sure Bridget was thinking the same thing. She smiled through her tears, nodding.
“Of course that’s okay with me,” she whispered.
I don’t think she was capable of speaking any louder. Maia slipped her hand into mine, resting on my leg, and squeezed. When I looked over at her, she was close to tears, too.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Vinnie said, raising his glass. “To Henry. He may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, Henry.”
We all raised our glasses and cans and joined him in silent agreement. I was glad the baby was coming soon. We all needed something positive to focus on, something to take our minds off the hole Henry had left behind, while we got used to not having him with us. It seemed the universe was blessing us with a perfect way to help heal our pain.
One life ended, another was just beginning.
AFTER DINNER, VINNIE stood at the barbeque, can of beer in one hand, scraper in the other.
“I checked the forecast,” he said. “Tomorrow morning, decent swell, right through till the afternoon. You up for it?”
I shrugged, one hand in the pocket of my boardies, the other holding my can. “Yeah, okay.”
Maybe it’d help to clear the cobwebs away.
“Okay, good. Let’s go early to try and avoid the throng.”
I was just about to agree with him when Bridget yelled out from inside. “Vinnie!”
She wasn’t kidding. Vinnie dropped the scraper and headed for the house, with me bringing up the rear. I wasn’t prepared for what we would find. Jas was standing in the middle of the kitchen, a puddle at her feet, looking shocked and frightened.
“Her waters just broke,” Bridget said, calmly this time. “We should probably get to the hospital.”
Jas’s usual unflappable demeanour was gone. She looked petrified. Maia appeared with a towel and began wiping the floor.
Bridget came forward and took Vinnie by the arm, steering him into the living room.
“Has she got a bag packed?”
He nodded, not taking his eyes off Jas. “Is this it?”
Bridget smiled, and I could suddenly see her old self reappear. Calm in a crisis, the voice of reason. “Yes love, this is it. Come on, grab that bag and your car keys and let’s get going.”
I didn’t know what to do with myself. Should we boil water? Get towels? What?
“I’ll phone her midwife,” Bridget said, giving Vinnie a little push towards the hallway. “You grab the bag. Heath, go with him.”