“In the middle of the party?” Vanessa said. “Don’t you think it can wait?”
“No. And we’ll only been gone like 20 minutes. I have to know now. I should probably stop drinking this champagne while I’m thinking about it,” Charlotte put down the glass next to the ice sculpture. “Let’s go.”
********
The little pink plus side had come up immediately.
“Holy shit,” Vanessa said, staring down at the test in Charlotte’s manicured hands. “What is Declan going to think?”
Charlotte smiled. She knew what he’d think. The same thing she thought.
They were going to have a baby. Someone that was part her and part him. Part Charlotte’s mother. And Declan’s parents. The new baby would have no shortage of guardian angels.
“I have to go find him,” Charlotte said. They’d taken the test in the restroom on the other side of the building for privacy.
“Now?” Vanessa said. “Sis, you’re crazy.”
“I know it,” Charlotte called over her shoulder as she walked out of the restroom. “This is what love does to a person, apparently.”
********
Declan was leaning against a column, laughing at a joke Winston Ravenel was telling him. Charlotte stared at him across the room, her heart racing. She wanted to capture this memory, the moment before she would tell Declan he was going to be a father. God, he was so handsome. And so happy. They both were. Ever since he’d asked her to marry him, life had been complete bliss. It almost scared her how fantastic things were.
And now, they were about to get even better.
She sashayed over to him slowly. His eyes met hers when she’d almost reached him, and he offered her his hand, pulling her into him.
“Hey, baby,” he said, kissing her hard on the mouth. “You sure do look beautiful tonight. You’re glowing.”
“Well, there’s a reason for that,” she said, smirking. “Sorry, Winston, can you give my fiancé and me a moment alone?”
“Sure,” Winston said, taking the last swallow of his bourbon. “I was thinking of talking to your sister. She sure is a pretty girl.”
“Oh, you stay far away from her, Winston Ravenel!” Charlotte poked him in the chest. “She’s pure and perfect. Do not corrupt her.”
“Wouldn’t think of it,” Winston winked at her. “I’ll leave you two be.” And off he went.
Declan looked down at Charlotte, “You get some good news? You look like you’re about to burst out of your skin.”
“I am,” Charlotte whispered, pressing herself against his chest. “Declan, I love you so much.”
He tipped her chin up with his hand, looking into her eyes, “I love you more. What’s going on?”
“I just found out,” she said. “Declan, I’m pregnant.”
His eyes widened and he stepped back for a moment.
“You just found out?” he asked. “How?”
Charlotte smiled, “My sister reminded me that nausea can sometimes mean you’re knocked up. Silly me, I didn’t even consider it. Some doctor I am. We ran to the drugstore and grabbed a test. I just took it. I’m going to have a baby. And by the way, it’s yours.”
Declan laughed and pulled her into him, tears in his eyes, “We made a baby. Charlotte… How is it possible for a man to have this many dreams come true?”
“I don’t know,” Charlotte said, wrapping her arms around him. “But let’s find out together. If it’s a boy, we will name him Henry.”
“And if it’s a girl, we’ll name her after your momma,” Declan said.
Charlotte kissed him then, a kiss full of longing, hope, and the belief that her mother was a part of this happiness. She’d never felt her presence as much as she felt it in that moment.
It was true, what her father told her once, when she was especially upset about her mother dying. It had been right after she’d come back from Charleston. She’d missed her mother terribly, so badly wishing she had her there to help her heal from the broken heart of Declan leaving her.
“One day,” her father had said to her. “She’ll come back to you. In a way you won’t even expect. For me, she’s here through you and your sister. And one day, you will have your own children. And you’ll realize that the people we lose come back through the love we make. They are in a piece of everything you do. And your children are God’s way of bringing them back. I promise, Charlotte. I can’t promise you much, but I can promise that.”
Charlotte held onto Declan tight, tears falling down her cheeks. Her father was right. Her mother was there. She’d come back through her love for Declan, and now through the child they’d made together.
Life moves forward through the people we are brave enough to love again, Charlotte thought.
If there was anything to learn, that would always be the most important lesson of all.
THE END