Thirteen
Despite my best efforts, my mother had rubbed off on me enough that I found myself up early, making pancakes and bacon. My mom always went overboard when we had guests and I was carrying on the tradition.
Erica was still sleeping and I hadn’t heard anything from the guest room where Sawyer and Lindsey were staying. The apartment had been quiet for the last hour while I’d started brewing the coffee and making up the pancake mix. I liked the quiet of the morning. The world seemed so peaceful and I felt a smile growing on my face as I thought back to the summer and Adam and the day he’d returned to Boston after our unexpected summer. He’d woken me up as the sun rose and led me out to Silver Falls. The world had just been waking up and we talked of our future before he’d made love to me in the soft grass. It was one of my favorite memories of him and of us.
I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, forcing me to return from Silver Falls and back to the present where bacon fried on the stove and pancakes cooked on the griddle. I turned my head to see my brother entering the kitchen, still in his pajamas and a bad case of bed head.
“Good morning,” I said to him and he ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to tame it.
“Morning,” he replied and walked up beside me, stealing a piece of bacon from the plate. “Still being Mom’s clone, I see.”
“I am not Mom’s clone,” I said defensively. “No one is as happy as she is all the time, especially me.” We both laughed a little and then he leaned against the counter, folding his arms and looking at me. “I just thought we could have a nice breakfast together before the day begins and we all do whatever it is we’re going to do.” I flipped a pancake and looked at Sawyer. “What are yours and Lindsey’s plans?”
“She mentioned wanting to do some of the Freedom Trail stuff. She hasn’t had a chance to since she was a kid. You want to join us?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you, but I kinda just want to relax today and then watch the game at one. Adam’s pitching today.”
“Then we’ll try and be back by then,” he said and I shook my head.
“Don’t rush back. You and Lindsey should enjoy yourselves. Plus, if you want to check out the game, stop into any sports bar and you know the game will be on the TV,” I said.
“We’ll see,” he said, his voice dropping a little and I looked over to see his gaze was focused off into nothing.
“You okay, Sawyer?” I asked him, causing his head to jerk back towards mine.
“Yeah,” he answered quickly. “Where can I grab a mug for some coffee.”
I motioned for the cabinet behind him and it was quiet for a few moments while he poured his coffee. He took a few sips as I finished the batch of pancakes I was working on.
“Is Lindsey still sleeping?” I asked.
“Yeah. She’s been pretty tired lately,” he said.
“Should we go ahead and eat then? I’m sure Erica will be asleep for the foreseeable future.”
“Yeah. Let’s eat,” Sawyer said and I filled each of our plates while he grabbed the butter and syrup, bringing them over to the counter and sitting down side by side.
“How are things back home?” I asked him as we ate and he finished chewing before he answered.
“It’s good. Nothing’s changed much.”
“Are you still looking to move out?” I asked and he hesitated as a smile I’d never seen on my brother’s face before slowly appeared.
“Yeah. Lindsey and I are anxious to have our own place,” he told me and it grew quiet again for a few moments as we continued to eat. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something, Care.” He set his fork down and turned to me, the smile I’d seen only a second ago not quite as wide.
“What is it?” I asked and I could tell Sawyer was nervous.
“Lindsey and I were wondering,” he began, but then paused for a few seconds, “if you and Adam might be free to come up to Vermont in the middle of July.”
“Why? You know it’s the middle of baseball season. I can probably get away, but not Adam.”
“It’s the All-Star Break. There’s a week off for players.”
“What’s this about, Sawyer?” I finally demanded and it was quiet momentarily before he finally spoke.
“We’re getting married July eighteenth and we want you there,” he answered and I was too stunned to say anything right away. I felt my mouth hanging open though.
“July eighteenth? That’s only a few weeks away. You just got engaged. I thought you were going to wait for a while…around Christmas, you said.”
“We were. Plans change though,” he said, but then took a breath before looking me right in the eyes. “We’ll be having a baby at Christmas instead.”
If I thought my words were lost earlier, they had completely vanished now. Sawyer looked nervous, excited, terrified and thrilled all in one expression.
“Are you serious?” I finally whispered and he nodded.
“Yeah. We found out a month ago. She’s three months along.”
“I…I can’t believe this. I…I don’t even know what to say. This…this is crazy. Good crazy, but crazy. You and Lindsey. A baby.”
My words were hardly coherent as I tried imagining my brother as a father. This was the same boy who’d given me wedgies and wet willies, but now he was going to have a child of his own and I knew he’d be the most amazing father. I jumped out of my seat, throwing my arms around him and hugging him tightly.
“I’m so happy for you,” I whispered in his ear.
“Thank you,” he said and it was quiet as we held each other for a few moments before I pulled back and wiped at my tear-filled eyes.
“Were you guys trying?” I asked, wondering if I was getting too personal.
“Absolutely not,” he said with a laugh.
“How’s Lindsey handling it?” I asked softly.
“She was shocked at first. And scared, too,” he added. “We both were, but now,” he said, pausing as that faraway look returned to his face, one of peace and contentment. “Now we’re really excited.”
“I can’t believe this,” I said, wiping at my eyes again. “This really is the best news.”
“We think so and we want to get married before the baby comes. We know it’s hard for Adam to get time off, but we both want him there, which is why we thought the All-Star Break might work. Do you think it might?”
“Probably. I’ll talk with him tonight if that’s okay. He’ll do whatever he has to do to be there. You know he will.”
“Yeah, I do,” he said. “It won’t be anything big. Just something small with our families.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great and you’ll let me know if there’s anything I can do to help with preparations, won’t you?”
“We will, but don’t worry about it. Your life is in Boston now. We’ll get it done.”
His words stung a bit. My life was in Boston, but it was still in Silver Falls too.
“How did Mom and Dad take the news?”
“Mom freaked out and Dad was quiet for a few minutes. Then Mom got over her initial shock and started talking about what it was going to be like to be a grandmother. She’s pretty stoked about the whole thing actually.”
I could just imagine the fun my mom was going to have with this baby.
“And Lindsey’s family?”
“They’re excited too,” he said and then I looked at him, raising my eyebrow.
“What about Erica? Does she know?”
Sawyer laughed softly and then met my eyes.
“No. I thought I’d leave that honor to you. Adam too.”
“You want me to tell Adam for you?”
“You’re better with words than me, Care,” he said, but before I could respond we heard someone coming down the stairs. When we turned, I saw Lindsey walking slowly towards me, apprehensive almost. I could tell she was waiting for me to say something. She knew Sawyer had told me.
I stood from my chair and walked slowly to Lindsey. She smiled timidly. I was still getting to know this girl, but I knew how much Sawyer loved her. I’d never seen him truly happy until she came into his life and I loved her for loving my brother.
“Congratulations,” I said, my eyes tearing up again. Hers did too and her smile seemed less timid this time.
“Thank you,” she said softly and then I hugged her. She hugged me back and I was suddenly overwhelmed that Lindsey was carrying my little niece or nephew inside of her. I felt myself choke up at the thought of how much everything was changing. It wasn’t that long ago that Sawyer didn’t even know Lindsey and Adam was still gone from our lives. It made me wonder what else could change since our lives seemed to be on their own tracks, going whichever way they decided to go.
Lindsey pulled away and made her way over to Sawyer’s side. She stood next to him, so close their bodies were touching. I watched as he lifted his arm, stroking her back gently. They turned to look at each other and the tenderness in their eyes made me tear up. There was no doubt this was a good thing.
“So,” Sawyer asked, finally looking away from Lindsey and right at me, “do you think you can make it in July?”
I smiled at my brother. He was ridiculous to ask such a stupid question.
“I wouldn’t miss it.”