Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125135 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Lala looked up. “Well, thankfully we have some time before we have to worry about that love story.”
“But you know what you don’t have all that much time for?” Colby asked.
I raised a brow. “What?”
“The minute baby Hope here can identify rodents, you’d better believe her uncle Colby is going to gift her with one. Maybe two or three.”
Billie chimed in. “Oh, you know it.”
“Fair enough,” I conceded.
Our friends didn’t stay long. I think they could tell how tired Lala and I were. I was looking forward to heading home to the apartment tomorrow. My mother and Lala’s mom were both staying in a spare apartment in the building and would be sticking around to help for a while. We certainly had no lack of love and support around us.
Lala turned on Jeopardy! as Hope lay sleeping in her arms. I sat at the bedside and alternated between looking at the TV and admiring my daughter’s little face. She looked so much like Lala. I wondered if she’d have the same crazy curls. I’d thought I loved Lala more than I could possibly love anyone. But then I met Hope. If I could cover her in bubblewrap forever to protect her, I would. I planned to drive ten miles per hour on the way out of here.
“Today was the best day of my life,” I said.
“Me, too,” Lala said as she turned to me. “Can you guess what the second-best day was?”
“Well, you once told me the best day of your life was when I proposed to you atop your parents’ roof.”
“Bingo.” She winked.
We’d been visiting our parents in Pennsylvania one weekend. Lala had gone to the grocery store, and I climbed up on the Ellisons’ roof so that when she pulled back into the driveway, she’d see me standing up there holding a gigantic Will You Marry Me? sign.
“You know…” I said. “I’d wanted you up there with me when I proposed, but I was too scared you’d slip and fall or something and hurt the baby.”
“If you had asked me to go up there, I would’ve suspected something. So it was perfect the way it was. I never saw it coming.”
“Some of the best things in life are those we don’t see coming, huh?” “I smiled down at Hope. “Yeah. I’m talking about you, little girl. The surprise of my life.”
Our daughter cooed and looked up at me.
“She has Ryan’s eyes,” I said.
“I know. Genetics is amazing, isn’t it?”
I frowned. “I really felt his absence when everyone was here today.”
“Me, too,” Lala murmured.
We turned our attention back to Jeopardy!. A few minutes in, one of the categories was Daytime TV.
The question was: ABC soap set in Washington Heights.
One of the contestants pressed the buzzer and answered, “What is Ryan’s Hope?”
Lala and I looked at each other.
He always made sure to let us know he was here.