Brody felt a small tug on his pants leg. He looked down to see Sarah standing there with John beside her, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
Brody dropped to a crouch and picked Sarah up with his one good arm. “Yes, ma’am?” he asked.
“Are you in love with my mommy?” Sarah asked directly.
“Absolutely,” Brody replied.
“Are you in love with Brody, Mommy?” she asked, gazing at Lou.
“All the way,” she replied, smiling fondly at her daughter. Then she added. “Brody just asked me to marry him. What do you think of that?”
John took his hat off and flung it in the air, whooping loudly.
Sarah laughed out loud. “Sounds good to me,” she said, kissing Brody on the cheek. She whispered in his ear. “Now we’ll all be a family?”
“You better believe it.” Brody said.
****
The four of them left the park and headed for home. Sarah rode with John while Lou and Brody took the Jeep. Their hands were clutched together on the console, his fingers toying with hers. He flipped the engagement ring around on her finger and said, “You sure you want to marry me?”
“A better question would be, are you sure you want an instant family? There will be Sarah and me, and baby makes three.” She fondly placed his hand on her flat stomach.
“I sure hope so,” he said, his eyes meeting hers.
“Really?” she asked. He nodded. “There’s a pregnancy test under the seat,” she informed him shyly.
“You don’t say,” he replied, suddenly swerving into the parking lot at a gas station. Lou grabbed the dash and shrieked.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
He reached beneath the seat and pulled out the brown paper bag. “We’re going to take a test,” he said.
“Here?” she questioned.
“Here,” he said, opening her door and ushering her out.
Lou giggled and followed him to the restroom. He pressed the brown bag into her hand and whispered in her ear, “Need some help?”
She blushed and went through the bathroom door.
Inside the stall, Lou’s heart raced as though she had run a four-minute mile. She capped the test and slid it back into the bag without looking at the results.
She washed her hands and ran her fingers through her hair in front of the mirror.
Brody knocked insistently on the door. “You had better get your cute little fanny out here,” he said.
She blew the hair from her eyes as she walked back out. Her eyes met his, her cheeks rosy and her heart still fluttering.
“Well?” he asked.
“Well, what?” she toyed with him.
“Are we?” he asked.
She held the bag out to him. “I don’t know. I’m afraid to look.”
He snatched the bag from her hand and opened it. He read the side of the stick. His face fell. “I’m sorry, Lou.”