“We didn’t put the whole birth in.” As quickly as Audra said it, the scene changed to a hospital bed and Marsha holding newborn Joshua.
Seeing her, Dominic couldn’t control his tears. Pulling his hand out of Audra’s, he lowered his face to his palm and sobbed. “No two people wanted a baby like they did.”
Audra paused the video. “I easily saw that from the videos.” She laid her hand on Dominic’s shoulder. “I know this is hard for you, but imagine how Joshua will feel when he’s old enough to understand. You don’t have to worry that he won’t know Peter and Marsha. You don’t have to feel you’re replacing them. You only need to love Joshua, to be their eyes and ears and hands. To say the words they would have said but can’t.” She rose from her seat, handing him the remote and several more CDs. “If you watch these with him as he’s growing up, you can fill in the blanks. You can tell him the stories no one else knows.”
She left Dominic alone in the entertainment room with a handful of CDs and a lifetime of memories. He spent the rest of the day there.
Audra wasn’t surprised that she didn’t see Dominic after she’d left him in the entertainment room. She suspected he had watched all the CDs. She knew he’d grieved all over again for the brother he missed so terribly that he couldn’t put it into words. She knew he wasn’t ready for company.
What she didn’t know was whether or not he appreciated what she had done or if he thought she’d overstepped her boundaries.
When he arrived in the nursery on Sunday morning, coffee in hand, the solemn look on his face told her nothing.
“Good morning.”
He cleared his throat. “Good morning.” He handed her a mug of coffee. “Modern technology certainly has changed the way we remember things.”
“You say that as if you’re not sure it’s good.”
“It’s wonderful for Joshua,” he said without hesitation. “But yesterday was hard on me.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” He sucked in a breath. “I needed to remember that Peter was just a person. But I also needed to be reminded that I had lots of ways to show Joshua his parents.” He caught her gaze. “Many people aren’t so lucky.”
“No, not everybody has tons of videos and still photos. Your family certainly is camera happy.”
He laughed and Audra relaxed. “Yeah, my mom and Peter were insane with the camera.” He caught her gaze. “But that was good.”
“That was very good,” Audra softly agreed.
He pulled in a breath. “So how’d you find the time to organize all that?”
“I didn’t. Regina, Wedding Belles’ photographer, spent the past few days doing nothing but going over your family’s videos and stills. The stills were apparently easy. It’s the video that took time. She wanted to put in just the right things to instantly get to the heart of who Peter and Marsha were.”
“She did a great job.”
“These videos will be good while Joshua’s in grade school. Then when he’s old enough he can look at all the tapes that Regina didn’t use. It will be like interacting with his parents in different ways and new environments.”
Dominic nodded. “But there’s a bit more to it than showing Joshua Peter’s life.” He pulled in another long draught of air. “I have to thank you for something else.”
She frowned. “Really?”
“Yes. The time you spent here has been as good for me as it has been for Joshua.”
She busied herself with gathering a fresh diaper and clean outfit for the baby. “I only taught you a few baby things.”
“No, it’s more. Audra—”
He paused again and Audra faced him. The expression in his eyes caused her heart to skip a beat. After all the thinking she’d done about her life and turning down casual dates in search of commitment, she felt totally different about him and a possible relationship between them. If he asked her to go out and have fun tonight, she wouldn’t tell him no.
She held her breath.
“You make me feel as if my life is important.”
Not expecting that, she tilted her head in question. “Your life is important.”
“No, I’m saying this badly.” He paced from the crib to the window and back again. “You make me feel as if the things I do, like raising Joshua, matter more than running the company. More than keeping the Manellis wealthy.”
Disappointment rattled through her. Not that she didn’t want him to find his way and be happy. She was thrilled for Joshua that Dominic had made a total turnaround and that he felt so much better about his situation. But she had a tightening in her chest. A premonition she sometimes experienced right before bad news.