Unexpected Bond (Unexpected Arrivals 4)

“Seth, this isn’t necessary.”

“Fine, I’ll just pick it out on my own. I’m thinking what, like five or six carats?” I ask.

“No.” She takes my phone from me and begins scrolling. “That’s too much. I’d be afraid to lose it.”

I smile. I know she’s not flashy, but I also know that would get her to tell me what she really wanted. We’ll see how big a stone she chooses. I might still insist on an upgrade. Nothing but the best for my future wife.

Chapter Eighteen

Mara 18

* * *

Girls’ trip weekend. I’m excited and nervous all at the same time. I waved goodbye to Seth and Finley this morning, and my daughter didn’t have a care in the world as she waved from her daddy’s arms. Daddy. She doesn’t call him that all the time. I don’t think she really understands at her age, but when she does, I swear I see him light up. One day when she’s old enough, I’ll sit her down and tell her how we both fell in love with her father.

“How do you think the guys are going to do with the kids?” Dawn asks.

“I’m not worried,” Kendall replies.

“I’m a little worried.” Reagan laughs. “The boys are a lot to handle sometimes.”

“Yeah, but they’re older. It’s not like they’re both taking bottles. Tyler has it under control,” Dawn comments.

“What about Mark?” Kendall asks.

“Pft, I doubt they even miss me. Daisy and Mark are like two peas in a pod. They’ve had this special bond since the day she was born.”

“They’ll miss you,” I tell her.

“What about you?” Amelia speaks up. “You think Seth is going to be calling his parents begging for help?” she says with a laugh.

“Honestly, I doubt it. He’s great with her.”

“Ladies, we’re lucky,” Reagan says. “Our men, our babies, each other.” She reaches over and rests her hand over Amelia’s.

“That we are,” Kendall agrees.

“So…” I speak up from the seat in the back of the minivan that we rented. “I think this trip is going to mark two items off the list.”

“How so?” Kendall asks, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. She’s taking the first leg of driving.

“Well, I booked a suite in the hotel. It has three bedrooms, two with double beds and one king. It looks out over the falls. It has a balcony that shows us both the east and west. That means we can watch the sunrise and the sunset in the same day, over the falls.”

“And of course we’re taking a ton of pictures,” Dawn says.

“We’re making memories,” Reagan agrees.

“Right, so we’re ticking these items off. What’s left?” Kendall asks, this time keeping her eyes on the road.

“Get a tattoo, which we’re waiting for. Fly in a plane, swim in the ocean, fall in love, and get married. The others, we either have planned or are in the process of completing. You know, baby needs to cook and all that,” I say. I’m trying to keep my voice cheery and void of the heartache I feel.

“I was thinking,” Amelia says. “I’d like to make a scrapbook for the baby. Take these pictures, these memories, and put them to good use. I’ve been researching, and I could journal each moment so he or she knows what I was feeling. What that moment meant to me.”

I lose my composure as a sob breaks free from my chest. Surveying the car, everyone is wiping at their eyes. We’re all affected by this, by her life, and this battle she’s facing. We’re affected by the love she has for her baby, and the memories she wants to make and leave behind.

“Let’s do it,” I say through my tears.

“Count me in,” Reagan says.

“Me too,” Dawn and Kendall say.

“We can set up at my place, in the basement. I’ll have Seth get us some tables and we can leave it all out. Maybe get together as often as we can and do it together?”

Amelia turns to look at me over her shoulder, tears in her eyes. “I love that idea, Mara.”

“Good. I’ll text Seth now, letting him know our plan.” I don’t need to tell him now, but it’s a good excuse to check in and remove myself from the sadness that’s causing my chest to feel as though it’s cracking open.

* * *

Me: Hey, handsome. Do you mind if the girls and I set up scrapbook central in the

basement?

* * *

Seth: Hello, future wife. This is your house too, Mara.

* * *

Me: I love you. How’s our girl?

* * *

He replies with a picture of him and Finley sitting on the living room floor coloring.

* * *

Seth: We miss you already so we’re drawing you a picture.

* * *

Me: I miss you too.

* * *

Seth: So what’s up with scrapbook central?

* * *

Me: Making memories and preserving them.

* * *

Seth: You’re an amazing woman, Mara.

* * *

Me: Because I have the love of an amazing man.

* * *

“Mara,” Dawn says, and I look up to find them laughing. All eyes, except for a quick glance from Kendall, are on me. “We’re not even an hour in and he has you all mushy.”

“Hey!” I say, not even a little bit offended. “I was telling him about scrapbook central at our place.”

“Let me see that ring again.” Reagan turns in her seat, and I waste no time thrusting my arm in the middle of the third-row seat to show her.

“Mara,” Amelia says softly. The van is suddenly quiet except for the heavy rhythm of my heart beating in my chest. “I’m glad it’s you. I know that when I’m gone, you’ll be there for them. All three of them.”

“Amelia.” I

choke out her name.

“It makes this easier, you know? To know that my baby has you.” She glances around the van. “All of you. I don’t have to worry about a mother being in his or her life. He or she has four amazing women to look up to. I have no regrets.”

A sob breaks from my chest and I lose all composure. I try to hold it in, but there’s no use. My body shakes with the overwhelming grief of losing my best friend. “I hate this,” I say, my voice muffled through my pain. “This isn’t fair.”

“Life isn’t fair, Mara. It’s unexpected and it’s messy. It’s oftentimes unkind, but how you push through… how you hold your head up high and remember those who leave this earth before you, that’s what’s important. Keeping the memories alive.”

“I’d rather have you,” I mumble, wiping at my eyes.

“You will have me,” Amelia says. She looks down at her belly, her hand resting over her baby. “You will forever have a piece of me with you.”

Kendall pulls over to the side of the road and puts the van in Park. Even through my blurred vision from my tears, I see her rest her head against the steering wheel as her shoulders shake. All five of us are lost in our grief.

“I love you guys so much. I can’t ever thank you enough for doing this for me. This trip, the list, the baby. I’m not scared.” Amelia wipes at her eyes.

Silence surrounds us as we get ourselves together. Without a word, Kendall puts the van in Drive and just like that, we’re back on the road. I know moments like this are going to be plentiful in the coming months. I just hope that I can survive them.

“I look like a drowned rat.” Amelia laughs as she flips through someone’s camera. I’m not sure who’s she has because we all brought them. Kendall, Reagan, and Dawn all have these fancy SLR cameras that take like a billion pictures in a minute. Mine is just a small digital that I bought when I found out I was pregnant. It takes great pictures, but it’s nothing fancy. Amelia actually has the same one. We were roommates at the time and got them on sale.