Always and Forever

by Jerry Cole

  “Here we go,” she grumbled and moved to get cleaned up to go downstairs. We headed to our apartment, and she sat at the table while Micah got two cups of coffee.

  “Do you want some tea?” He asked, and she stared thoughtfully at him.

  “I guess. Wait, do you have any juice?” She asked, and I laughed.

  “Orange and pineapple.” Micah smiled at me.

  “Orange.” That started her obsession with orange juice, which led to Vitamin Water zero.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Micah

  I drove the three of us to the doctor in a quiet car. Despite having a couple of days to sort through this, Mallory was a mess.

  “What if there’s something wrong with the baby?” She chewed her already short fingernails, and I looked over at her.

  “They’ll take care of you. I think you might even get to see the baby today.” I smiled and glanced at Keller through the rearview mirror.

  “Really?” Mallory looked at me with wide eyes.

  “Maybe. They look for a heartbeat, at least. I remember when Trina was pregnant, and Ryan told me about this stuff. You should talk to her,” I said, and she swallowed.

  “I just want to get through this.” Keller leaned forward to hug her shoulders, and she closed her eyes.

  We parked at the office and walked through the heavy glass doors. Keller glanced back at the mountain range behind us, and I wrapped an arm around my sister. We made our way to the lobby of her new doctor, and I helped check her in before we took seats against the wall.

  Mallory looked around and chewed her lip as she took in the handful of women in the room, some with partners and others that appeared to be alone. “This is so weird. I never thought I’d be here.” She played with her hair that was pulled back in a loose ponytail and pressed herself further back into the seat.

  When her name was called, I looked at Keller. “Do you mind waiting for us?”

  “Not at all. I’ll be here.” He smiled, and I walked behind Mallory as she headed toward the nurse at the door. They weighed her just inside and took her vitals, which looked good. We headed back to an office, and she sat on the bed while I took a seat in the chair beside her.

  “Are you the father?” The pretty blonde asked, and we both choked.

  “No. This is my brother. My boyfriend is out of town right now.” Mallory blushed and looked at the woman. “He can be here, right?”

  “Yes. They’ll give you time to opt-out if needed.” Mallory nodded, and the nurse asked her some questions before sending her to the bathroom for a urine test. She smiled at me when she told Mallory to put on a robe when she came back, and that Doctor Talin would be in soon.

  We both walked into the hall, and Mallory stared at me. “Did you hear that?”

  “Yeah. I thought of it when I called for the appointment, but she came highly recommended.” I smiled and watched as she headed to the bathroom. When she finished, I gave her time to go in and undress before walking in with the doctor. She was a kind-looking brunette of about forty and smiled at us as Mallory explained who I was.

  She asked a lot of questions, making my sister blush as she answered. It was nothing I didn’t already assume and quietly sat as Mallory explained everything. The doctor confirmed that the medication might have been the cause and glanced at me when it came time to move forward. “This won’t be the traditional ultrasound. I need to do the internal kind this early.”

  “Can he step out for the first part, and I can cover myself a bit?” Mallory asked, and the doctor nodded.

  “I think that would be fine.” She told me that she’d open the door when they were ready, and I stepped back into the hallway.

  I always thought I’d go into a rage when Mallory got pregnant and want to murder the father of the baby. My sister was only twenty-two years old, after all. She was working on building a future. Deep in my heart, I knew that Talon was a good man. He would stay by her side through this, and we had people that would be there to help. Everyone would love this baby.

  I waited until the door opened to see my sister lying on the bed covered with thin hospital blankets. I couldn't see anything and refused to think about what was happening. The doctor started, and Mallory stared at the ceiling as she waited for the next part.

  We heard the heartbeat first. It was a soft whoosh sound that repeated in the room as Mallory pressed a hand to her mouth. I couldn’t believe that I was hearing a baby, my sister’s baby. This was my niece or nephew.

  After that, something appeared on the screen. It was a muddled image, but there was a tiny form there. “You look to be about eight weeks along. The baby looks strong.”

  “Eight weeks,” Mallory repeated, staring at the image.

  “This is going to be a Spring baby, probably late March.” Mallory started to cry, and I knew that her decision was made.

  She printed some of the pictures, and we made appointments over the next few weeks. Mallory left the office with an idea of what to eat and how to take care of herself and the baby.

  Keller hugged her when she burst into the waiting room. She seemed to have a weight off her shoulders. “How did it go?”

  She shoved the pictures at him, and Keller laughed as he looked. “We heard the heartbeat. It’s going to come in the Spring.” She looked at me. “Can we get some lunch?”

  “There she is.” I laughed and smiled at her. “What do you want?”

  We ended up at a chicken place for fried chicken. Mallory inhaled it and drank a large lemonade with the meal, and I wondered if this would be the main craving. “Do you think I should wait to share this for a month?” Her brow furrowed, and I knew she was thinking about making it to twelve weeks.

  “I wouldn’t tell everyone. Maybe? I don’t want to think of the worst-case scenario. I think Talon needs to know from you first.” Her eyes widened, and she went pale again.

  “Do you think he’ll be happy?”

  “I do,” I assured her, and she took a deep breath.

  “I’ll figure out how to tell him. I don’t want to do it over the phone, but a month is a long time to hide it.”

  “It will work itself out. I agree with telling him first and others later. It’s his baby.” Keller smiled at her, and she began to cry. “What did I say?”

  “Trina cried all the time. Hormones,” I assured Keller, and he reached for his iced tea, probably wishing it were beer.

  We left the restaurant and headed back to the apartments. Mallory was all over the place, trying to decide how to tell Talon and talking about reading the paperwork when we got home.

  When we pulled up, Mallory hopped out of the car, and we walked through the front door. She started up the stairs and paused her mouth agape.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, moving forward to peer up the stairs. “Shit. What are you doing home?”

  Talon walked down the stairs, his eyes locked with Mallory’s gaze. “Babe? Where were you?”

  “I need to talk to you.” She moved up the stairs and hugged him as I exchanged a look with Keller. We headed into our place and let them be alone. He hadn’t even seen the apartment yet, and there was a lot for them to talk about.

  Later we were in bed, talking. Mallory called to let us know he was thrilled about the baby and home for a while. The singer of the headlining band got sick and lost her voice.

  “How was it?” Keller asked as we snuggled together in the dimly lit room.

  “The heartbeat was just this whooshing sound. It didn’t even sound like a heart, and it was so fast. I will never forget that moment. You saw the pictures. The baby is like a little peanut right now, but that’s life inside of my sister. That’s the baby I’m going to spoil down the line.”

  “Yeah, you will. You’ll also protect it and teach it well for the future.” Keller smiled before he kissed me. “Your parents are going to lose their minds.”

  “Mom will cry immediately. Dad will act all tough, but he adores Mallory. He’s going to be thrilled. Talon i
s a good guy. He’ll do right by her.” I smiled as I held him in my arms.

  “He is. I feel good about this. It’s going to be a big change from what she thought life was going to be. She has a whole group of people to help her adjust.”

  I stared at the love of my life, wondering what it would be like to have kids. It wouldn’t be traditional the way it was for Mallory, but it would still be something that was ours.

  We fell asleep peacefully, looking forward to what was to come.

  Talon started working at his friend’s guitar shop again now that he was back, and the band played locally. He was suddenly all about being close. Malory managed to work with us but got tired quickly. She just spread things out a bit more and managed to keep her business successful.

  She only managed to keep her secret for two weeks. She spilled the beans to everyone at Sunday dinner with Talon right as we sat down.

  Mom cried, and Dad looked stunned for a moment. Olivia joined Mom with her tears, and Evelyn gasped. The twins started chatting about how fun it was going to be to have a baby in the family.

  Within seconds, everyone was up, and hugs were being exchanged. I felt like I was in on some secret when Mallory admitted that I knew about this before tonight. “How could you hide that from me?” Mom demanded of me before giving me another hug.

  We sat back down to a cold dinner, and Mom asked for every detail of the doctor's appointments. Mallory filled her in, and everyone listened, including Talon. He went to them with her since he was home, but I had to commend him for being an involved father.

  The baby sounded healthy and based on everything they told Mallory, she should have a successful pregnancy. She was young and serious about taking care of herself. They talked about how the office would become a nursery once they knew what sex the baby was, and she’d keep working with us. I insisted that she take a break when the baby was born so she could rest and adjust to the change in her life. Mom offered to help from there. Evelyn and the girls offered to help as well.

  I always knew that she wouldn’t be alone through this.

  Keller told Jim and Jill on the phone, and they were happy for Mallory. Jill appreciated the house now so they’d have somewhere to stay when they visited where she could spoil the baby. We were all one big, happy family now. That cemented their plans to be here for the holidays and would fly in a couple of days before Thanksgiving. Jill might stay while Jim returned for work but she liked the idea of being here for a month.

  Jill wanted to come before that, but Jim was helping with the beach house for now. He put an offer in and was waiting to finish up the process.

  We were sitting on the couch at Mom and Dad’s a few weeks later once the purchase was complete, and Mallory smiled. “This kid has a beach house to visit. What baby has that before they’re even born?”

  “A lucky one,” Talon replied as he covered her stomach with his hand. She was barely showing, but I could see the change in my sister. “Growing up here is great for a kid. We can do so many outdoor things, go to hockey games, visit the lakes, and about a hundred other things I can think of.”

  “We do have more than a hockey team here,” Rick told Talon as he looked up from the paper.

  “They don’t count. This kid will have a jersey as soon as it’s born.”

  “Jill will be happy to have you over there doing things with the baby.” Irene smiled at her daughter.

  “His parents are close, too. I love that.” Mallory smiled and wrapped her arm over Talon. “How does this baby have so many grandparents?”

  “This has worked out so well.” Irene gazed at Keller for a moment. “You make my son happy, but you brought so many people into our lives. We have this family now, and I’m so happy about that.” She wiped at her eyes, and Mallory smiled at her. “Now, I’m getting a grandbaby next year. I have such a blessed life.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Keller

  Jill managed to come in November a week before Thanksgiving, and Jim would be arriving a few days later. She fixed up her house to suit their style both in decor as well as an artificial tree that rose to their ten-foot ceiling.

  Micah and I were there to decorate it with her and Jim the day before Thanksgiving. She told Micah stories about when I was little and showed off the ornaments that I made in school. We spent Thanksgiving with everyone at Rick and Irene’s and celebrated the baby boy that Mallory would be having in March.

  It was a great time.

  The women spent a lot of time together shopping, both for Christmas and baby stuff. Mallory tried to tell them that she wanted to have a baby shower, but they were buying everything that she needed. What would be left?

  In between holidays, we had family dinners at someone’s home or out at favorite restaurants and managed a few trips to some of the gorgeous natural areas. Jim and Jill learned that winters in Colorado were no joke. It was cold out during the day, and at night, the temperatures dropped greatly. Still, the area was gorgeous with the snowfall, and we got Jim on a snowboard for the first time.

  Irene introduced them to her traditions, of which there were a lot. She helped in planning two festivals for Christmas and invited all of us to join her there. Denver was big on Christmas, and Jill smiled as we took her back to the shops to show her all the decorations. It was different at night with the hanging lights and the ones wrapped around every tree along the street. The shops were beautiful, and we all got coffee as we walked down the road, looking around. We even had dinner at the same place, and Jill said that she couldn’t believe that they had a house here now.

  There was also caroling in their neighborhood through the brightly lit homes. The group made their way from house to house and were served cookies and hot cocoa at nearly every single one. I never did this as a kid, and it was fun to see families involved in this part of the holiday. Jill clung to my arm as we walked, chatting with Irene and Rick about the years they’d been doing this with the kids. Mallory was absolutely positive about doing this with her baby the following year so he could see how she grew up.

  Jill sat with me at the house by the tree, sipping hot coffee once we were home and settled. “I’m sorry you didn’t do things like this. It was tough with your dad being who he was, Keller. I didn’t have a lot of money, but I tried to make Christmas good for you.”

  “It was great, Mom. I liked our traditions where you’d get that small tree on Christmas Eve and tell me that it was from Santa Claus with the presents under it. I loved popcorn and movies every night of vacation and just looking at the lights. I loved every moment of it.” I reached out to hug her. “I love seeing their life. It’s wholesome and fun, and I see that Micah and Mallory had a great childhood in their way. This isn’t a competition, though.”

  Evelyn participated in things as best she could as well. The twins made some new friends at school at the caroling event and had a great time decorating at both houses for the holidays. It seemed like Rick and Irene gave us all a new outlook on Christmas and, potentially, new traditions.

  On the night of Christmas Eve, I stayed up late with Micah to open our gifts to one another. He gave me a new set of wireless headphones and the smartwatch that I’d been eyeing. I gave him a new laptop and an ornament, signifying our first Christmas together.

  After we were done, he started to lead us back to the bedroom. “There’s one more thing. I’ll meet you back at the tree.”

  “We have to be at your mom’s in the morning, Micah.” I laughed as I turned to walk into the living room, lit only by the white lights on the tree. It suited the room, and I smiled around at our place. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Micah approaching me with a serious gaze. “What is it?”

  He stepped right in front of me and moved to his knees, presenting a black velvet box. “I thought I’d be happy working from home and playing with the band for a long time. I thought that was all I needed and love never seemed like it was something I would have. That night I met you changed me and everything in
my world.” He looked around our apartment. “You made me want more, like this apartment of ours. You showed me the beach, and now we have a house there. Everything is perfect, and I just need one more thing.” He opened the box to show me a smooth band of white gold. “Will you marry me?”

  “Micah! Yes, of course. I love you.” I moved forward and pushed him onto the couch in a happy kiss. “When are we going to do it?”

  “We’ll talk about that later. I just needed you to say yes.” He switched my silver ring to my right hand and slipped the new band on my left hand.

  “What about you? Don’t you get a ring?” I asked, and he stared into my eyes.

  “I’ll get one at the wedding. I have you, baby. That’s all I need right now.”

  We went to bed and made love, finally sleeping two hours later. We woke up to the alarm and a knock at the door. When Micah opened it, a pregnant Mallory burst in, screaming that she was engaged. She showed us a diamond ring, and Talon walked in after her with a sheepish smile. “Sis. Calm down. You still have a day to get through.” Micah told her as she danced in place.

  Not only was it a healthy pregnancy, but Mallory was taking amazing care of herself. She had too much energy though she slowed down some on her work. Talon was working to save money for them and pleaded with her to sleep more.

  “I can’t wait to show everyone this. He took me by surprise this morning of all things. We got up to open some presents, and this was hanging on the tree.” Mallory smiled as Talon kissed her, touching her stomach.

  “Your brother did it last night by the tree. What is it with you guys at Christmas?”

  “What?” She gasped as she stared at me, reaching for my hand. She saw the smooth ring and hugged me before jumping into her brother’s arms. “Mom is going to be a mess today.”

  We all managed to get ready and go over there in the next hour and a half. We decided to play it low key and didn’t say anything at first. It didn’t take long for someone to notice the sparkling ring on Mallory’s finger, and all hell broke loose. Mallory then held my hand up in the air and announced a double engagement and screams filled the air.