“She’s as quiet as our Bird Girl,” Reece said.
Viola laughed through soft sobs.
“She is quiet,” Jackie said to Ryan. “Does she look okay to you?”
“Some babies are quiet. Let me take a look.”
Ryan checked her over and listened to her heart. She began to cry louder. “There, you see? She wants nothing to do with me. She wants Daddy and Mama.”
Ellis wasn’t sure he should say that. If they’d decided to give the baby up for adoption, encouraging bonding might be painful.
Ryan helped Jackie wrap the baby in a clean towel, and Jackie laid her on Viola’s chest. Viola wept and kissed her. Ryan gave Jackie more gentle guidance through the process of cutting the umbilical cord.
“Congratulations, Jackie,” Ryan said. “Great job.”
“Really great,” Jonah said.
Huck patted his brother’s shoulder. “Yeah, awesome.”
“So what’s her name?” Reece asked.
He shouldn’t ask, but Ellis hated to ruin the moment by saying that.
“She is Daughter of the Miraculous Universe,” Viola said.
Silence.
“Okay,” River said. “Interesting name.”
“Really interesting,” Reece said.
“Be quiet,” Huck whispered.
“It makes a cute acronym,” Reece said. “DOTMU.”
“We can call her Dot for short,” River said.
Jackie was smiling, seemingly unperturbed by the odd name.
“Is that really what you’re calling her?” Jasper asked.
Viola snorted a laugh. “I was joking. I knew you would all believe me.”
“Thank god!” Reece said, and everyone laughed.
Ellis said, “Before you name her, what are your plans? Are you keeping her?”
“I’m going to name her,” Viola said. “Jackie and I have already chosen her middle name. Tell them, Jackie.”
Jackie looked at his mother. “Her middle name is for you, Rose.”
“And it’s close to my mother’s middle name, Rosa,” Viola said. “My grandfather’s family name.”
Rose’s tears shined in the flashlight glow. “I like that. Both families represented in one name.”
Jackie stroked his fingers on the baby’s cheek. “Did you think of a first name?” he asked Viola.
“I did,” she said. “I thought of it when the moon was shining on this field. My mother seeded these native flowers and grasses many years ago when I was far away from her.” She looked down at the infant in her arms. “She’ll be named for where she was born. Her name is Meadow. Meadow Rose.”
“I really like that,” Jackie said.
“It’s a gorgeous name,” Ellis said. “And it’s the name of a North American wildflower—an unusual species because it’s considered a thornless rose.”
River bent down and gently held the baby’s tiny fist. “I’d rather she have some thorns.”
“You would,” his brother said.
“Well, she’s damn pretty without them,” River said.
“You done good, Bird Girl,” Reece said. “It’s a great name.”
“Thank you,” Viola said. She carefully placed the baby in Ellis’s arms. “Mom, you get to decide whether her last name is Abbey or Gephardt.”
Ellis and Keith looked at each other, too stunned to speak.
“We want you two to raise her,” Jackie said. “And don’t ask if we’re sure. We are.”
“I can verify that,” Rose said. “They decided weeks ago. It’s been tough to keep it secret.”
“Won’t it be difficult for you to have her in the family?” Keith asked.
“It makes it less difficult,” Jackie said. “We didn’t want her to leave the family.”
“We’ll tell her the truth about everything,” Viola said. “She’ll call Jackie and me Dad and Mom and Ellis and Keith Grandma and Grandpa. We’ll just be a little different from most families.”
“We’re both hoping to get into the University of Florida so we’ll be nearby,” Jackie said. “I’ve already sent in my application.”
“He’ll definitely get in,” Huck said. “He has a great application.”
“What do you think, Grandma?” Jonah asked Ellis.
“I’m . . . I’m honestly afraid for Viola and Jackie. I know how painful it is to lose a baby.”
“We aren’t losing her,” Viola said. “We’ll be in her life. You know Jackie and I are too young to raise a baby. We have to finish high school. We want to go to college. She’ll be raised by two of my favorite people on earth—in this beautiful place. And with River, Jasper, and Huck for uncles. And Dad for a grandfather and Ms. Danner for a grandmother.”
“Don’t I get to be an uncle?” Reece asked.
“You’re officially an uncle,” Viola said.
“And Ryan is officially a grandfather,” Jackie said.
Jonah laughed and patted Ryan’s shoulder.
“And Maxine will be her aunt,” Viola said. “Do you see, Mom? We could never have found a better adoptive family.”
Ellis looked down at the baby in her arms. In her little round face, she saw newborn Viola. Viola who had come back to her less than nine months ago. Daughter of the Miraculous Universe, indeed.
A hush fell over the group as they waited for Ellis to answer. She stroked her fingers on the petal-soft cheek of Meadow Rose. A magnificent sensation overcame her. As if her heart had been a bud that was suddenly blooming, growing so big, it might not fit inside her body.
Ellis looked around at them all. She wasn’t the only one with tears on her face. “I do see,” she told Viola. “This is a beautiful family. You chose well.”
“Ellis . . . ,” Keith said.
“Yes?”
“I’ll ask you one more time. Will you marry me?”
She hesitated, but her silence had nothing to do with indecision. It was a moment of wonder. Because she was certain of her answer. Absolutely certain.
“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
The family’s cheers and laughter rang out over the fields, through the forests, to the marshes. Ellis imagined the sound rippling farther. To the woods of New York, to the Ellis River where her parents had been happy and in love, to the little campgrounds of Ohio, to every western peak she had stood upon, to the Washington creek that had brought Viola to Jackie. And there was her family, in her little Wild Wood, at the heart of all that spreading joy.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, I want to thank my readers. Connecting with you through my characters and stories has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.
Thank you, Carly Watters, for encouraging me to write this story when we first discussed it. I’m grateful for your expertise, and your enthusiastic support of my writing.
Curtis Russell, thank you for adeptly taking the helm while Carly was on maternity leave.
Thank you, Alicia Clancy, for believing in this book and enriching it with your editorial gifts. Your komorebi brings a beautiful touch to the story.
Laura Chasen, I’m deeply grateful for your knowledgeable, perceptive, and compassionate style of editing. More thanks to Danielle Marshall and her crew at Lake Union Publishing: Gabriella Dumpit, Nicole Burns-Ascue, Shasti O’Leary, Stacy Abrams, and Rosanna Brockley.
Lots of gratitude to Gary Gillette, MD; Ernestine Lee, MD; Richard Chasen, MD; and Jennifer Tucker, NP, for bestowing your medical expertise. Additional thanks, Karen Gillette and Laura Chasen, for your help.
Thank you, Suzie Byrne, for your friendship and big heart.
Karl Vanderah, thanks for helping when I called with random story difficulties.
Stephanie Robinson, I’m sorry your childhood town got cut, but let’s pretend Keith grew up in Brockway.
Endless gratitude to every piece of earth I’ve ever loved—especially the wildish little realm behind my childhood house that helped me in so many ways.
Cailley, William, and Grant, I’m grateful for the love
and laughter you’ve brought to my world. And to the worlds I create.
Scott, a hundred times thank you. You’re always there with a light when the power goes out. I can’t imagine finding my way to this story without you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2017 Ashley Nicole Johnson Photography
Glendy Vanderah is the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars. Glendy worked as an avian biologist before she became a writer. Originally from Chicago, she now lives in rural Florida with her husband and as many birds, butterflies, and wildflowers as she can lure to her land. For more information, visit www.glendyvanderah.com.
The Light Through the Leaves Page 41
