The Journey Collection

by Lisa Bilbrey

  Climbing into the front seat of his new Ford pick-up truck, Travis cranked the engine and headed home. It had been almost a month since their accident yet it was still fresh in his mind. The damage done to his Suburban hadn’t appeared to be much, but when the insurance adjuster came out to appraise the damage in order to pay out on their claim, he told them that, with the way the vehicle had been designed, the entire front part of the frame would have to be replaced. In the end, it hadn’t turned out to be cheaper, so they traded in the Suburban and replaced it with a truck. Travis worried that they would need more room than the four-by-four offered, but Penelope convinced him that it would be fine.

  Travis parked in the driveway and headed inside the house, smiling as he walked through the dining room. The table had been covered in a pale pink tablecloth, with a white lace cloth on top. Stacked in the middle of the table were a handful of packages wrapped in shimmering pink and silver packages with white satin ribbons. Their wedding china had been set out, making the room look perfect for their celebration.

  They hadn’t told anyone the sex of the baby, wanting to make the surprise as special as they could. Wanda and Sherman had driven down a few days before so they could watch Max play football. Penelope had invited her parents, Russ, and Nadine over for lunch, saying that she wanted to have everyone together. Of course, they didn’t know that she and Travis planned on sharing their news.

  “Oh, good you’re here.”

  Travis looked over as Penelope came bustling out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. At thirty-one weeks, she was glowing. After the accident, Dr. Chan had put her on bedrest for a week. It had been hard for her to stay off her feet, but for the sake of their daughter, Penelope had done it. True to their word, they wouldn’t have cared if the baby were a girl or boy, though, Travis could now admit to loving the idea of having “Daddy’s little girl.”

  “I need you to get a bowl from the cabinet over the sink for me. I can’t reach it and don’t feel comfortable using the step-stool. I would have asked my parents, but Momma and Daddy took Max over to Jana’s. Your son wanted his grandparents to meet — and I quote — “his woman”.” Penelope shook her head. “I don’t know what I am going to do with that boy.”

  Travis laughed. “Yeah, just tell me which one you want, and I’ll get it for you, shorty.”

  Penelope huffed at the puerile nickname and swatted him on the arm.

  “As for the boy, I don’t think there is anything you can do, honey. He’s growing up,” he added.

  “I don’t like it,” she muttered, sliding her arms around his waist and leaning up to press her lips against his. “But you, however, I do like.”

  “Just like?”

  She smiled. “No, I love you.”

  “I love you, too.” Travis kissed her this time.

  Penelope led him into the kitchen, and asked him to hand her the green bowl with the orange flowers on it. Laughing to himself, he pulled it down and handed it to her. She rewarded him with another kiss before she shooed him away with orders to get cleaned up. He did as she asked, and headed to their bedroom, excited about being able to share their news with their family.

  ~*~*~*~

  “Penelope, honey, everything smells delicious,” Russ boasted, enveloping her in a tight hug.

  “Thanks,” Penelope replied, color flooding her cheeks. Catching Travis’s eye, she smiled. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

  “You didn’t need to go to all this trouble, dear,” Nadine murmured, placing her hand on Penelope’s shoulder as they walked into the dining room. “You should be resting. I would have whipped something for us.”

  “I know you would have, and I appreciate that, but I wanted to. Before long I’m going to be up to my elbows in poopy diapers.” She laughed.

  “Ugh, Mom!” Max whined. “Don’t talk about that before we eat.”

  “Sorry,” Penelope snickered, sharing a look with Travis.

  He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his amusement from showing. While Max was happy about getting a sibling, he’d reminded them both several times that he was not going anywhere near a dirty diaper.

  “Yeah, whatever,” Max mumbled and slide into his seat. “Why is the table so fancy?”

  “Because we’re celebrating,” Penelope cheered as Travis pulled her chair out for her. Heat flooded her cheeks and she sat down. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he replied, taking the chair next to hers at the end of the table.

  Russ and Nadine settled in next to Max, while Sherman sat at the other end with Wanda next to Penelope.

  “What are we celebrating?” Sherman asked, lifting an eyebrow toward his daughter.

  “Oh, well, you’ll have to wait until after lunch to find out,” she explained, shifting nervously in her seat. “I’m starving.”

  “But,” Max started, but closed his mouth when Travis shook his head.

  Travis knew it wasn’t wise to get between a pregnant woman and food. He had learned that lesson the hard way when Penelope had awoken him at three in the morning craving beef jerky. He had mumbled that he would get her some the next day. Before he knew what had happened, Penelope was sobbing, saying that he didn’t love her and that he thought she was fat. Needless to say, Travis was out of bed, dressed, and on his way to the closest convenience store in fewer than five minutes. When he got home, he found Penelope fast asleep. Placing the bag of jerky on her nightstand, Travis stripped off his clothes and climbed back into bed, pulling his wife into his arms and holding her as close as possible.

  “What did you put in these potatoes?” Wanda asked, moaning.

  “Oh, instead of minced garlic, I made a simple garlic butter. You know my motto when it comes to mashed potatoes: you can’t have too much butter! By using garlic butter, it blends in better. Do you like it?” Penelope rambled.

  “It’s delicious.” Wanda smiled.

  “Thanks.”

  “So, how were the boys feeling this morning?” Sherman asked, directing his question to Travis. “They played one heck of a game last night.”

  “Sore and tired,” he commented, slicing his fork through his meatloaf. “We knew Wellington was going to give us a run for our money, but I’ll admit to being nervous that we wouldn’t pull out the win.”

  “You’d still be in the playoffs if you’d lost, though, right?” Wanda asked.

  Travis nodded. “Yes, but it would have hit the boys hard.”

  “Why is that?” she pressed.

  Taking a moment to organize his thoughts, Travis shifted in his chair and took a bite of his food. “The seniors on this team were freshmen when I came here, not knowing how I was going to teach them about this game. We’ve learned from each other, and fought every battle together. For them, losing isn’t an option — it’s just not. Going into the playoffs after losing to a team like Wellington would have shaken their confidence because, in a lot of ways, we should have lost last night’s game. The other team had size, speed, and fewer injuries than we do, but in the end, those things didn’t matter.”

  “Why not?” Penelope asked, reaching over and taking hold of his hand.

  “Because we had heart.”

  “Having heart makes the difference?” Sherman wondered.

  “Yes, sir,” Travis said, nodding. “Without heart, it’s just a game, but with it, it’s life. See, the boys who play for me, they’re going to change the world because they’ve fought through challenges that would cripple teams under normal circumstances. By winning when they shouldn’t have, they’ve proven that they have more heart than anyone and they’ll never fail. It’s not in them.”

  “Hey, why does one of these gifts have my name on it?” Max asked, the suddenness of his inquiry causing Travis to laugh. “What?”

  “Dude, that was kind of random,” he explained. “But, to answer your question, because it’s for you.”

  “But why are you giving me a present? It’s not my birthday, and Christmas is like two m
onths away. Not that I’m complaining or anything,” he was quick to add.

  “If you hurry up and eat, you’ll find out,” Penelope pointed out.

  Max sat up in his seat and began shoving his food into his mouth. “Hurry up and eat,” he muttered with a mouthful of corn.

  “Ew, Max!” Penelope grimaced. “Slow down before you choke.”

  He swallowed before saying, “Yes, ma’am, but y’all had better hurry. I want my present.”

  Half an hour later, everyone had finished eating and Russ, Travis, Sherman, and Max were clearing off the table and washing dishes. Penelope had tried to insist that she’d do them later, but Travis had scoffed, Russ had pulled the dishes out of her hands, Max had rolled his eyes, and Sherman had told her to stay put. Needless to say, none of them were going to let a woman who was thirty-one weeks pregnant cook and do the dishes. They had all been raised better than that.

  Once they had the dishwasher going and the trash set out, the family settled back into the dining room.

  “Can I have my present now?” Max asked, bouncing in his seat. One surefire way to get him excited was to give him a gift.

  “Yes, but all five of you have to open them at the same time,” Travis replied, passing the gifts out to everyone.

  “Honey, you didn’t need to give us anything,” Nadine fretted. Out of all of them, she had the hardest time accepting favors from anyone.

  “You’ll love it, I promise,” Penelope murmured, her voice thick with emotion.

  Travis scooted his chair closer to his wife’s, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Her hormones had her crying over everything lately, though she had been trying to control herself. Leaning over, he kissed her cheek, whispering, “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she echoed.

  It wasn’t until Russ cleared his throat that they remembered everyone sitting around them. Smiling, the couple sat up straighter and gestured for everyone to open their gifts. Max tore into his paper, and started to drop it on the floor, but after a quick shake of Travis’s head, he placed the paper on the table.

  The five of them pulled the lids off the simple white boxes at the same time. Russ pulled out a pair of tiny, pink cowgirl boots, while Sherman held up a small T-shirt that said “Grandpa’s ‘lil angel” written in large, white letters. Nadine lifted out a basket that held an assortment of hair ribbons, barrettes, and headbands, and Wanda’s box contained an assortment of lip-glosses in crazy flavors like root beer, orange soda, and black cherry.

  However, it was Max’s reaction that Travis was waiting for. He and Penelope had framed the ultrasound photo and placed it in a silver frame that had “Sister” etched beneath the glass. Max lifted it out of the box and stared at it before shifting his eyes over to his parents.

  When he spoke, his lips were trembling. “Does this mean what I think it does?”

  “I guess that depends on what you think it means,” Penelope whispered, and a tear slipped off her lashes and traveled down her cheek.

  “The baby is a girl? I’m getting a little sister?” His voice broke on the last word.

  With tears swimming in his eyes, Travis nodded and said, “Yes, little man. You’re getting a sister.”

  Max held the photo up and nodded. “Dang.”

  “You didn’t want a sister?” Penelope asked, hurt lacing her words.

  “No, I did, but . . .” He trailed off and shook his head. “She’s gonna be beautiful, which means I’m gonna have to make sure that she knows how to protect herself. She’s gonna need me to be the best big brother, right?”

  Travis smiled. “Yeah, she will. The two of us are going to be busy keeping all the boys away.”

  “We’ll help,” Russ quipped. “Won’t we, Sherman?”

  “Hell yeah!” he chortled, but cringed when Wanda turned her glare on him. “I mean, heck yeah. Sorry, honey.”

  “Whatever,” she scoffed before turning to Penelope. “Congratulations, sweetheart.”

  Sniffing, she used her napkin and brushed her tears off her cheeks. “Thanks, Momma.”

  “Wow,” Nadine whispered, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “First a son, and now a daughter? You’ll have the perfect family.”

  ***

  Chapter Nine

  Giving Thanks

  “Max, pick up this crap,” Penelope groused, waddling through the living room and glaring at the pair of shoes and the football sitting next to the couch. “I swear to God, little man, I’m going to break my neck one of these days. Then you’re going to have my death on your conscience. Wouldn’t like that, would you?”

  “Sorry,” Max muttered, rushing down the hallway with only his pants on and picking up the items in question. He caught Travis’s eye as he passed, but didn’t say anything else as he headed back to his room to finish getting dressed.

  Sighing, Travis walked over to Penelope and wrapped his arms around her from behind, letting his hands rest on her protruding stomach. She moaned and leaned into him, letting him support her weight. Travis knew she didn’t mean to be cranky; she just hadn’t slept much last night — or the one before, either. Between having to use the restroom, painful leg cramps, and a persistent backache, she had tossed and turned until she just gave up. Instead of sleeping, Travis and Penelope had watched movies all night.

  “I can call Dad and tell them not to come out,” Travis offered, knowing that she’d refuse.

  “No,” she murmured and placed her hands on top of his. “It’s Thanksgiving, and I’m sure Nadine has been cooking all morning. I’ll be fine.”

  “You sure?”

  Penelope nodded and turned to face him. “But thank you for the offer. I’m just tired.”

  “Why don’t you lie down until they get here?” he suggested.

  “Okay.” She placed a gentle kiss against his lips before she waddled down the hallway and into their bedroom.

  Travis was surprised she had agreed to host the holiday, but at the same time, he knew how much she’d been struggling to get through each day. She was thirty-seven weeks pregnant and ready for their daughter to be born. So was Travis. He needed to hold her, to whisper his love and devotion into her tiny ears.

  “Where’s Mom?” Max asked, stalking back into the living room with his shirt on.

  “She went to lie down,” Travis replied, gathering the newspaper from the coffee table and heading to the kitchen. “Do me a favor and make sure there are fresh towels in the bathroom.”

  “Okay,” he grumbled, but did as he was asked.

  Together, Travis and Max managed to straighten up the house, not that there was much for them to do. Penelope had become a bit obsessive about the house over the last few weeks. During her last doctor’s appointment, Travis had asked Dr. Chan in private about Penelope’s behavior. The doctor explained to Travis that it was called “nesting” and was normal considering her fast-approaching due date.

  Travis wandered down the hallway, stopping outside of the baby’s room. It used to be the study, but they had converted it to a nursery back in the summer. Penelope and Travis had considered selling their house and buying something bigger, but the place held too many memories for both of them. Instead, they opted to convert the study into a bedroom. Max, Russ, and Travis spent two days painting the walls a soft, sage green, leaving the trim and window sills a crisp white.

  The hardest task for Penelope and Travis had been finding the perfect crib. They had searched every store in Amarillo, but hadn’t found one that wasn’t going to cost them more than they wanted to spend, or one that called out to them. Eventually, Penelope found one online that she loved. It was a simple sleigh-style crib in a dark cherry finish. As their daughter grew up, they could convert it into a toddler bed.

  Next to the crib was a matching dresser and changing table, though Penelope had debated on whether or not to get one. She explained how, with Max, she had ended up changing him on her bed, the couch, or even on the floor. In the end though, she decided to get one, saying tha
t if anything, it would be a good place to store the multitude of diapers and blankets they had been purchasing in preparation for their baby’s arrival.

  After they found out they were having a girl, Penelope went in search of the perfect bedding. She didn’t want something frilly and lacy. Just last week, she came home from shopping trip with Nadine with everything they would need for their daughter. The sheets were pink, green, and yellow plaid. The blanket was solid pink with a green trim, and had a yellow flower embroidered in the middle. Travis had no idea that such a small person would require so much, but between the clothes, blankets, diapers, pacifiers, bottles, furniture, and toys, their baby had everything she was going to need.

  The sound of someone beating on the front door pulled Travis’s attention away from his daughter’s bedroom. Rushing down the hallway, he saw Max sprawled out on the couch, with his feet propped up on the coffee table.

  “Don’t injure yourself by answering the door,” he teased.

  “Okay, I won’t,” Max mumbled, his attention focused on the football game playing on the television.

  Rolling his eyes, Travis grabbed the doorknob and pulled the heavy door open.

  “Out of the way,” Nadine called, bustling past Travis with her hands full. She had insisted on doing all the cooking, stating that, since Penelope was just a few weeks from her due date, the last place she needed to be was in the kitchen.

  “There’s more in the car,” Russ said, following his wife inside and giving his son a look that told him not to argue.

  “All right,” Travis replied and grabbed Max by the collar, dragging his son outside with him. “You can help.”

  “Why do we need all this food?” Max asked, pulling himself out of his father’s grip. “There are just five us here.”

  “I don’t know, little man, but if I’ve learned one thing about your grandmother in the last few years, it’s that you don’t question her when it comes to food.”