The pastor asked Tommy and Lee and the godparents, Annie and Linus, to bring the child up to the front. They all rose and joined the pastor. He sprinkled Ellie-Rose with holy water, blessed her and said a few words.
Lee looked down at the bundle in her arms. Ellie-Rose gave a toothless smile and something in the quality of it reminded her of Dan. She thanked him, wherever he was, for giving her the precious gift of this daughter.
As they were walking out of the church, Lee saw Zac standing at the bottom of the church steps. He approached them, saying, “Hope you don't mind if I was here. Just wanted to say hello, see the baby.”
Tommy shook his hand. “Good to see you, man. We hear you're doing great.”
His face was trim, the bloated look gone and his eyes were clear. “Came back to get some stuff, see my dad. Don't know if he told you but I have a little apartment in San Diego, about six blocks from Mission Beach. Got a job at a little surf shop down there. Going to meetings, the whole bit.”
Lee put her hand on his arm. “A surf shop sounds great.”
“Wanted to say thanks, too, for y'know, pushing me to clean up my act.”
“We're just glad things are going so well,” said Tommy.
Mike came up behind them, kissing the baby, slapping Tommy on the back, hugging Lee. Then he put his arm around Zac. “You ready, son?”
“Yep. Hey, I'll see you guys around.”
At Riversong, in the exact moment “The Hick Brigade” raised their glasses to toast their sweet Ellie-Rose with a pinot noir from the Willamette Valley, the sun appeared through the front windows, sparkling in the icicles that hung from the blue awning. Basking in the warmth of that rare December sun they laughed and talked while dining on Annie's croissant bread pudding that was warm comfort in their mouths and stomachs. They reminisced about the opening of Riversong and the progress they hoped to make that coming summer in the transformation of their community. All the while, Ellie-Rose babbled from her bouncy seat next to the window, her hands playing in the streaks of sun.
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