by Laura DeLuca
“O.M.G., girl,” Carmen exclaimed, tossing her snow-covered jacket and beret onto a nearby chair. “You hand that kid over to his godmother right now.”
“Goddess mother,” Rebecca corrected.
“Oh, whatever! Just let me hold the baby! He’s too stinkin’ cute!”
Rebecca passed the baby over, and he watched with a curious expression while Carmen fussed, cooed, and made some of the most ridiculous faces Rebecca had ever seen. She had never expected her best friend to get so excited about a baby, but Carmen was so taken with him Rebecca wasn’t sure she was ever going to get her son back. While Carmen ran over to the rocker, Tom reached out to shake Justyn’s hand.
“Congratulations, dude,” Tom said, looking awkward and out of place. “He is kinda cute in that wrinkly prune-faced baby kind of way. Just don’t expect me to touch it. “
“Thanks.” Justyn laughed. “But you better get used to changing diapers. It probably won’t be too long before you have your own baby on the way, now that Carmen’s finally gone and made an honest man out of you.”
“Oh no,” Carmen said from her chair. “We plan on having some fun after graduation before settling down with a family. Nothing wrong with long engagements, especially after four years on opposite ends of the country.”
“Speaking of engagements,” Tom said. “Guess who we ran into the other day.”
Rebecca lifted an eyebrow. “Who?”
“Nino!” Tom exclaimed. “He recently got engaged himself, to his new partner Jen. They’re getting hitched in the spring. Though I guess now they won’t be partners on the field anymore. Either way, he’s doing well. He’s even studying to be a detective.”
Justyn nodded. “He’ll make a great one. We certainly wouldn’t be here without him.”
“True,” Rebecca agreed. “Even Victoria owes Nino a debt of gratitude. He made sure the cops cut her a deal after what happened. They let her off on probation in exchange for her testimony against Weston and Robert. Now she’s a full-fledged belly dancer at the Kairo Café. She and her son Elliot have come a long way in the last few months.”
“Good for them,” Tom cheered. “She deserves to catch a break, even if she did make a few mistakes. But speaking of sons, what are you two planning on naming yours?”
“If you tell me Anniken or Gandolf, I swear to God I’m kidnapping this kid right now,” Carmen promised before grudgingly handing the baby back to Rebecca.
“We actually haven’t talked much about names,” Rebecca admitted. She turned to Justyn. “I guess we could call him John, after your dad, or keep the tradition going with Lord Justyn the second.”
Justyn shook his head. “I have a more fitting idea. I think we should name our son after the man who brought us together.”
“You’re gonna name your kid Tom?” Tom teased.
“Not exactly.” Justyn raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking more along the lines of Erik.”
Again Rebecca felt her throat tighten and her eyes grow moist. Erik was the real name of the phantom in Gaston Leroux’s classic novel The Phantom of the Opera. It was one of the first things they had ever talked about. The fondness they both shared for the story and the music had grown into an even stronger passion for each other. In her mind’s eye, Rebecca could see the pimped-out Goth in his chains and dark makeup reciting verbatim from the novel in the gym of their high school. Even then he had made her heart race, despite the fact that she had considered the possibility he was a real vampire.
“Oh, Justyn, that’s so … so perfect.”
Justyn leaned over the baby and stroked his cheek. Even in sleep, his little lips moved in a sucking motion. “What do you think, little man? Would you like to be called Erik?”
The baby opened his mouth and released a small sigh that sounded exactly like a perfect note of music.
“I think that was a yes,” Rebecca whispered.
Rebecca snuggled little Erik against her chest while Justyn sat beside her, clasping her hand. In the background, Carmen was discreetly wiping her eyes, and even Tom was sniffling. Surrounded by the love of her new family and her dearest friends, Rebecca knew her little Erik would have a much happier story than his namesake. There was no other possibility. Rebecca could already see her son growing up to become the same type of passionate and talented artist his father was. It was an encore worth waiting for.
About the Author
Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart. In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the sole author of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years. Visit her website at www.authorlauradeluca.blogspot.com for more information.
