Page 154 of Almost Not Quite Engaged

“Fine. You're no longer my daddy. Just its, whomever this thing turns out to be.”

I nod. “One.” I look around the room, at all of it, the pine smell and the candlelight and the people who love us making plans we'll cheerfully ignore. “This was always going to be the story. We just had to get out of the way long enough to let it happen.”

She smiles. “Decent.”

“Two. Liesel already has the first chapter outlined and she's going to do a better job than either of us would have alone and you know it.”

“That's true and I resent it.”

“Three.” I put my hand over hers where it rests on her stomach. “This one's going to see the world before they're born. And that seems exactly right.”

She's quiet for a moment. Looks down and then up and then away, which is what she does when something lands somewhere real.

“And then we can show her our version of the world before she decides to see it her way.”

I kiss her slowly. “Her?”

She nods slowly.

“Shit.”

“What's wrong with girls?” She puts her hands on her hips.

“There's a good chance we have to name her Liesel.”

“No.”

“Sphinx.”

“Shit. You called in a favor? Tell her I'll play her in cards. She beats me, then she can have the naming rights.”

“Shark.”

She winks. “That's really good,” she says finally.

“I know.”

She elbows me and I catch her hand and hold it and we stand there in the middle of all these people who love us while our mothers plan everything and our fathers laugh and Colin finally breathes and the baby in the bottle waits patiently to come, come, come and let it out.

She smiles and pulls me to her while everyone occupies themselves with our news. “I heard a laugh through a wall once and followed it across the world.”

I smile at her and say, “That turned out pretty well.”

“So far.”