Fulfillment(77)

“Mum, you are so gonna lose. Bryce always wins.”

Bryce kept his eyes on me but extended his fist toward my son, my son quickly bumping it with his own.”

“Really?” I asked, looking at Nate and now standing on one leg with my hands on my hips.

“Yeah, really,” he replied, then snatched up my crutches and ran off.

“Nate, you little traitor,” I yelled out after him just as Bryce bent down and swept me off my feet.

As he carried me out of the room, I looked over my shoulder to Lucy. “And you think I’m in control over him. Ha, you’re crazy!”

She just shrugged her shoulders.

***

Bryce helped me put the kids to bed, or more like tilted me in their direction so that I could give them a kiss goodnight. Charli didn’t ask anything further about my fall, and I was kind of glad. Being able to explain the next morning seemed like a better option, I was still dreading it though and Bryce picked up on my unease.

“Do you know what you want to tell them yet?” he asked as he carried me to our room.

“No. I guess I’ll just tell them the truth. Um, where are we going? You still have guests downstairs,” I tried to peek over the half-wall banister, which spanned the top of the stair case to the end of the walkway.

“They’ll let themselves out, they always do,” he said casually.

“Bryce. You can’t just abandon them to put me to bed. And anyway, who said I was ready for bed? It’s still early.”

“Yes I can. And trust me, you are ready for bed,” he exclaimed as he buried his head into my neck with an animalistic growl.

I squealed in excitement. “Bryce!”





CHAPTER TWENTY

I dragged myself out of bed the morning after Bryce very deliciously put me to sleep by way of kissing nearly every surface of my body—nearly every surface. I’d found him and the kids in the kitchen, creating works of waffle-art for breakfast, including toppings like whipped cream, sprinkles, marshmallows and chocolate sauce. I liked his way of making what will be a horrible heart-wrenching moment somewhat better with sugar and aerated cream. My feelings told me it was not going to work, but I appreciated his effort nonetheless.

All four of us were seated around the dining table when I decided to get it over and done with. Stewing on the inevitable was not something I enjoyed doing.

“Nate, Charli. Bryce and I need to tell you something.”

Bryce dropped his hand and placed it on my thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

I sucked in a deep breath then slowly let it out as I opened my mouth to speak. “Charli, remember when you asked me if the baby was hurt when I fell?”

“Yeah, Mum. I hope she is not angry at you, because it was an accident. You didn’t mean to hurt her,” Charlotte said with the sweetest sincerity.

“No, Charli-Bear, I didn’t mean to hurt her. But...” I sighed and closed my eyes briefly. “She did get hurt, and unfortunately because of that, she stopped growing and the doctors had to take her out of my tummy.”

Nate stopped eating and looked at me strangely. I could see him putting two and two together. Charli, on the other hand, put her fork down and smiled from ear to ear.

“Where is she? Can I see her? Can I hold her?” Oh, shit! No, I didn’t mean it like that, fuck!

I blinked a couple of times then brought myself back together, opening my mouth to speak. “No, Charlotte, Sweetheart. You can’t, because she didn’t survive.”

Her smile faded and she scratched her head. “What do you mean?”

“She means the baby died, Charli. When Mum fell, the baby got hurt, bad.” Nate got up from his seat and made his way over to me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “Sorry, Mum. That must be really sad for you.”

I clasped his arms with my hands holding him tight, but I could not respond.

“Nate is right, Charlotte. The baby stopped growing, and her heart stopped beating,” Bryce explained, knowing my voice had temporarily ceased up.

Charli’s bottom lip dropped and it began to tremble, breaking my heart for the umpteenth time. “Oh, Sweetheart, come here.” I freed my arms from Nate, holding them out for her. She slid off her seat and walked toward me, bursting into tears before she made it to my embrace. I wrapped myself around both my children and squeezed them tightly.

“She’s in baby heaven now, playing with lots of other baby angels.”

“Are there other baby angels?” Charli asked, weeping and pulling away while wiping her eyes.

Bryce put his arms out for her so that she could sit up on his lap and be level with my face. “Yes, Charlotte, there are lots of baby angels. Some babies are not lucky enough to be born into this world, and some babies are born but then don’t live for very long. When that happens, they all go to baby heaven and become good friends,” Bryce explained as he reassuringly stroked his hand down Charli’s head.