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She nodded enthusiastically. “A girl.”
He grabbed hold of her and hugged tightly before letting go to raise his arms in the air for all the guests to see. “We’re having a girl!”
The yard filled with applause, and they received many congratulations as they moved down the aisle with their fingers wound together, greeting each of their guests with hugs and kisses as they started their life together.
Epilogue
Four years later
Daddy, pwease tell me the story of you and Mommy again.”
Duncan tapped his daughter’s little button nose. “Haven’t you heard it too many times already?” he teased.
“No,” she pouted.
“Okay, but then it’s sleepy time.”
That seemed to appease her.
“Once upon an April night, Mommy and Daddy fell in love, but we were very different people. Daddy believed in Jesus, but Mommy didn’t, which made Daddy sad.” He stuck out his lower lip, and she imitated him. “Then Mommy went away for a while to stay with Grandpa and Grandma Linde, and they told her all about Jesus, and she asked Him to come into her heart.”
She clapped her hands and looked over at Jamie. “Yay, Mommy!”
Duncan clapped along and smiled at his wife before continuing. “Then Daddy and Mommy saw each other again, and we loved each other very much, so we got married, and God blessed us with a beautiful baby girl named Eloise.”
“Just like Mommy,” she said with a smile.
“That’s right, like Mommy’s middle name. And Eloise grew from a tiny baby into a sweet little girl … who goes to bed when her parents tell her to.” He tapped her nose again, and she giggled. “And we all lived happily ever after.”
She clapped her tiny hands. “Again, again.”
Jamie walked over from where she’d been standing in the doorway and knelt on the opposite side of the bed from Duncan. “Ellie, did you know you were also named after Daddy’s grandma, Irene?”
She nodded. “Nana.”
“That’s right. Nana’s name was Irene. That’s where your middle name comes from. Do you remember Nana?”
Ellie shook her head.
“She was a very special lady, who lived to be one-hundred years old.” Jamie smiled at Duncan.
Their daughter’s eyes widened. “That’s old.”
They chuckled. “She had a good, long life and now she’s with Jesus in Heaven.”
“Can I see her someday in Heaven too?”
“Yes, you can.” Jamie leaned close and brushed her nose back and forth against her daughter’s then planted a soft kiss on the tip. “But right now, my sweet, you need to go to sleep.”
“Nooo!”
“Yes,” Jamie said.
Ellie immediately looked at her daddy. At nearly four, she was a master manipulator, and she knew how powerless Daddy was to her adorable pout.
“Bedtime, Eloise,” Duncan said firmly. “The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner morning will get here. And you know what tomorrow is, don’t you?”
“Fanksgiving at Nonni and Poppi’s!” She bounced her arms up and down against the bed and kicked her little feet with excitement.