Page 135 of Power Move

“They’re getting strong,” Dad said.

“Uh-huh,” I agreed, wiping tears before Mom hugged me.

“I missed you so much, Evangeline.”

“I missed you, too, Mom. Both of you.”

“There will be plenty of time to talk about all of this,” Dad said, “but just know we will make it work. We were glad Davey thought this out. You should go tell him thank you.”

I turned left, finally meeting his gaze. I walked over.

“Hi,” Davey said, nervous about my tears.

“You did all this?”

“I had a lot of help, but it was my idea,” Davey agreed. “You wanted this. And your parents wanted to be here.”

“You got them here?” My tears rolled harder.

“Well, it involved me helping your dad fix a fence, but yes.”

I cocked my head.

“That’s a story for another day, Eva. You aren’t mad? Or sad?”

I shook my head and took his face in my hands. “I am so incredibly surprised, but I love it. I love this. And I love you.”

I leaned in, kissed him, and decided that would do. If I had to awkwardly drop an “I love you” it better be over something like this.

I pulled away. “You get me. You really, really get me.”

“Isodon’t,” Davey chuckled, wiping my tears, “but I love thatyou think that. It means everything just to see you happy. And, clearly, if you’re dropping an l-bomb, I must not have fucked it all up.”

I shook my head and gave him another quick kiss, then realized I was amid people expecting me to say something.

“Oh, shit,” I laughed. “Um… thank you for coming. I appreciate it a lot. I love you all so much for being willing to come up here and celebrate our boys. I never thought this would happen somehow, but I’m so glad it has. Also, are those cheesecakes?”

Dahlia nodded, “The menu is all foods you were craving—my brother’s idea.”

I turned to Davey. “Whoareyou?”

“A sap who waitedmonthsto hear I love you.”

“Was it worth the wait?”

Davey kissed my forehead. “It was worth every moment. I love you, too.”

37.SPARRING

Davey

Evaand I hit our stride in November. I lived for the occasional ‘I love you’ that came. Eva didn’t dole them out as freely as I, but when she lavished me with one, I knew it meant everything. The boys grew bigger, stronger, and more exhausting to deal with. I’d never seen Eva as tired as she was between year-end regulatory bullshit and not being able to sleep for more than two or three hours. I encouraged her to quit, but she refused.

I wanted to quit. Daphne returned from leave part-time and had magically straightened everything. She never turned it off. We had Thanksgiving at my mother’s house—Eva not ready to put the pressure of a big holiday and separating time out with her parents—and even there, talking shop reigned supreme.

I couldn’t stop it. For the next two weeks, I wanted to talk about the babies and finish the nursery with Bert’s help. Even as we hung shelves and painted walls, Eva sat in the very expensive glider custom made with her choice of upholstery while working on network integrations and change management plans.

Out of nowhere two days before Christmas, things fell apart.We planned a date to travel to her parents for Boxing Day for gifts and a simple dinner. Some of my family went north to the farm in Michigan, but we’d stayed in the city. We already had two car seats in each car, a go-bag that I kept constantly updated, and the paperwork I thought we might need. Eva felt it was too soon to worry, but that wasmyjob. I was the support person.