Chapter 13: Two Announcements

I did not invite Shelby inside, and I did not slam the door on her either.

I said, "Say that again tomorrow, at Dorothy's table."

Her chin came up.

"Travis already told her to expect us," she said. "Six o'clock."

"Then I'll be there at five fifty-five."

I was.

Dorothy's kitchen smelled of pot roast and furniture polish, and every chair was taken.

Padraig stood by the back door with his arms folded, because his mother had called him too.

Travis sat at the head of the table in a fresh quarter-zip, grinning at the ceiling.

Shelby sat beside him in the pale blue coat, and a large diamond sat on her left hand.

I knew whose fourteen thousand dollars that was, and I kept my face still.

"Mom," Travis said, "we have news."

Dorothy did not sit.

She stood at the stove with a wooden spoon, and her back was very straight.

"Shelby's pregnant," Travis said. "Seven weeks. We wanted you to hear it first."

He reached over and took Shelby's hand.

She looked at the tablecloth.

"It's a miracle," he said. "Honestly, Mom. Two babies this year. The Lord is sending us a lot."

Nobody spoke.

Dorothy set the spoon down on the stove.

"Travis," she said. "Which doctor told you it was one in a million?"

His grin held on one second too long.

"What?"

"The paper your brother put on this table. March twelfth. Under a million, it says, and the doctor wrote that you should plan on a donor."

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