Lymber craft's Arc

Chapter 28 of 70

Lymber came back across the road with Violetta on her hip. Paul was on the couch with his phone face down on his knee. He said, my mom called. Lymber said, and. He said, she heard from the church lady. Before I called. He picked up the phone and put it down again. He said, my sister isn't answering. My dad said one word and hung up. Lymber sat down beside him. She said, we fix it today. He said, how. She said, we drive over. All of us. With the baby. She said, if they see her they can't stay mad on the phone. Paul said, they can. She said, then we sit on the porch until they open the door. Paul almost smiled. He said, okay. She packed a bag for Violetta. Diapers, a bottle, the small knit hat. She left the ring on. She wanted them to see it on her hand, not in a photo someone else took. They drove the next town over. Paul's parents lived in a small brick house with three beds and a window box. A puppy Lymber had never met scratched at the screen door when they pulled in. Paul carried Violetta up the step. His mother opened the door before he knocked. She looked at Violetta first. Then at Lymber. Then at Paul. She said, you should have called. Paul said, I know. I'm sorry. I was going to. She got there before me. His mother did not move out of the doorway. She said, your father's in the kitchen. They sat at the kitchen table. Paul's father did not stand up. Paul put Violetta in Lymber's lap and slid the ultrasound photo across the table. He said, we're getting married. She's pregnant again. I wanted to tell you in this room. I messed it up. I'm telling you now. His father picked up the photo. He looked at it a long time. He said, you're 18. Paul said, I know. His father said, you're going to be a father twice. Paul said, I already am one. His father set the photo down. He said, your mother cried this morning. Paul said, I know. I'm sorry. His mother put her hand on the back of Paul's chair. She did not sit. She said, next time you pick up the phone first. Paul said, yes. She said, let me hold her. Lymber handed Violetta over. The puppy came in and put its paws on Paul's shoe. Nobody said congratulations, but his mother rocked the baby standing up, and his father asked when the wedding was. Paul said, we don't know yet. His father said, tell us before the street does. Paul said, yes. On the drive home Lymber texted her mother a photo of Violetta in Paul's mother's arms. Polly wrote back, good. Lymber put the phone in her lap. The hurt silence was over. The next call, she knew, would be a guest list.