Page 119 of Armor

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***

Now it was my turn to bite my lip in indecision. Was this the right gift for her? Out of thousands of things I could get her, I chose this.

But then... those nights... yeah, it was perfect.

She looked at me as she winked, then unwrapped the package.

Tears hit her eyes as she stared down at the wrapped books ofHarry Potterin her lap. I leaned in and whispered, “They’re signed.”

She gasped, “What?”

I nodded.

She flipped through them and saw the author’s signature there.

“Alexander,” she whispered.

I winked, “Love you, Star Shine.”

***

Valerie was right.

The real moments are the right ones to carry.

Because Garret was looking down at Valerie with so much love that even the camera had captured it, and she was looking up at him in the same manner.

Connor was making a face at Christian, not because he was teething on his fingers, but because Christian blew out.

***

Four Months Later

I sent Creedence to bed as I cradled Christian in my arms and swayed him back and forth.

He had colic.

His tears tore at my soul.

But I kept at it.

Whispering to him.

Calming him down.

Or trying to.

And at two in the morning, as I yawned, I started to softly sing our song.

“She was a black haired beauty with big dark eyes...”

He stopped crying.

I should have known.

I sang the song all the way through.

And then... just like it did with me, it helped calm me down.

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