I’M GRINNING WHEN I walk into the locker room. Life is good. I can’t help it.

“Did the playa get lucky? With a grin like that, you had to have,” Hector says, gaining everyone’s attention.

Shaking my head at his stupid nickname for me, I answer, “My wife and I worked things out.”

A flurry of congratulations and “that’s good to hear” ring out from my teammates. Colby looks a little wary though. I walk over to my locker next to his.

“Worked things out, huh?”

I nod. “Yeah, we’re going to start looking for a new house.”

“Glad you’re happy, Jordan. You deserve it.”

“Thanks.”

I begin to change and I’m tempted to share the baby news with Colby, but I don’t. It’s too soon. Heidi wouldn’t want me to tell anyone yet either. Part of me wants to keep her pregnancy a secret until there is a crying, healthy baby in my arms. Can I keep Heidi at home 24/7 until our baby is born? It’s worth a thought, I guess.

“Sofia’s here, right?” I ask Blake.

He nods. “She’s not having a good morning though, so don’t upset her,” he warns.

“I won’t,” I promise. I walk over to the entrance of her office and knock.

“Come in,” I hear her say. She smiles and stands when I walk into the room, closing the door behind me. “Jordan, hey.” When I step forward and hug her, she breathes in surprise. “Oh.”

“Thank you.”

“For what? Oh God, Jordan.” She makes a gagging noise. “Back up, way over there,” she orders in a tone I’ve never heard her use. I back up until I’m standing against the wall. She has a hand over her mouth as she rushes to open the other door. She steps over the threshold and begins to take deep breaths. “Sorry. Your cologne or body wash or something.” She quickly shakes her head, her face pale. “It doesn’t like me this morning.”

I laugh. “I’m sorry.”

The color slowly returns. “It’s okay. Glad everyone thinks it’s funny though,” she says in annoyance. “Blake has been fixing me pancakes most mornings and this morning,” her face drains of color with the memory. “The smell made me sick. He thought it was hilarious since he tells me I should eat something other than pancakes all the time. It’s like I’m all of a sudden so sensitive to certain smells, including you apparently.” She sighs as she leans against the doorframe. “Why were you thanking me?”

“For whatever you said to my wife.” Her eyes widen. “She’s not leaving me and what you said helped. Thank you for everything. She told me I needed to give you a gift, but I don’t have a clue what to give you. So, whatever you need or want at any point, let me know and it’s done. A babysitter or a favor or whatever, it’s yours and I’m at your mercy.”

Her eyes well with tears, and wasting no time, they spill over onto her cheeks. She’s a blubbering mess. “You don’t have to do that. I just wanted to help. I would give you another hug but,” she trails off and I laugh. “I’m glad you two worked things out. Y’all will have to come over for dinner soon.”

Blake pokes his head into the room, his famous Grumpy expression sliding into place when he sees her tears. “What the hell did you do to her, Jordan?” he snaps, coming into the room and crossing over to her.

“Quit being so mean, Blakey,” Sofia tells him with a sniff as he wipes her tears away. “He was telling me the good news about his wife. At least he’s making me cry and not throw up.”

He glances at me in confusion. “She doesn’t like the smell of pancakes or my cologne.”

Blake barks out a laugh and Sofia hits his arm. “I’m sorry. Anyway, I came for Jordan before he’s late for practice.” He seems to be waiting for me to leave, so I say my goodbye, thank Sofia again, and head out.

I stand next to Colby as we stretch and warm up.

“Question,” he says in a low voice.

“Go for it.”

“Never mind.” He shakes his head. “The last thing I need is to give someone on this team more ammo.”

I laugh. “Problems with online dating?” I guess.

“Something like that,” he mutters.

He’s piqued my interest, mostly because he never volunteers information. I try to think of some general advice. “If you’ve found someone you’re interested in, just ask her out, Colby. Go for it.”

He shrugs. “Maybe I will.”

 

 

This is ridiculous.

I shift my duffle bag on my shoulder, feeling a mixture of annoyance, worry, and happiness. We’re back in Memphis, I was gone yesterday for a road game, and I’ve just finished with practice. I stayed at Heidi’s place before I left, but we haven’t said what we are doing about our living situation. And something needs to be done. If we’re truly back together, I’m not going to live in a separate place from her a moment longer.

This feels like a test.

I’ve been in a semi-state of disbelief, like the rug is going to come out from under me all over again or that I’m going to wake up to discover I was dreaming. How can I not feel that way? I’m getting my wife back and there’s a baby on the way. Over the moon ecstatic is the understatement of the year.

Finally, Heidi opens the door. I really need a key. She tilts her head as she takes in my appearance. I’m in gym shorts and a t-shirt with my duffle bag.

“Hey, Jordan,” she smiles, stepping aside to let me in. “What are you doing?”

“We’re married, right?”

“Um, yes?” Her confusion on where I’m going with this makes it sound like a question.

“You hate the house, right?”

“Yes,” she answers definitely.

“And married couples live together, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’m staying here until we find a new house.” I lift my duffle bag as my example.

“Oh.” Oh? That’s it? Then she smiles and throws her arms around me. “I’m glad you’re here,” she whispers into my neck. I drop my bag and tightly hold her to me. God, I’ve missed this. When she pulls away, Heidi is wearing a grin. “I took the day off to start searching for places we might like.”

“Let’s look at them tomorrow. I called the realtor to put the house on the market, and she’s supposed to send me what she has by morning. You still want to use my realtor, right? She’s really good.”

Heidi nods. “That’s fine. Are you sure you want to wait?”

I realize then that she’s really excited about this. I wanted to wait until tomorrow so I could drag her to bed, but I can’t tell her no. “You haven’t found it already, have you?”

She laughs as she drags me into the kitchen. There are ten stacks of papers on her kitchen table to showcase ten different houses. “I just have a few potential favorites.”

“A few?” I laugh as I take a seat.

Heidi wants to stand next to me to point out all the houses, but I pull her into my lap to get her off her feet. Between selling and searching for a new house, getting back together, and taking in the news of a baby, my mind has been in overdrive. I’ve replayed her last pregnancy in my head countless times before now and another million since she told me the news of this one.

Mainly, I’ve been trying to make a mental list of everything I can do better than the last time. I want to be that husband who does everything he needs to for his pregnant wife. Not that I didn’t before, but I want to do twice as much as I did before. I know nothing we did is why we lost Eden, but we can’t lose another baby. I don’t want to find out if we can survive a tragedy like that again.

“Show me,” I encourage, my eyes briefly traveling over the papers.

“Well, this one has a three-car garage, plus a two-car garage in a separate nearby building. There will be plenty of space for your cars. There are five bedrooms with a huge master bedroom, and a big backyard. But I’m not a fan of the kitchen. This one...” and she proceeds to give the pros and cons and her favorite parts of the houses as well as things she knows I’ll love about each of them.

I listen as attentively as I can, running one hand up and down her back while the other one runs along her thigh. How can this be real life? I’m sitting here with my wife, finally, as we look at homes, and start focusing on our future once again.

“Heidi,” I interrupt.

She stops and looks at me. “Yeah?”

I cup her face and kiss her slowly. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Then finish telling me about the houses tomorrow. I need my wife naked.”

She grins. “Then undress me.”

“Oh, I’m going to do so much more than that,” I promise, holding her as I stand and walk to her bedroom. I lay her down on the bed and say, “Tell me who you are.”

“I’m your wife.”

“‘Til death do us part?”