Against the Odds Read Online Free PDF Page A

finish the sentence, or
because she doesn’t know what to call her. We have a daughter and
we don’t even know her name.  
    “ I think that is an
excellent idea.” 
    “ Who doesn’t love The Little Mermaid? ” she smiles .   
    Later that night we sit on the balcony that
overlooks the lake. The moon was full and the reflection glistened
off of the water.  
    “ This is nice,” she says,
sipping her hot tea. 
    “ It
is.”  
    “ Do you wanna go home?”
she asks.  
    I look over at her and ask, “You don’t want
to stay?” 
    “ I do, but I can’t wait to
see the nursery.” 
    I smile, stand and take her hand in mine.
“Come on, Sweets. If you want to go home, we’ll go
home.”  
    Leah practically runs into the house and up
the stairs to see the nursery. I’m further behind her down the
hallway when I hear her say, “Aww.” She stands outside in the hall
looking into the bedroom with her hand over her mouth. I walk
behind Leah and look inside the nursery. The walls are painted sage
green, a large, thick white area rug is in the center of the floor,
and Jamie’s white baby bed is set up under the large double window.
The room is decorated in sage green and white circles. These are
Leah’s favorite colors and they go well with a boy or a girl. In
the nursery are also a dressing table, a dresser, a white rocking
chair, and a bookshelf.  
    Leah and I slowly walk into the room and she
begins to cry. She lightly touches the items on the bookshelf and I
realize they are items from Jamie’s bedroom. Jamie’s books, a small
picture frame holding a photograph of Jamie and a large picture
frame holding a photograph of all three of us. Jamie’s ballerina
music box is on the top of the bookshelf. I wonder if Leah will be
upset about Jamie’s things being moved but then I realize they are
tears of joy. I am also happy they incorporated Jamie’s things into
the new nursery. She will always be our daughter and she will
always be a part of this family.  
    “ I can’t believe how
beautiful this looks,” she says. 
    “ They did a fantastic
job.” I walk over to the baby bed and see Jack strategically placed
in the center of the bed. He looks clean and new. I pick him up and
realize it is new.  
    “ Leah,” I say, showing her
the stuffed rabbit. 
    “ How did they get Jack so
clean?” she asks as she walks over to take him from me. She looks
at him and smells him. “He’s new. Where did they get this
from?” 
    I smile, “I have no idea, but this is a nice
surprise.” 
    Leah wraps her small arms around me. I rub
her back with my large hands. “We need to do something special for
them and call them all to thank them.” 
    Leah says, “They did so much more than just
paint and decorate — they brought life into this room.” I know what
Leah means. This was just an empty room before, but now, it has a
part of Jamie living in it. “This will make such a great nursery
for our baby,” she says excitedly. 
    “ It will.” I look around
the room at the lamp on the dresser and the curtains. They are all
sage green with white circles. I have to wonder how long they
planned on doing this. Everything matches and fits this room
perfectly. I walk over and crack open the window to let the room
air out. Although the paint fumes are faint, I don’t want Leah
breathing them in all night.  
    “ Come on, Sweets, let’s
get you and my baby to bed.” 
    Leah reaches for my hand and says, “I don’t
think I can sleep. I’m so excited about this room.” 
    “ Looks like I’ll have to
burn off some of that excitement.” I wink at her and lead her out
of the nursery. 
    Leah
    The next morning when I get up Robert isn’t
in bed. I never hear Robert when he gets up. I, on the other hand,
moan, groan, and waddle out of bed. I think that I could possibly
even wake the neighbors. Before leaving the bedroom, I write out
thank you cards to our friends for everything they did yesterday. I
would