When she came, it was silent. Just a long exhale and a soft shake. He followed soon after, burying his face into her neck, whispering her name like a prayer. They laid there afterward in the dark, tangled and quiet. His hand rested on her belly. Her fingers played with the curls at the nape of his neck.
“You really gonna be a daddy,” she murmured.
“I already am,” he said. “And you? You the love of my life, Bine.”
She smiled in the dark. “Then don’t forget it.”
“I won’t.”
And he meant it.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2011
Pam’s house was full. Not with noise, but with feeling. Shehad made breakfast—grits, eggs, toast, turkey sausage—but nobody really ate. The scent of food lingered, but appetite was lost under the lump in everyone’s throat. It felt like a Sunday morning funeral and a baby shower all at once.
Sabine stood by the couch in a long cardigan and leggings, her belly much more prominent, small but proud. Narri had her arms wrapped around her from behind, face buried in Sabine’s shoulder, refusing to let go. Parthenia sat cross-legged on the floor, chin trembling, pretending to scroll her phone but not reading anything. Her sister was leaving and it was hard to swallow.
“You really leaving,” Narri whispered. “Like really gone.”
“I gotta,” Sabine said, voice thick. “It’s not just me anymore. I have to for my family.”
“You gonna call every day,” Parthenia demanded without looking up.
“I promise.”
Pam circled the living room, anointing everything that would stand still. Foreheads. Belly. Suitcases. Palms. “In the name of Jesus, I cover this union,” she murmured, eyes closed, hand resting firm on Sabine’s stomach. “Cover this baby. Cover the path they walk. Don’t let no harm come near them,Lord. Don’t let no weapon formed prosper.”
“Amen,” the room echoed, tearfully.
Adair had been quiet most of the morning. Just watching. Carrying. Making sure the car was packed just right. But now, he approached asking Narri for some space to be near his wife. He stood behind Sabine and slipped his fingers between hers.
“I got her,” he said, voice steady. “Y’all don’t gotta worry. I got her, and I got him.”
“You better,” Narri sniffled. “Because if you don’t, I swear?—”
“I know,” Adair nodded, cracking the smallest smile. “I’ll never give you a reason.”
Pam kissed Sabine’s cheek. Then Adair’s. “Y’all go start y’all life now. Go make somethin’ beautiful.”
Sabine looked around the room one more time. These people had loved her, held her through every ugly thing. But the choice had been made. Her family hadn’t wanted her marriage, so she built a new one. She never regretted it. Not once.
But it still hurt.
They walked out slowly, arms linked. The car was running, the air outside already changing, a breeze brushing leaves on the sidewalk.
Sabine slid into the passenger seat. Adair adjusted the rearview mirror, took her hand again. And just like that, they pulled off. A husband. A wife. A baby boy growing between them. Headed to a new city. A new chapter. A new version of forever.
They had no way of knowing what was really waiting down the road.
No way of bracing for the nights apart.
The long silences.
The grief.
All they knew then, at that moment, was love.
PART TWO