The Secret of Clay

Emmett set his phone down and rubbed his forehead. This was too much. How could it be true, when Allison had never called? It just wasn't possible. Across the room in her bouncer, Bella gave a soft sigh in her sleep. At least she was happy. Whenever Bella slept, Emmett saw it as a miracle. Bella was just at the point when she was beginning to sleep halfway through the night. Before, she had woken up every hour, and then it became two. Finally, she was up to three and then it became four. Four whole hours. That was when they started to not feel like zombies every morning. When she woke up, either he or Lauren would get up to soothe her and put her back down.

With the house so quiet, he could hear the sounds of the dog grooming business below. Telephones ringing, dogs barking, and Molly dealing with a customer. He didn't know how to tell Lauren. He didn't know how she would react either. Would she be angry? Would she be sad? He hoped she would be happy. If he knew Lauren, she would see it has a miracle. He, however, wasn't so sure about that.

As the day dragged on, the sounds from downstairs began to slow down. Just before Bella woke from her nap, which had been surprisingly long, Emmett heard Lauren downstairs. She was on the phone with a customer, and from what he had heard, her last appointment of the day was cancelled. Now she would come up. He would have to tell her. He sat at the kitchen table, soothing Bella until Lauren walked in the door.

With one look at Emmett, she saw his grim face and said bluntly, "Emmett, why do you look so terrible?"

Emmett couldn't tell her yet. He hadn't found the words. He handed Bella to his wife and said, "I need to go out for a walk."

"What's wrong? Did Bella give you a hard day?"

"No, I just need to go out for a walk."

"Alright..." she said, and patted the baby's back. Emmett left, leaving Lauren in astonishment and curiosity. Usually Emmett would have started dinner...

Outside, the cool afternoon air soothed Emmett's troubles and fought with the sweat brimming on his hairline. What could he even say to Lauren? There was no way to say it.

When he returned home, he went straight to the bathroom to take a shower. Lauren was fixing dinner, and felt more than a little hurt that Emmett was clearly avoiding her. At the same time, she was dying to know what was going on.

That evening, she set dinner out on the table. "I'm going to ask Daddy if he wants to join us." Lauren told her sons. "Keep an eye on Bella, ok?"

Back in the bedroom, Emmett looked tired and sad. He declined the dinner offer, and sighed when Lauren asked him what was wrong.

After eating dinner, she put Bella down in her crib and instructed the boys to brush their teeth and get into their pajamas. "Read yourselves a book and turn out the lights when you're ready, but you can tuck yourselves in tonight. I have to talk to Daddy."

"Why?" Cyrus asked.

"Is Daddy sick?" Crow sounded concerned.

"I don't know; something's off with him today." she said. "Get ready for bed now."

However, she was upset and surprised to find that Emmett was already asleep when she arrived in the bedroom. She wondered if she should wake him up. He had to be up at 7am tomorrow to go to work. He needed his rest, but there would be no time to talk in the morning. She reminded herself of the old saying: curiosity killed the cat. She let her wonder go, and fell asleep.

At 2am, she heard Bella crying in the living room. Emmett wasn't beside her, so she figured he had gotten up to tend to their daughter. But Bella kept on crying.

Finally she got up and went to the living room, where Bella was all alone and Emmett was nowhere to be found.

"Gosh, this is not like him." Lauren mused. She peeked out the front window and was shocked to see that their family car was not there. "Where did Daddy go, Bella?" she crooned.

As morning announced itself, Emmett opened the front door quietly and was more than surprised to see Lauren sitting at the table with bags under her eyes. Bella was asleep in her lap.

"Emmett, where did you go?" she asked. "You've been distant and you're keeping a secret from me. Tell me."

Emmett sighed and opened his mouth. He couldn't find the words so he closed it. The words and the timing would never be right. "Do you remember that I was dating someone before we met?"

"Yes..."

"Allison called today. She said that my son wants to meet me."

Lauren was dumbfounded. "Oh, wow."

"Yeah, I know. He's ten. His name is Clay, and she seems committed to us visiting each other. He's been asking about me and she figured it was time. I had no idea at all."

"I know. So, where do they live now?"

"They live in Colorado, near her parents. When she called me today she was at the airport, about to get on a plane to bring him here. He's arriving this morning. He's arriving soon. He's arriving..."

"Emmett, you don't have to explain. You didn't know. And you know what?"

"What."

"This is a blessing. How can we be anything but grateful? You're happy right?"

"I don't know."

"Emmett. You're about to meet your son."

"I already have two sons, and a daughter."

"Are you anxious for him to come?"

"Will you wait with me?" He sounded nervous. He sounded hopeful. He sounded like he needed her the most right now.

She sat on the couch. He sat next to her. They held hands, waiting in silence, until a knock met the door.