““She moved to the other side, then around behind him, her hands in his hair nothing short of intoxicating. Then he felt something push him hard in the back and he turned around. “What was that?” “Jake, be careful! I have scissors in my hand!” “But . . . I felt something.” She sighed, the ghost of a smile—and maybe embarrassment—touching her lips. “That was the baby.” He looked from her face to her belly then back again. “That was the baby?” She laughed, despite looking like she wished she hadn’t. “You’ve never felt a baby move inside a woman’s womb.” “I believe that goes without saying, Aletta.” She smiled then, the natural response he’d grown accustomed to seeing, and looked at him for a moment. She laid the scissors aside. “Give me your hand.” Never one to be shy, Jake hesitated for a second, then did as she asked. She placed his hand toward the top of her belly then covered it with hers before gently pressing her belly in on the other side. Then Jake felt it—movement beneath the palm of his hand. Not a quick punch like before. But a gentle pressure that moved across his palm and took his breath along with it. He looked up at Aletta, her eyes bright even as his blurred. “That’s—” “Life,” she whispered. He started to take his hand away, but she held it there. “Wait.” She briefly closed her eyes. “I think he—or she—is starting to turn.” Jake’s mouth slipped open, and he stared at her belly as he not only felt but saw the child within her moving. He sat speechless until she finally lifted her hand. He drew his hand away and looked up at her, not sure his voice would hold. “Thank you.””
