All Chapters of Divorcing my dead sister’s husband : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

"Are you sure the car seat is installed correctly?" I asked for the third time as Thomas loaded our bags into the trunk."I'm sure. Janet checked it twice.""But what if—""Daniela." Thomas closed the trunk and walked around to where I was standing on the sidewalk, holding Maya against my chest like she might disappear if I let go. "She's going to be fine.""I know. I just..." I looked down at Maya, who was sleeping peacefully in her going-home outfit—a tiny pink dress that was still too big for her. "What if I drop her? What if I don't know when she's hungry? What if—""Hey." Thomas put his hands on my shoulders. "You're not going to drop her. And you'll figure out the rest as you go. We both will."Sam bounced on his toes beside us. "Can we go home now? I want to show Maya her room."The drive home felt like it took forever, even though it was only fifteen minutes. I sat in the back next to Maya's car seat, watching her sleep and jumping every time she made the tiniest sound."Is sh

The drive to the prison was the longest forty-five minutes of my life. Sam sat in the backseat, unusually quiet, staring out the window at the passing farmland. Maya was with Janet for the day."You okay back there?" Thomas asked, catching Sam's eyes in the rearview mirror."Yeah. Just thinking.""About what?""About what I'm going to say to him."I turned around to look at Sam. "You don't have to say anything specific. Just be yourself.""What if he's different? What if he's not?""Then we'll figure it out as we go."The prison looked exactly like what it was—a collection of concrete buildings surrounded by razor wire and guard towers. As we pulled into the visitor parking lot, I felt my stomach clench."This is happening," I said quietly.Thomas reached over and squeezed my hand. "We can still turn around.""No," Sam said from the backseat. "I want to do this."The check-in process was more complicated than I'd expected. We had to fill out forms, go through metal detectors, and subm

The wedding was three days away, and I was having a complete meltdown in the grocery store cereal aisle."What if I'm making a mistake?" I said into my phone, balancing Maya on my hip while she tried to grab a box of Cheerios. "What if I'm not ready? What if I'm never ready?""Daniela, breathe," Janet said on the other end. "What brought this on?""I don't know. Everything. Nothing. I was buying groceries and I saw this couple arguing about pasta sauce and I thought, what if that's us in five years? What if we get married and everything changes?""Where are you right now?""Kroger.""Go home. Put Maya down for a nap. We're going to talk about this properly.""I can't. I have to pick up Sam from school in an hour.""Then pick up Sam, go home, and call me tonight. But Daniela?""Yeah?""This is normal. Every bride has cold feet."I managed to finish my grocery shopping without having another panic attack, but the feeling of dread followed me home. Maya was fussy, probably picking up on

"Are you sure you'll be okay with both of them?" I asked Janet for the fifth time as Thomas loaded our bags into the car."Daniela, I raised three kids. I think I can handle two for three days.""But Maya's still nursing every few hours, and Sam gets nightmares sometimes, and—""And I have your phone number, the hotel number, and strict instructions to call if anything goes wrong." Janet took Maya from my arms and bounced her gently. "Go. Have fun. Remember what that feels like.""What if she won't take the bottle?""Then I'll call you.""What if Sam has a meltdown about something?""Then I'll handle it.""What if—""Daniela." Thomas appeared beside me, car keys in hand. "We're going to the lake house for three days, not Europe for three weeks. If there's an emergency, we can be back in two hours.""I know. I just—""Just what?""I've never left Maya for more than a few hours.""Which is exactly why you need this," Janet said. "You two haven't had a single night alone since she was bo

"Are you nervous?" I asked Sam as we sat in the courthouse hallway, waiting for our case to be called. "A little." "About what?" "About talking to the judge. What if I say something wrong?" "You won't say anything wrong. Just tell the truth." "What if the truth isn't good enough?" Thomas leaned forward in his chair. "Sam, the truth is that you want me to be your dad legally, and I want to be your dad legally. That's all the judge needs to hear." "But what about my birth certificate and stuff? Will it still say Alex is my father?" "No," our lawyer, Mrs. Patterson, said, joining our conversation. "Once the adoption is finalized, you'll get a new birth certificate with Thomas listed as your father. It'll be like he was always your dad from the beginning." "Really?" "Really." Sam considered this. "Will I still be Sam Harrison?" "That's up to you," Thomas said. "You can keep Harrison, or you can change it to Reid, or you can hyphenate it. Whatever you want." "What do you want?