Harrison hopped out of the car. "Is daddy at work?"
"No. He's having dinner with some of his friends, remember? So it's just you and me this evening."
"Oh, yeah." He took Elizabeth's outstretched hand as they walked toward the store. "Can we get Legos?"
"Not today, bud. We're going to get some things to make dinner, and maybe we can get some things for ice cream sundaes, too."
His face lit up. "Chocolate ice cream and extra sprinkles?"
Elizabeth laughed. "Whatever you want. It's a mommy and Harrison night. What do you want for dinner?"
"Mac and cheese, but the kind with the shapes."
"Okay. Should we have carrots or peas with that?"
"Peas. Can we watch a movie?"
"Sure. We can even watch Lion King again, if that's what you want." She grabbed a basket and headed toward the pasta aisle.
"I wanna watch Finding Dory."
"Sounds good, bud." She ruffled his hair. "Now, which mac and cheese do you want?"
Harrison picked out Mickey Mouse shaped pasta, along with chocolate ice cream, rainbow sprinkles, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup for their ice cream sundaes.
"Mommy?" he asked as they got back into the car a few minutes later.
She buckled him into his carseat. "Mhmm?"
"We still have mommy and Harrison nights when the baby is here?"
"Of course." She touched his cheek. "And you'll still have daddy and Harrison nights, too."
"Good. And mommy and daddy and Harrison nights?"
"Those, too," she confirmed. "Just because daddy and I will have to spend a lot of time with the baby doesn't mean that we won't have any time for you." She leaned in, kissing the top of his head. "Daddy and I love you very much, Harrison. No matter what, you'll always be our first baby, and that makes you very special."
"But I'm not your first baby. I didn't come from your belly."
"Harrison," she grew serious. "You're right that I didn't carry you in my belly, but I love you just as much as if I did. Just because your sister is in my belly doesn't mean I love her more than you."
"Really?"
She nodded. "Really. You know what one of my very favorite memories is?"
"What?"
"After your daddy asked me to marry him, when you asked if you could call me mommy." She smiled. "That made me so happy, because the first time I met you, I wanted to be your mommy."
"You did?"
"I did. I love you very much, Harrison David."
He opened his arms, pulling her into a hug. "I love you, mommy."
...
Harrison stretched out on the sofa, resting his head on Elizabeth's legs.
Smiling, she ran her fingers through his messy hair, reveling in the simplicity of the moment. From the first time she had met him, she dreamt of moments like that. Simba curled up on the floor in front of them, Harrison snuggled with her as he watched a movie.
As the baby moved inside her, she knew that what she had told Harrison earlier in the afternoon was the truth. She loved the little boy in front of her just as much as she loved the baby she was carrying. It didn't matter that she hadn't given birth to him or missed out on his infancy. He was her son, just as the baby inside her was her daughter.
"I love you, Harrison."
"Love you, mommy." Feeling the baby's movement, Harrison reached his hand up to touch Elizabeth's belly. "Hi, Salem."
"What did you call her?"
"Salem. That's her name. You said I could pick her name, so I picked that one."
"That wasn't one of the choices."
"Uh huh." He nodded. "You said Rowen and Leia and Nora and Salem."
Elizabeth chuckled. "It's Selah, bud."
"Oh. Well, I like Salem better."
She put her hand on her stomach, feeling the baby kick. "Salem," she said quietly. "Salem Thornton. I think I like it, too, Harrison."
He looked up at her and grinned.
"I'll have to talk to daddy and see what he thinks, but if he likes it, that might be her name." She touched his cheek. "And you can tell all your friends that you picked your baby sister's name."
He turned his face back toward her stomach. "I picked your name, Salem!"
...
Harrison glanced up when the front door opened. "Hi, daddy!"
"Hey, bud. What're you doing?"
"A puzzle." He held up the box. "Mommy found it. It has penguins."
"That's very cool, Harrison. Where is mommy?"
"Taking a bath. She said I could watch Magic School Bus until she's done."
Jack kicked off his shoes and took a seat beside his son. "Did you have a good evening with mommy?"
"Uh huh." He returned to work on his puzzle. "We had Mickey Mouse mac and cheese and ice cream sundaes and we watched Finding Dory."
"That sounds like a lot of fun, buddy."
"Yeah."
"You know," Jack started, "I don't have to go to work tomorrow. Maybe you and I should go have lunch with mommy at the zoo."
"Yeah!" he cheered, jumping up to tell Elizabeth the good news. "Mommy!" He bounced into the bedroom, pressing his face to the bathroom door. "Guess what!"
"What?"
"Daddy said we can go to the zoo tomorrow!"
"Oh, fun."
He cupped his hands around his mouth in an attempt to further amplify his voice. "You almost done?"
She chuckled. "Yes, Harrison."
"Okay. I'm gonna do the puzzle more." He ran off before she could reply. Sitting back down to finish his puzzle, he told Jack, "mommy said she's almost done."
"Okay." Jack stood. "I'm going to change, and then I'll be right back."
Harrison nodded in reply, putting two more pieces of the puzzle together.
Jack made his way back to the bedroom, knocking lightly before opening the bathroom door. "Beth?" Peering inside, he found Elizabeth in the tub, eyes closed as she leaned back on a rolled up towel. "Spending the evening with Harrison was that exhausting?" he joked.
She opened her eyes a crack. "No, growing your daughter is this exhausting."
"Have I thanked you for that lately?" He crouched down beside the tub, brushing his fingers across her cheek.
"Every single day." She gave him a smile. "By the way, Harrison picked her name."
"Oh, he did? I'm surprised he didn't tell me. So which one did he choose? Please tell me it's Leia," he teased.
"Salem."
He furrowed his brow. "That wasn't an option we gave him."
"I know. It turns out he misheard 'Selah' as 'Salem.' I really like it, though, and he's pretty adamant that's her name."
He moved his hand to her stomach. "Salem Charlotte Thornton."
The baby responded to his voice, pushing back against his fingers.
Jack smiled. "I think she likes it, too."
"I looked it up." She pointed at her phone sitting on the counter. "It means 'peace.'"
"That makes me like it even more. So, I guess we can stop calling her 'baby girl.'"
"I guess so," she agreed, rubbing her belly. "Harrison and Salem."
"I can't wait to meet her. And I really can't wait to see how Harrison is with her."
She shifted slightly so she could take his hand. "He's going to be a great big brother."
"That he is."
She sighed. "Um, he did say something to me earlier that I'm a little worried about."
"What was it?" He reached for a towel, wrapping it around her as she stepped out of the tub.
"Well, I was trying to reassure him that we'll still spend lots of time with him after the baby gets here and that he'll always be special because he's our first baby, and he pointed out that he's not technically my first. I told him that I love him just as much as I love Salem, even though I didn't give birth to him, and he seemed to understand, but," she let out a breath, "I don't know. I'm worried that he's afraid I'll love the baby more than him."
"Hey." He put his arms around her waist. "He knows you love him. You show him every single day just how much you love him, and once Salem is born, he'll see that that isn't going to change."
"I suppose so."
"You'll let me know if he says anything like that again?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Don't fret about this, Beth." He touched her cheek. "Just keep loving him like you do."
...
Elizabeth entered the building, finding a concerned-looking Clara hanging up the phone. "What's going on, Clara?"
"Wally is limping. I think he might have something stuck in his foot."
She approached the fence, finding the little otter standing still, holding one paw off the ground. "I'm assuming you called Fiona to come check on him?"
"I just got off the phone with her," Clara confirmed. "She'll be here in a few minutes. Do you think it's just something stuck in that paw? Or could he have broken his leg?"
"I don't know." She reached for a fish in the nearby bucket, holding it up. "Hey, Wally. Are you hungry?"
He moved toward her, squealing when he stepped on his injured foot.
"Well, whatever's going on, he's really hurting."
"Poor thing."
Elizabeth slid the fish into the enclosure so the otter wouldn't have to move.
"She'll probably have to take him so he doesn't reinjure himself here."
"Ollie and Kyra are doing okay?"
Clara nodded. "Kyra headed straight for the water as soon as I let her out, and Ollie was begging for food."
"Good."
The door opened, and Fiona came inside. "Hey, I hear Wally's hurt."
"I just got here, but he's definitely babying that foot. He put a bit of weight on it and squealed, so there's something bothering him."
"He was fine when I went home yesterday," Clara explained, "but he's been like this since I got here this morning."
"Well, I think the best course of action would be for me to give him a sedative and then take him over to the hospital to check things out."
"I'll get everything finished up here, if you want to go with her, Clara."
"Sure." She started to gather up a few things while Fiona prepared a sedative. "Kyra and Ollie have both eaten already. If you can get Kyra to leave the water, that area still needs to be cleaned."
"On it." She glanced at her watch. "Clara, if I'm not here when you get back, I'll be at lunch. Jack and Harrison are stopping by."
"Oh, bring Harrison over to the hospital after lunch," Fiona suggested. "I know he's partial to the meerkats, but I have Baby and Mei Mei over there."
"Not Baby! Why is she there?"
"She was showing some viral symptoms, so we just wanted to keep her separate from the other birds to keep an eye on her. She's doing fine, though."
"Good. And Harrison will love to come by." She smiled. "Thank you, Fi. I'll let you know when we're headed over."
...
"Daddy, look." Harrison pointed over at the kangaroo hopping around its enclosure. "He has a big tail. It helps him balance."
"I see that." Jack put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Are you going to teach your baby sister about all the animals here?"
"Uh huh." He nodded. "But mostly the meerkats."
Jack chuckled. "I expect nothing less."
"A kangaroo is a marsu…marsup…"
"A marsupial," Jack finished for him. "That's right. What makes a marsupial special?"
"The babies live in their pouches!" He giggled. "That would be silly if mommy had a pouch for Salem."
"That would be very silly, bud." He laughed. "Salem would just poke her head out every once in a while."
"Where is mommy?" Harrison glanced around, looking for Elizabeth.
Jack pulled out his phone, checking for any messages and looking at the time. "I'm not sure. I told her I would call at noon. That's in about ten minutes."
"Okay." Harrison took his hand, tugging him away from the kangaroo exhibit. "Let's go to the otters."
"Let's go," Jack agreed, swinging his son up onto his shoulders. "Hey." He chuckled as they approached the otter enclosure. "That's not an otter."
"Hi, mommy!" Harrison waved at Elizabeth, who was busy hosing down the exhibit.
She grinned, waving back. "Hi, bud. I'll be right there." She made her way out of the enclosure, coming around to the viewing area, where Jack and Harrison were waiting.
"Hi, sweetheart." Jack leaned in to kiss her. "Are you about ready for a lunch break?"
"Give me just a few minutes to finish things up here and get cleaned up so I don't smell like fish."
"Great. We'll meet you at the picnic tables near the rainforest."
A few minutes later, Elizabeth approached the picnic area. Jack and Harrison had already claimed a table and were unpacking the lunch that they had prepared.
"There are my guys." She took a seat across from Jack, gratefully accepting the bottle of water he handed to her.
"How has your morning been?"
"Not too bad. Clara had to take Wally—one of the otters—to Fiona because he hurt his foot."
"Is he okay?" Concern crossed Harrison's face.
"He'll be fine. Dr. Miller is a very good vet, so he's in good hands." She took one of the sandwiches Jack pulled from the bag. "And speaking of Dr. Miller, she told me to bring you by after lunch."
"Really?" Harrison's eyes lit up.
"Really. She'll have Wally there, and she said she has one of the macaws and one of the brand new red pandas. No one but the zookeepers have gotten to see her, so it'll be extra special for you to get to see her."
"Wow! I'm gonna eat super fast."
Jack chuckled, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "You'll still have to wait for us to finish, bud. But we'll try to hurry."
...
"How's Wally?" Harrison questioned as Fiona led them into the animal hospital. "Mommy said he was hurt."
"He's going to be just fine." She took his hand, leading him to the small cage holding the little otter. "He had a rock stuck in his foot, but I took it out, cleaned it up, and gave him a few stitches. He'll be good as new in a few days."
"Does he have a bandaid?"
"Kind of." She pointed at the otter's foot, which was wrapped up. "It's not like a bandaid you would use, because it wouldn't stick to his fur."
"Oh. Did he get medicine?"
Fiona nodded. "We gave him a little medicine to keep his foot from hurting him."
"Good."
"Do you like birds, Harrison?"
He shrugged. "I guess."
"Well, I think you'll really like this one." She led him over to another small cage that held a brilliant blue parrot. "This is Baby. She's a Hyacinth Macaw. They're the biggest of all the macaws."
"She's pretty."
"I agree." Fiona smiled at him. "You want to know something cool?"
"Uh huh." He nodded emphatically.
"A hyacinth macaw's beak is so strong that it can crack a coconut shell."
Harrison's eyes went wide. "Wow. That's really strong."
"Here. Let's see if Baby will show off for you." Fiona retrieved a handful of Brazil nuts, passing one through the bars of the cage.
The macaw grabbed it, easily breaking the kernel into pieces.
"Whoa."
"Now, I don't have a lot more time, because I have some checkups to do, but let's go see Mei Mei now."
"Yes, please."
"Mei Mei just came to live here from another zoo, so she has to stay in here for a couple of days before we can put her with our other red panda."
"Why?" he questioned, standing on his toes to peer into the enclosure housing the young animal.
"We just want to make sure she isn't sick."
"It's like when you have to stay home from school so you don't get the other kids sick," Jack explained.
"Oh." He giggled when the red panda stood on her hind legs, watching them. "Mommy, look."
"She's pretty cute, huh?"
"Yeah. Mommy," he turned to look at her, "can Salem come here, too?"
"Who's Salem?" Fiona asked.
Elizabeth touched her stomach. "Harrison's baby sister."
"I picked her name." Harrison beamed. "Can she come here?"
"Well," Elizabeth ran her fingers through his hair, "I'm sure we'll bring her to the zoo when she's little, but we probably won't bring her back to the hospital like this until she's a little bit older."
"Oh. That stinks."
Fiona laughed. "You'll just have to tell her what it's like until she's big enough."
He nodded, a serious expression on his face. "I can do that."
...
"What's this?" Jack asked, taking the box that Elizabeth handed to him.
"It's a gift from Clara and Fiona for the baby and Harrison."
He lifted the lid from the box, smiling when he saw what it contained. He held up a little onesie with the zoo's logo and "Salem" stitched on the front.
"They said they were going to wait until after she was born, but since Harrison revealed her name last week, they went ahead and had them made." She pointed in the box. "There are a couple of shirts in there for Harrison, too, and a hat."
"Oh, he'll love those." He refolded the onesie, returning it to the box and pulling out one of the shirts for Harrison. "This was very thoughtful of them."
"Well," she put a hand on his knee, "they love Harrison, and they're so excited to meet Salem."
He placed his hands on either side of her stomach, his smiles widening. "She's already so loved."
"I certainly love her." She placed her hand on top of his. "And I love you for putting her in my belly, as Harrison would say."
He chuckled. "I mean, it's not that far from how it works."
She joined in his laughter. "Close enough."
He moved closer, pressing his lips to hers. "I love you, Beth."