Chapter 13

A few months later, Lenny was finishing up his work for the day and heading home for the evening. He was looking at his cell phone reading a text message Oscar had just sent him. It read, "Hope we can still be friends!" In addition to the text, Oscar had added a picture of himself and Angie, whose pregnancy was becoming more and more noticeable.

Lenny sighed. He had the feeling eventually either he or they would have to apologize to each other. He hadn't exactly been himself the first few days of the honeymoon. Mainly because he couldn't stop thinking about how untypically cold he'd been to them at the wedding. After all, it'd been three years since he'd seen them and they came all that way to be there for him on his wedding day. On top of that, they were the only friends he'd ever had on the South Side Reef. Getting furious with them over something that no longer mattered did not a warm welcome make. During the midpoint of the honeymoon, Kylie helped him feel better by talking to him in an understanding way. They also did something else that took it off his mind, but that's all I can say (you'll find out later in the chapter).

Lenny smiled at the picture of his friends and replied by texting, "Count on it" followed by a winking emoticon. He felt proud of himself, and he knew Kylie would be proud of him. He couldn't stay mad at Oscar and Angie.

When he arrived at the bedroom that he and Kylie had recently moved into, he couldn't wait to tell her his news. He went inside and surprisingly found her already back from work.

"Hey, Sweetie," she greeted him with a kiss.

"Hey," he replied. "What are you doin' home so early?"

"I didn't go to work today," said Kylie. "I was doing something else."

"Well, I've gotta surprise for you," Lenny said happily.

"I have one for you too."

"I bet my surprise is bigger," said Lenny.

Kylie grinned. "Oh I doubt that. What is it?"

"Right when I was leaving work, I got a text message from Oscar," Lenny explained. "He and Angie are still hoping we can all be friends."

"And how did you respond?" Kylie asked.

Lenny smiled. "I took your advice and decided to forgive 'em."

"That's great," said Kylie. "I knew you wouldn't stay a big jerk forever."

"Yeah, I… What do ya mean big jerk?" he joked.

Kylie giggled. "I'm just teasing, lighten up."

"I thought so," Lenny said suspiciously. "So, what's your big surprise?"

"Uh, well I'm not quite sure how to tell you, so I think I should start by asking you a question."

"Go ahead," said Lenny.

"Okay, how would you feel if you could be around kids all day everyday? And I don't mean just at work, I mean twenty-four/seven."

Lenny was still a little curious. "You mean come home from work and still be around kids?"

"Yeah, that's the idea."

Lenny chuckled at the idea. "I think that'd be great. Fun too."

Kylie smiled. "Okay, then you'll be over the moon when I tell you this next part."

The look on Lenny's face went from happy to startle.

(9 months later)

Lenny burst out the office door and rushed off to the hospital. Kurtis had sent him at least nine text messages informing him on how Kylie was doing. Normally, he would've been right there next to her the entire time. But that stupid meeting that could not be postponed had gotten in the way. Now it was finally over and Lenny just had to make sure all went well with the delivery. And how could he have done that if he wasn't there to comfort Kylie? He didn't know what the bigger problem was at the moment; that the baby chose to come today of all days or that the meeting couldn't have waited some other time. On the plus side, he seemed a tiny bit less stressed at the moment than he had earlier that morning when it all began.

He was just about to leave for the meeting when Kylie started panting and rubbing her belly. Lenny asked her what was wrong and her reply could not have been less convenient. "It's time." For some bizarre reason, she was calm and relaxed when she said this. Lenny was both flustered and panicked. The baby was coming now? The day of the most important meeting of the year? Talk about perfect timing. He quickly picked up the phone, called Kylie's parents, and told them it was time. They rushed over as quickly as they could and the three of them helped Kylie get to the hospital. Lenny was stunned at how relaxed she had been as they swam her there. She took deep, even breaths, never moaned, and showed almost no signs of being in pain. Lenny grew to love her all the more because she was so brave despite going into labor. When they got her to the hospital, Lenny begged her to forgive him and said that he had to get to the meeting. He also begged her not to have the baby until the meeting was over. Kylie, starting to show signs of being in pain, chuckled and said, "Don't you think that's up to the baby?" Lenny kissed her goodbye, wished her luck, and dashed off to the meeting, hoping it wouldn't be too long. It turned out to be a lot longer than he'd hoped. He could barely concentrate because he was too busy worrying about Kylie. As soon as it was over, Dustin warned him not to panic and reminded him that Kylie was a strong girl. Lenny agreed and said, "That's why I married her."

And that's how it all went down, at least from Lenny's point of view. Now here he was swimming for his life trying to reach the hospital in time for the delivery. He turned the corner that came just before the entrance to the hospital rooms and froze in his tracks when he saw Kylie's entire family seated outside her room.

"Oh no," he said. They all looked up at him. "Please don't tell me I'm too late."

Kurtis stood up and said, "I'm sorry, Lenny. You missed the delivery."

Lenny snarled. "Ugh! I knew I shouldn't have left her. What kinda husband am I? I mean I now the meeting was important but we're talkin' about the girl I love here."

Kurtis chuckled. "Hey, hey, take it easy, Son. Nobody's dying."

"The delivery went fine, Lenny," Kara assured. "Kylie and the baby are alive and healthy, at least that's what we've been told."

"You haven't seen it yet?" Lenny asked.

"Kylie wants you to be the first," Kayla smiled.

"So does that mean you don't know if it's a boy or a girl?" Lenny hoped all along that it'd be a boy. Kylie would've been fine with either.

"Nope," said Kurtis. "But what's stopping you from going in there and finding out?"

"If it's a girl, name her Kelsey the Second," said Kelsey.

Lenny grinned at her. "I'll keep that in mind." Now he really hoped it would be a boy.

"Go on in, Son," Kurtis encouraged.

"Wish me luck, everyone," Lenny said nervously.

"You won't need it," said Kandice.

"Is that what my aura says?" Lenny teased.

"No," Kandice replied. "It's written all over your face."

Lenny smiled at her words of comfort and inhaled deeply as he pushed the hospital room door open. He went inside, looked over to Kylie's bed, and almost broke out crying at what he saw.

Kylie was lying down on the bed smiling at a bundle of blankets that she was holding in her fins. Lenny didn't need to be an expert at babies to know that his new one was in that bundle of blankets. It didn't take Kylie long to notice his presence. She looked up from the bundle to face her husband and gave a caring smile at him. He swam up to the side of the bed quietly and greeted her with a kiss.

"I'm sorry I missed it," he said gently.

"It's okay," said Kylie. "The important thing now is that you're here to see your child."

Lenny nodded and looked down at the bundle in Kylie's fins. He couldn't help but sniffle a bit when he saw how cute their baby was. It looked so peaceful and warm as it slept happily in its mother's fins.

"It's a boy," Kylie said to Lenny. "Congratulations, Daddy." She held the baby closer to Lenny so he could hold onto him with her.

"Are you okay with that?" Lenny asked. "Do you wanna have another and try for a girl?"

Kylie scoffed. "Pass. I grew up around six little girls, and that's more than enough."

"I agree," said Lenny. "Now we won't have to name anyone Kelsey the Second."

Kylie gave him a confused look. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Well, whatever you mean by 'Kelsey the Second', I know for a fact that my parents will be devastated if his name doesn't start with K."

Lenny's smile faded. "Ah man. We haven't thought too much about names, have we?"

"Well, I think I may have one already," said Kylie, "But I wanna be fair and have you give it a shot first."

"Me?" Lenny asked.

"If you can't think of anything, we'll go with what I've got."

"Well I'm not too good with names," Lenny said nervously. "But I guess I could give it a shot. Uh…" He examined the baby and tried to decide what K name would suit him. "How 'bout Kyle?"

Kylie shook her head. "Nah, it sounds too much like my name."

"Good point," said Lenny. "Then how 'bout Kevin?"

"Too common," said Kylie.

"Karl?"

"Too old fashioned."

"Kacey?"

"Too girly."

"Kahlil?"

"…Kahlil?" Kylie repeated.

Lenny shrugged. "It was all I could think of."

Kylie chuckled. "Lenny, you're gonna make him think his daddy's a great big doofus." She looked at Lenny and said, "Then again…"

Lenny rolled his eyes and said, "Alright, little miss name expert. What'd you have in mind?"

"Well," said Kylie, "I was thinking I kind of like Kendall."

"Kendall?" said Lenny. He looked at their baby again and then smiled. "Ya know? I think that's perfect. And I got nothing, so Kendall it is."

"Great."

The couple looked down at their new son.

"Hey, little Kendall," said Lenny.

The baby seemed to take a liking to his new name. As soon as he heard it, he cooed and merrily opened his olive green eyes. A smile broke out on his face when he saw his parents for the first time.

"Look," Lenny said to Kylie. "He's got your eyes."

"He looks more like you, though," said Kylie.

Lenny chuckled. "I bet your mom and dad are gonna be proud when they see him."

Kylie looked at him. "I think your parents would be proud too."

"Well, one of 'em would," Lenny said in his mind. "The other would probably eat Kendall on the spot. I shudder to think."

Kylie noticed his upset face and said, "Uh oh, did I say something I shouldn't have?"

Lenny shook his head. "No, it's fine."

"Is it fine if I ask you if you ever think about them?"

Lenny thought for a few minutes about his answer. He still didn't want to tell her about what Lino threatened to do when he kicked Lenny out of their home. He especially didn't want to say it in front of their new son.

"I don't look back anymore," he said with a serious face. "It hurts too much. It hurts to think about what my life used to be. Different. That's all I was in everyone's eyes, different. Not special, not unique, not one-of-a-kind, just different. That's why I couldn't stay."

Kylie put her fin on his shoulder and said, "I'm sorry."

Lenny smiled and said, "It doesn't matter anymore. I belong here, with you." He nuzzled Kylie lovingly. "And Kendall."

They looked down at Kendall again and thought what a happy family they would be. Lenny couldn't help but think of all the differences between his current position and Nathan's. Everything he had now was the exact opposite of what Nathan had: a great job, a beautiful wife who loved him, and now an adorable baby son. He felt that in a way Nathan had taught him to be a good husband and father. He'd learned from all the mistakes that Nathan had made. He also felt that Lino had been proven wrong. Someone could love a vegetarian shark. He'd found his acceptance in life, and he'd found somebody to love. And the best part was that Lino was supposedly dead, which meant there was no chance of him finding out about Lenny's loved ones and killing them. The future was clear to Lenny. His life would be smooth sailing from here on out. Kylie rested her head against his shoulder as they admired Kendall. Everything was definitely going his way.

End of chapter