Coming Home by Stacy Hawkins Adams

Author:Stacy Hawkins Adams
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780310333999
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2012-03-20T07:00:00+00:00

thirty-three

By the time they’d finished their meal and insisted on no dessert, Dayna and Brent were chatting like the friends they once had been.

“Amazing,” Dayna said once Brent ticked off the names of his nine nieces and nephews — about half of whom had been born while Dayna was still part of the family. “I know your parents must love to have you all home at the same time over the holidays, with all those babies to spoil.”

Brent laughed and nodded.

Dayna wanted to ask, but was afraid. He must have read the question in her eyes, because he answered what she hadn’t uttered. “No, Tami and I tried for several years, but it never happened. Then I got cancer, and the chemo and radiation made it too dangerous. That’s one of my biggest regrets. I won’t have a son or daughter to continue my legacy after I’m gone.”

Dayna felt numb. Her mind traveled back to the months just before she’d learned about his affair, when they had agreed to start a family. Funny now how clear it was that Brent’s ‘Yes, let’s go for it’ all those years ago had really been a ‘No,’ because he started seeing Tamara soon after Dayna stopped using birth control.

She stared at him now and wondered if she should tell him how close he had been to becoming a parent. How close they had been.

Tears pooled in her eyes, and she looked away before memories of the miscarriage consumed her. It had taken years, but God had healed her heart regarding the loss of what would have been her firstborn child, soon after she had learned about Brent and Tamara’s affair. Dayna had never felt the need to tell him, not even during the divorce proceedings. Why hurt him now?

“You okay?” he asked.

Dayna coughed and took a sip of tea. “Yeah — just got choked up for a minute. I’m fine.”

Half an hour later, Dayna and Brent emerged from the restaurant, satiated from the meal and also full from each other’s company. They had stayed on safe ground during the rest of their conversation, chatting more about each other’s families and eventually getting down to business — reviewing the pros and the cons of working with the Calero Community Foundation.

Now at nearly 4:00 p.m., Brent had to make the drive back to the Space Coast.

“Leave now and you’ll just miss the evening traffic,” Dayna said.

Brent nodded. “Yep. In forty or so minutes I’ll be home, back in the land of retirees, where commuters and traffic don’t exist.”

They laughed.

“Thanks again for your time and for doing this, Dayna,” he said. “You’re something else.”

“Will you stop with all of the praise, please? I’m heading to the gym now, to work off all of this great food. You drive safely, and tell Tamara I said hello.”

She could feel Brent’s eyes on her with every step toward her car, and it made her self-conscious. As she started the car and headed toward the street, Brent was still standing at the entrance to the restaurant, watching her with a half smile on his face.

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