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“So did Finn, though.” He pointed to the baby.
“Except the five times he wanted to be fed,” Aubrey said, but her words held no venom, and she smiled as she said them.
“If I could do it, I would,” Wiley told her.
She smiled at him, and there was a settled and happy air in the room on the heels of the fake fight. They were a good couple, and it was clear they would be attentive and caring parents.
“Well, we bought out the baby section at Walmart,” Archie said. “And after we eat, I’ll go get the car seat put in and then we can go whenever they discharge you guys.”
Aubrey nodded. “They’ll come down and check the seat, I think. And then they do his final exam and send us off.”
“Isn’t it nuts how they let a couple people in here with no baby and then twenty-four hours later they send us out in the world, totally responsible for another human life? With like zero training?” Wiley sounded a little bit scared.
“There should at least be a test or some kind of license you need,” Aubrey agreed.
“That’s what all those books you read were about, right?” Archie asked.
Aubrey lifted a shoulder. “I’m not sure how much a book prepares you for the real thing.”
“You’ll do great,” Archie said, leaning forward and patting his sister’s shoulder as she took an enormous bite of grilled cheese. “And you’ve got the entire staff at Kasper Ridge to help out. Lucy and Penny will be a big help, they’ve both just been through it.”
Aubrey nodded, her face clearing a bit.
I envied them. The people at Kasper Ridge not only worked together, but they all had this history—like they were all one big family. I hadn’t met them all, but I’d heard the way Archie spoke about his friends, calling most of them by their callsigns. I wondered if Jake would have been here if he’d survived. He would have loved Colorado.
It was several hours more before we were bundled up and sent on our way, our little crew now including a very tiny new member who slept most of the way up the hill.
It was odd arriving back at the resort. For a brief while, I’d been part of this little family, celebrating this incredible event. And now I was just me again.
Archie had dropped me off at the resort before driving Aubrey and Wiley down to their house to help them get settled. He’d given me a warm smile as I’d gotten out of the car, but with the audience in the back seat, neither of us had said anything more. I didn’t know when I’d see him again, and in some ways, that was a relief.
My mind spun as I rode the elevator up alone to the room I shared with Christine.
I stepped into the room and Christine looked up from her bed, where she was typing furiously on her laptop.
“Hey!” her eyes were bleary, like she’d been in that exact position for too long.
“Hey,” I said, checking my watch. “Figured you’d still be conferencing.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I’m pretty much conferenced out. There were some small group things this afternoon, but I really need to get words in, so I’ve been up here a while.” She set aside the laptop and stretched. “Tell me everything.”
I let myself fall back across my own bed, staring at the ceiling for a moment as I stretched. “There’s kind of a lot to tell.” Icontemplated how much to tell her, and realized how much I needed to confide in someone.
“I’ve got no plans. Talk.”
I did. I told her about finding the arch at the camp down the road from town, about the initials carved into the post and the arrow that led us to the number.
“515, I think. Maybe 525?”
“And that is . . .”
“A room number? Maybe? Hopefully he’ll let me know when he goes to look around.”
“And now we can talk about him.” She drew out the word “him” in a sing-song way that told me she already knew what I was going to say.
“Well, when Aubrey went into labor, everything shifted. We had to get her to the hospital, and then we got stuck in the storm. Not that Archie would have left anyway.”
“Right. You texted. ..I’m curious about what happened between then and now.”
