attention — smiling, endlessly jabbering, and waving toys in front of his face hoping for some kind of reaction. His responses were subtle, but all it took was a little grin to convince Jessica that he liked her. Michael reveled in these moments together, but he didn’t quite understand why she preferred a helpless infant over playful children her own age. He assumed it must have something to do with Emit’s revelation that Jessica and Colby were meant to be together. Whatever the reason, Michael was just happy for the chance to see her again, to marvel at how much she had grown since her last visit, and to feed that spark of love for her that burned ceaselessly in his own heart. He knew it would probably be better to let it go out or at least slowly burn down to nothing but embers, but he couldn’t bear the pain he felt whenever he contemplated trying to extinguish the flame. He accepted that Jessica wasn’t meant for him, but he figured as long as she was going to be part of Colby’s life it was safe for him to hold onto his love for her. Maybe he couldn’t be with her every minute of her life like before, but he could be with her sometimes, and it was those precious few moments that fueled his love for her and kept him going until the next time she came.
It had become a habit for Sarah and Jessica to visit the Conrads a couple times a week. The women would drink coffee and talk about the trials of motherhood and Jessica would fawn over Colby. She didn’t quite understand that babies weren’t capable of the same things as two year olds, especially not babies like Colby, but it didn’t stop her from trying to get Colby to play with her. She would tickle his feet to make him laugh, lift his limp arms in a game of patty cake, and squeal “peekaboo!” over and over as she covered his eyes with her hands. Michael would smile at how she imitated the things her mother used to do to her not so long ago.
As the years went by, Jessica and Colby both grew bigger, but only Jessica seemed to be growing up. Colby’s responses to their playtime stayed the same despite his change in size. Colby couldn’t talk, couldn’t walk, could barely do more than flail his useless limbs, but his eyes lit up when Jessica visited and only she could make him smile like everything was right with the world.
When Jessica turned five, the mothers’ chats turned to talk of kindergarten and Michael knew it wouldn’t be long before Jessica’s days got too busy for frequent visits to the Conrad’s house. He was trying to prepare himself for that but something even worse was already in the works. He had caught snippets of whispered conversations between Karen and Calvin late at night when the children were sleeping, muffled by the walls that separated their bedroom from the nursery, but the conversation between Karen and Sarah that late summer morning was like a little tear in the bottom of a plastic bag. Such a normal word — moving — but the weight of it ripped through the flimsy sack that held his entire world, sending the contents tumbling in a thousand different directions.
“There’s a hospital in Minnesota that started a pediatric brain injury program a few years ago,” Karen explained over coffee and the slightly overcooked chocolate chip cookies Sarah had brought for their ritual tête-à-tête. “Calvin thinks they might be able to help Colby.”
“Well, that would be wonderful, Karen, but Minnesota’s so far away. It’s got to be at least an eight hour drive. And if they can help him wouldn’t he need quite a few visits? How would you make that work?” Sarah wondered.
“We’re going to take the whole family up for a few days next week for Colby’s initial consultation. Make a vacation out of it. But if they say they can help Colby, we’ll probably move,” Karen explained.
Michael’s hopes for the future crumbled and fell through his fingers
It had become a habit for Sarah and Jessica to visit the Conrads a couple times a week. The women would drink coffee and talk about the trials of motherhood and Jessica would fawn over Colby. She didn’t quite understand that babies weren’t capable of the same things as two year olds, especially not babies like Colby, but it didn’t stop her from trying to get Colby to play with her. She would tickle his feet to make him laugh, lift his limp arms in a game of patty cake, and squeal “peekaboo!” over and over as she covered his eyes with her hands. Michael would smile at how she imitated the things her mother used to do to her not so long ago.
As the years went by, Jessica and Colby both grew bigger, but only Jessica seemed to be growing up. Colby’s responses to their playtime stayed the same despite his change in size. Colby couldn’t talk, couldn’t walk, could barely do more than flail his useless limbs, but his eyes lit up when Jessica visited and only she could make him smile like everything was right with the world.
When Jessica turned five, the mothers’ chats turned to talk of kindergarten and Michael knew it wouldn’t be long before Jessica’s days got too busy for frequent visits to the Conrad’s house. He was trying to prepare himself for that but something even worse was already in the works. He had caught snippets of whispered conversations between Karen and Calvin late at night when the children were sleeping, muffled by the walls that separated their bedroom from the nursery, but the conversation between Karen and Sarah that late summer morning was like a little tear in the bottom of a plastic bag. Such a normal word — moving — but the weight of it ripped through the flimsy sack that held his entire world, sending the contents tumbling in a thousand different directions.
“There’s a hospital in Minnesota that started a pediatric brain injury program a few years ago,” Karen explained over coffee and the slightly overcooked chocolate chip cookies Sarah had brought for their ritual tête-à-tête. “Calvin thinks they might be able to help Colby.”
“Well, that would be wonderful, Karen, but Minnesota’s so far away. It’s got to be at least an eight hour drive. And if they can help him wouldn’t he need quite a few visits? How would you make that work?” Sarah wondered.
“We’re going to take the whole family up for a few days next week for Colby’s initial consultation. Make a vacation out of it. But if they say they can help Colby, we’ll probably move,” Karen explained.
Michael’s hopes for the future crumbled and fell through his fingers
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