This afternoon, Hannah skidded to a stop in front of Jack’s house only moments after he and Lily arrived there after school—they hadn’t even made it through the door. She jumped out of the car and scooped up a delighted Lily on the lawn, but even that didn’t slow her down. “I need to ask a big favor,” she said, giving Jack a hurried kiss. “And I mean big.”
“Oh?” Jack asked. “Why do I get the feeling that I won’t get much time to think it over?”
“Well, I just got a message from Nina—she’s off, and so we actually have an afternoon and evening that all four of us are off work at the same time. This might not happen again until Hilary is ready to have her baby, so I’m going over there now. And I want to take Lily with me.”
Lily gasped and clung to Hannah’s shoulder. “Oh, can I, Uncle Jack, please, please, please?”
Jack was grinning. “And the big favor part is that I’m not invited?”
Hannah grimaced. “I’d bring you along, but I really think that Hils will want just us at first. But they’ve all been saying that they want to meet Lily, and…”
Hannah trailed off, and Jack met her gaze seriously. This was why I was here, why this was an important moment—if Hannah does this, it is tantamount to staking a claim on Lily, which may complicate her relationship with Jack.
But Jack met the moment calmly. “Then of course you should take her with you. Will you back in time for dinner?”
Lily began to cheer, and Hannah had to talk above her exuberance. “If you want, of course.”
“I’m just asking. As long as you have her home by bedtime, stay as long as you want.”
Relief and joy rushed through Hannah, stronger than she had been expecting. She set Lily down and stepped into Jack’s arms, giving him a real kiss this time. It did not last long, because Lily began tugging on Hannah’s shirt almost right away, but it was straight from the heart, and both of them were red-faced and bright-eyed when they broke apart.
“Okay,” Hannah said, beaming up at Jack. Then she turned to Lily. “All right, are you ready?”
“Can we get a present for the baby?” Lily asked. “I have a little bit of money.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea,” Hannah said, her heart doing a flip as she pushed hair out of Lily’s face. “Why don’t you go grab your money, and we’ll go shopping before we go to Hilary’s house?”
That was precisely what they did. The two of them enjoyed the mall so much that it was almost two hours later that they pulled up to Hilary’s house. Nina and Hope were already sitting on the porch with Hilary, who started indignantly to her feet at the sight of Hannah’s car. “You!” she cried, pointing accusingly at Hannah. “You were the one who started all this! Where the hell have you been?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Hannah said, running around to the back passenger door. “I didn’t know what to get the baby, so I had to consult an expert.” And she pulled open the door to help Lily out.
Hilary’s anger vanished immediately. “The famous Lily!” she said, running down the walk. “Now, you have no idea how nice it is to meet you,” she said, crouching in front of Lily.
Lily ducked her head shyly, turning the scarred side of her face away. It took a nudge from Hannah to get her to say hello, and then she held out the little gift bag to Hilary.
Hilary took it without a word or even a glance at Hannah, who had been instructed not to bring any gifts. She opened it, and her mouth fell open, and then she burst out laughing. “These are perfect!” she said, pulling out a tiny pair of bright red sneakers. “Nina, Hope, come see how cool my kid is going to be!” A bit teary now, Hilary turned to Lily and said, “Lily, this is such a great gift. Did you choose this yourself?”
Lily nodded. Emboldened by Hilary’s obvious delight—and maybe by a rush of warmth from a hovering angel—she volunteered in a small voice, “I didn’t have enough money to buy them, but I’m gonna pay Hannah back.”
“That is very responsible of you,” Hilary said. “Thank you so much, Lily. Can I hug you?”
Lily hesitated, and Hannah set a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay to say no,” she murmured to Lily. “Hils will understand.”
Looking uncertainly at Hilary, Lily said, “Maybe later?”
“You’re the boss,” Hilary said, unoffended. She put the sneakers back into the bag and handed them back to Nina. “Well, I’m Hilary, obviously, and this is Nina, and that’s Hope.”
“We are so glad to meet you, Lily,” Hope said so warmly that Lily stepped back and wrapped a hand around Hannah’s leg.
“Would you like some lemonade?” Nina asked. “Hilary’s husband made it, and it’s really good.”
“Too sweet,” Hilary complained. “You’ll have to finish mine, Lily. Think you can do that?”
Lily smiled, and the woman guided her back onto the porch. They chatted with one another, sharing lemonade and cookies with Lily and letting her gather herself. Soon, however, Hilary turned back to the girl. “So you have shown that you have really excellent taste, Lily,” she said. “What do you think I should name the baby?”
Lily’s eyes went wide. “I get to decide?”
“Well, you get to make suggestions,” Hannah said, laughing, “but Hilary and Ray will make the decision.”
“I almost think Ray doesn’t get a vote,” Hilary protested. “This is the man who named his dog Walrus.”
“Which is awesome,” Hope said.
Hilary snorted. “What do you think, Lily?”
Lily thought for a moment. “I don’t know,” she said, “but it should start with H.”
The women laughed. “It probably should,” Hannah agreed.
Lily sighed. “I wish my name started with H.”
“But Lily is such a lovely name,” Hope protested.
“And anyway, you can still be a part of the band,” Hannah said, stroking Lily’s hair back from her face.
Nina, sitting on Lily’s other side, leaned down and whispered, “They only let you in without an H name if you’re totally cool.”
Lily giggled. She looked at Hannah. “Why do you call it a band? Do you play music?”
“No,” Hannah said fervently. “Well, Hilary used to, a little.”
“Who has time?” Hilary asked.
“You remember in science your teacher told you about the periodic table?” Hannah asked.
Lily nodded.
“Well, NH3 is a chemical name from that table, and we always thought it would be a good band name. So we started calling ourselves the band.”
Lily wrinkled her nose. “Is there an L on the periodic table?”
The other women looked at Hope, who spread her hands. “Why are you looking at me? I’m not a scientist anymore.”
“But you were the only one who got an A in chemistry.”
“That doesn’t mean I remember everything!”
Nina, who had pulled out her phone, now said, “There’s an Li. Lithium. But that doesn’t react with ammonia, does it?”
“I think it dissolves in it.”
“We can be backup singers, then,” Hilary said. “Lily and the Ammonias.”
“That’s dumb.”
“You’re dumb.”
The conversation deteriorated from there, and Lily looked up at Hannah. “I like them, they’re funny,” she whispered.
Hannah put her arm around Lily, and her heart jumped when Lily leaned against her. “They like you too, Lily.”
Lily hid her face in Hannah’s shoulder, giggling, and Hannah gave her a squeeze. She looked across the porch at Hilary, who was rubbing her stomach and making faces at her friends. Their eyes met, and in that moment both knew that they were thinking the same thing—the meaning of motherhood, and the weight of it, and the fears that come with it, and the joys. And both women smiled, for they were beginning to feel that they might be ready to face it.