the purchased gift was meant as a thank you for their kindness towards her . they certainly hadn’t been obligated to become friends with her or even enter her life . they could have simply communicated through a lawyer and for the personal touch , lisa was grateful .
“ i wasn’t planning on telling you what it was , ” lisa offered , smile curved upon her smile at imagining how his question was surprisingly similar to those her daughters had asked when christmas time rolled around . “ but if you really , really want to know … ”
in truth , lisa didn’t want to tell him what the gift was . it was meant to be special and she hoped they hadn’t already purchased one . if she was never to see aaron and eric again , she’d be happy in the knowledge that there was something physical left behind – a memory of her presence in their life should they ever find separate paths along the winding road of life .
“ it’s a baby book . i had it special made for you both . ”
if only lisa knew just how accurate her comparison had been . in a lot of ways eric && aaron were an old married couple , without a doubt . they were , && possibly always had been , wildly in love . but past all of that , their connection ran deeper , they were FAMILY in a way which often times would border on uncomfortable . with that brotherly affection came sibling rivalry , always in good fun , but also a surprise to those who witnessed it .
eric almost did the right thing , almost backed off with promises that it was okay , that they would find out together when the time was right but lisa didn’t put up much of a fight , && hot damn was he curious !
as soon as lisa spoke , eric was glad he’d pushed for finding out BEFORE aaron it didn’t feel like a moment for all three of them to share together , it was something to be experienced i n d i v i d u a l l y && something s u r p r i s i n g l y thoughtful . ❝ lisa , that’s thank you so much . ❞ && once again he meant it . a baby book ! something they’d talked about picking up , but had fallen to the wayside somewhere along the way . he loved it , && aaron would love it as well .
unofficially he’d already started something akin to what the pages would ask for , if not a smidge more ( ridiculous ) in depth . little thoughts scribbled here && there . silly ideas , sillier questions , all written on scraps of paper from wherever he’d been at the time . one day their child could look back && see that before they’d even been born , eric was wondering what their favorite color would be when he was waiting in line at starbucks . they would know that aaron had been the first to feel a kick && exactly what he’d been wearing at the time . they’d know the exact date && time of lisa’s worst hours of morning sickness , && have a polaroid of a blonde head sticking out from the toilet as proof .
HE WOULDN’T CRY , but as arms came to wrap around lisa , it was obvious that eric was closer to tears than he would ever admit . ❝ i promise we won’t skip any of it . we’ll probably even add pages … not probably , definitely , we’ll DEFINITELY add pages , and you’ll be all up in there . ❞
