Chapter Two

Chapter 2: July 10, 1980


Joyce smiled as she rocked her baby girl to sleep. Today Alyssa had turned 2 months old. It was only 3 days until that same anniversary of her being officially theirs. There was still 4 months until it was finalized, but both Joyce and Hand were confident that it would go smoothly.

The couple had never been happier that they were now. Where sudden parenthood might have strained them, it had made them stronger. They basked in their sweet, happy baby. Hank came home an hour earlier so that he could spend one on one time with Alyssa. Putting her to bed was a special time for them. They took turns rocking and putting her down each night, bonding with her.

As Joyce pulled the bedroom door close to shut she frowned slightly. Alyssa had been an unexpected change that had made their lives fuller. She worried that another change son soon may break the spell.

“Honey” Joyce said as she watched her husband get ready for bed.

“Yeah”

“I’m pregnant”

Hank stilled and turned to his wife in shock. “Are you sure? We’ve been careful since we got Alyssa. I know you haven’t been on the pill, but…” He wasn’t unhappy, just shocked.

Joyce nodded. “I had an appointment today to go back on the pill, since we weren’t going to try for another baby until Alyssa was older. Anyway, one of the standard tests they do before they give it to you is a pregnancy test. I was pretty surprised since I haven’t felt any different at all.”

Hank sat down next to her on the bed. “How far along are you?”

Joyce laughed. “Well, just over 2 months. We started being careful too late.”

Hank smiled and kissed his wife. “Well, hey, the nursery is already finished, and we have tons of baby clothes to reuse.”

Joyce smiled back. “True. Do you think we can handle this? 2 babies?”

Hank hugged her close and rubbed her back soothingly. “We can handle anything.”