The Lion's Love Child (6 page)

“Your child will be one of them.  You’re going to be raising a cursed child,” she said plainly.

“Aria, I am too exhausted for this,” she implored.

“Rest now, child, but heed my words.  You need to know that the road ahead of you will not be smooth,” the old woman said as she lifted the baby from her arms and returned him to his crib.

CHAPTER FOUR

Two days later, Grace and baby Luke were allowed to go home, though Aria made her promise that she would still bring the baby to see her once a week, just to be on the safe side since he had been born so early.  There were no signs of ill health, but it made everyone involved more comfortable to know that Aria would keep looking after them.

Grace waited nervously for the woman to bring up the subject of the curse again, but she never did.  She only fussed over Luke and his big blue eyes and sweet little face.  After hearing her call him cursed, Grace had been half-afraid that the woman would refuse to help them, but she couldn’t imagine anyone being sweeter to a baby than Aria was to Luke.

Since the baby had made his arrival so early, Grace was worried about taking him home to her very unprepared hut, but Shannon told her that everything would be fine and she was really too exhausted to argue with her.  She was surprised when Shannon pulled up in the jeep to pick them up, with a state-of-the-art car seat sitting in the back seat.

“How did you do that?” Grace gasped.

“What?” Shannon asked innocently.

“Get a car seat in the middle of the African desert!” she exclaimed.

“I am wounded that you don’t think I am capable of doing something as simple as acquiring a baby seat,” she said with all the insanity she could muster. 

“How did you do it?” she pushed.

“A magician never reveals her secrets,” she replied with a mock bow.  “Get in.  If you think this is impressive, wait until you see what I did to your cabin.”

“What did you do?” she asked, wondering what she could have managed in just two days.

“I told you that everything would be OK.”

“That isn’t an answer,” she said warily.

“It is the only answer you are getting until we get you both home.  We need to show him his home and I want to get there before dark.”  With that, Shannon jumped behind the wheel and gestured to the passenger seat.

“Alright,” Grace mumbled.  She crawled in the back seat with the baby, but was so tired that the motion of the jeep put them both right to sleep.  She did not wake up until the brakes screeched in front of her hut. 

However, it couldn’t really be called a hut anymore.  It had nearly doubled in size, with a substantial addition connecting it to Shannon’s hut.  She gasped aloud, sure that what she would find in the new room was a nursery for the baby, though how Shannon could have accomplished it in such a short time, she had no idea.

Shannon couldn’t hold in her expression of glee as she led the way inside.  Grace’s room was unchanged, with the exception of a new door in the portion of the cabin she used as a bedroom.  Shannon did not speak, instead gesturing towards the door.  When Grace opened it, with baby Luke held tightly to her chest, she was floored.  The room was large, larger than either of their cabins had been before the addition.  The walls were covered in shelves that held carvings of all of the animals that she and Shannon had studied from around the world.  There was a large crib in the center of the space, filled with linens made of a patchwork of local fabrics and surrounded by netting.  There were a few stuffed animals in the crib already, and a rocking horse in the corner.  Next to it was a beautifully carved rocking chair and beyond that, an equally ornate changing table.  It was fully stocked with everything from diapers to any medicines that a baby might need.

Grace stood there with her mouth hanging open, in utter shock at what Shannon had been able to accomplish in a few short days.  It was beautiful and exactly what she would have done had she had the time to do it.  All of her fears about raising her son on the nature preserve began to fade.  The room proved something to her that she hadn’t even realized she needed to know, that the cabin could feel like a home.

“You are killing me, Grace!  Do you like it?” Shannon asked.

“It is amazing.  There aren’t even words to tell you what it means to me; to both of us,” Grace smiled, tears welling in her eyes.

“I thought it might be just what he needed,” she said with satisfaction.

“I love it!  There’s a little piece of every place we have ever been.  It’s like he’s been a part of all of it and they will all be a part of him.”  Looking around and taking in all of the details made her heart swell with joy.

“We are going to give him a great life!” Shannon exclaimed, clearly excited at the possibility of all of the adventures that they could show Luke in his life.

“So we are,” she said, hugging her friend.

“Let’s get the baby down for the night.  The poor little guy looks exhausted,” Shannon said knowingly.

“He’ll have to sleep in this onesie that Aria gave me until I can get some fabric to make him some more.”  She felt a bit bad that she hadn’t been more prepared for his arrival, but there was no helping it when he came five months early.

“Taken care of already.  Check the trunk at the end of the crib.”

“You are the best!”  She knew that she should say more, but she couldn’t find the words to thank

Shannon properly.

“Well, I will leave you two alone to get settled.  Good night.  Just yell if you need anything,” Shannon said as she left through the door that connected to her cabin. 

“Well, little baby, it’s just us now.  Don’t you worry about a thing.  Aunt Shannon and I are going to take care of everything.  I’m sorry that your daddy isn’t here.  He’s a good man.  I promise you that.  He means a lot to your Momma, even though I didn’t get to spend much time with him.  You are going to have the best life, my little man.  You just settle in and get some rest.  I will be right here.”

With that, she laid him down in the crib and covered him up.  He snuggled in and drifted right off to sleep.  She knew that she should go to her room and get some sleep, but walking towards the door felt unnatural.  Instead, she settled in to the rocking chair and pulled a blanket from the back of the rocker and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Dylan and what kind of father he might have been.

During the next few weeks, they all became accustomed to a bit of a routine.  Grace and Shannon divided the duties of caring for the baby as best they could, which brought Grace some comfort.  She had worried since she found out she was pregnant that she would be the only person in her baby’s life.  Knowing for certain that Shannon would always be there for him lessened that concern, though she still felt guilty that he wouldn’t have a father in his life.

Though Grace was still too exhausted from childbirth to return to the field, Shannon came each afternoon and discussed her findings during the baby’s nap and in the evenings after she laid him down for the night.  It was Shannon that she was expecting one Friday afternoon, when she heard a knock at the door of her hut.

“Shannon, since when do you knock?  Get in here,” she called.  She couldn’t remember a time since they had brought the baby home that Shannon had used the external door to get in the cabin.  She always came through the baby’s room.  She loved any excuse to give him a quick kiss, even if it did mean that she regularly woke him up from his naps to do it.

When she didn’t hear anyone enter, she got up from her desk and stepped outside of the cabin to be greeted by the blue eyes she often saw in her dreams.

“It isn't Shannon,” the familiar voice said, with a bit of reservation in his tone.  She looked up and took in the sight of Dylan standing there, leaning against one of the posts outside her cabin.  The moment she saw him, all of the feelings that she had been pushing down since he left came flooding back to her.  Her heart swelled at the sight of him, knowing that he was close enough to touch and hold once again.

“Dylan,” she whispered, unsure if he was truly there or if she had fallen asleep and imagined him once again.  She rushed across the room and threw her arms around his neck.  His mouth crashed down greedily on hers.  His hands roamed her body, as if he was trying to make up for lost time.  She twisted her fingers though his hair and pulled herself as close to him as she could, rubbing her body against his.  They continued in that way for what felt like ages, exploring each other.

“Hi Grace,” he said with a tentative smile, as he pulled away slightly to look down at her. 

“You’re back!” she said, feeling suddenly very silly for stating the obvious.

“I told you I would be back,” he said meaningfully.

“I guess I didn't really think it would work out that way. Come in.  We have a lot to talk about,” she said, suddenly dreading the conversation she knew that they needed to have.

“I know,” he said and if she didn’t know better, she might have thought that he did know about the baby.

“Oh, you couldn't possibly,” she said with an indulgent laugh.

“I see that you have added on to the cabin,” he said gesturing to the new room connecting the cabins.

“Oh yes, we have had a few additions around here. Come on inside,” she said, trying to find the words to tell him about the most important addition to her life.

“So, it's true then. I heard talk when I got back this morning,” he said without shock or even surprise on his face.

“Yes, I've had a child,” she said, glad to be able to come out with it plainly instead of having to introduce the topic herself.

“It's mine,” he said with confidence and a smile that put her at ease. 

“Yes,” she said, her eyes welling up a bit at the emotion of the moment.

“I'm sorry that I wasn't here,” he said, pulling her tight against him and resting his chin atop her head, surrounding her with his protection.

“It's alright. You couldn't have known,” she said, snuggling against his chest.  They had only spent one night together, yet his presence was oddly comforting to her.  Standing there, with his arms around her, she felt as though she were home.

“I wish it had happened differently for you.  What made you decide to stay here?” he asked solemnly.

“Shannon talked me in to it,” she said with a smile. “She was right.  People have had babies here for a thousand years.  Plus, his life will never be dull, growing up this way.”

“He?” he asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Yes, his name is Luke. Would you like to meet him?” she asked, suddenly realizing that she had not introduced him to his son.

“Very much,” he said solemnly.

“I'll be right back,” she said, getting up and going to the nursery.  There, she found their son wide awake in his crib, cooing as he smiled up at her.  She lifted him up and looked in to his eyes.  This, she realized, was one of the key moments in their lives.  Taking a deep breath, she carried him in to her room and hoped for the best.

“Dylan, this is your son.”  The look on his face was one of awe.  His gentle gaze went back and forth between her face and their son. 

What he finally spoke, he said only, “A fine boy.”  His face seemed to be full of so many emotions that he could not articulate.

“I certainly think so,” she said, handing him the child to hold.

“He is a healthy babe?” he asked, as though he suddenly realized all of the dangers that face a baby, especially one born in the wilds of Africa. 

“He came early,” she explained.  “But my midwife got us through it. He was healthier than I could ever have hoped, given the circumstances.”

“Is she a local woman, your midwife?” he asked with a bit of concern in his voice.

“Yes,” she said, a bit confused.

“And she treated you well?” he asked.  The only reason that she could think of for such questions was that he was trying to take in every moment of what she had been through during her pregnancy.

“Very well!” she exclaimed.  “She was full of old folktales but she meant well enough with them.”

“What sort of tales?” he questioned. 

Grace could tell that he was trying very hard to control the expression on his face, but she could see the turmoil behind his eyes.

“Oh, tales about the lions and the tribe and their history,” she said honestly.  Perhaps one day she would tell him that Aria thought he was a werelion whose sole purpose was to get her with child and abandon her, but this didn’t seem the time for that sort of conversation.

“Ah,” he said, not looking at all satisfied with her answer. 

“They were actually pretty interesting. I think I might record them in my research,” she said, trying to change the subject.

“How is your research going?” he asked, still cradling their son in his arms.