Naming Week Project

Chapter 2

Dinner had ended, but the family continued to sit around the dining room table, discussing the exciting news while enjoying the bottle of wine Andrew had brought in earlier. Leda sat next to her mom, whose petite body could hold its alcohol surprisingly well, wondering how life had suddenly become so bittersweet. It was coming and going like guests through the front door of her childhood home. People were joining the family, returning to them, and she, of course, was getting ready to leave. She'd have a week to get to know her little nephew and then she'd be gone. She felt her heart ache deep in her chest when she thought about it.

She was, however, ecstatic for her brother and Nolan. They had been amazing parents ever since they first set eyes on Hannah at the hospital. She was only three days old, and Leda had never seen anything so fragile or so miraculous. In all honesty, she was somewhat afraid for the infant she saw in the nursery. She was so small, and Andrew - Andrew was so not small. And yet there he was, in the hospital nursery, holding Hannah with the most gentle and loving embrace. Her head fit perfectly in the palm of his powerful hand, and it was evident that she had been placed on this Earth to complete Andrew. He and Nolan glowed with an almost tangible warmth whenever they were around Hannah, even on days were naps hadn't gone quite as planned or earaches were cause for mammoth meltdowns and nights strewn with toddler tears.

Growing up, Leda always thought Andrew was the biggest, strongest person she'd ever known. He was constantly playing sports, towering over his opponents and teammates alike. Where they had to exert all their strength in a game, he looked as if he had to put forth no effort at all. He loved the father-children hunting trip they took every year as the fall began its freeze into winter. Leda and Jonathan enjoyed the outdoor aspect of the family tradition, but Andrew was the one who'd always take down the largest buck or bring home the most fish for the cold months ahead. He was a superhero, a titan in Leda's eyes. And when he had come home from the 21st Year he had inexplicably grown even more. She assumed that he would come back a little heavier, equipped with muscle that seemed to be necessary to make it through the year away, but he had also grown taller as well. She'd never seen a man go through a growth spurt, but that's precisely what happened.

Just as she thought it had been impossible for Andrew to grow any larger, she would have never guessed there could be more love in a family than there was between Andrew, Nolan, and Hannah. And now, with the addition of their new son, Leda was inexplicably sure the love of her brother's family would grow again, as unbelievably as he changed during that 21st Year.

***

Hannah had finally fallen asleep about an hour after dinner had ended. She slept peacefully on the floor with her mouth open wide and her mouse tucked between her left ear and shoulder. The family was quietly clearing the table, treading lightly on the hardwood floor as they passed between the dining room and the kitchen. Suddenly, the doorbell sounded. Everybody froze, as if they had been standing in the middle of a land mine. Each head rotated slowly in the direction of the sleeping toddler, fearful she had been woken up by the frenzied ringing filling the home. When they were assured that she remained peacefully in her dream state they dropped what they were doing and made their way to the hallway that divided the first floor. Leda's father opened the door and was greeted by a friendly looking woman, who seemed to be in her seventies. She had a genuine smile across her face brightening her eyes, which were surrounded by heavy lines and deep wrinkles. A couple of rogue strands of light gray hair fell to her face, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Good evening," she began in a raspy yet warm voice. "Are Andrew and Nolan Hasting here?" Jay took a step back, opening his body up to the rest of the home and gestured for the woman to come in. Andrew and Nolan, who were right behind the family patriarch, raised a hand and nodded, respectively. It was obvious to Leda that her big burly brother was trying to hold in his excitement. He wasn't doing so well, though he was having much more success than their mother.