The Best Thing

by Mariana Zapata

“But I need to explain,” he said, never blinking, or breaking eye contact or doing anything but laser-beaming that gaze on me. “I want to tell you what’s happened.” He swallowed. “I need to tell you.”

Tea

I had cried a month straight when I had first seen the positive pregnancy test staring back at me.

Ooooo IT JUST GOT BOILING HOT

She was my seven-pound, eight-ounce surprise when she’d been born. The instant love of my life. The best thing I ever did.

The baby

The same eyes Grandpa Gus had seen in the picture I’d showed him of Jonah.

DAMNNNNN

“Grandpa Gus is gonna go kill somebody. You wanna come with me? You wanna help bury your daddy?”

DEAD LMAOOOO

“My Mo… if that’s all right.”

AWEEE

Jonah kept going as he stood there in the kitchen, one long arm loose at his side, the other… was holding a children’s book? I was pretty sure it had an illustrated cover.

Give me him

“I would have been here in a wheelchair if I had known,”

Oh my god

I’d remember the next words out of his mouth every day of my life. I would remember them each time I thought I had no idea what I was doing being a mom. Jonah Collins squeezed my hand. That muscular shoulder rolled upward, and he said, in a rough voice, gripping my fingers tight, “What a gift you’ve given me, Lenny.”

Oh my god this man

“I still sleep on the left side of the bed even without you, Lenny.”

AWEEE

“Will you come eat with us? Mum is in a foul mood, I’m sorry, but she would like to meet our girl. My sister would too.”

Our girl

One: apparently I’d started hugging and leaning against Jonah’s leg because I had an arm around it, and there was a wet spot over

THATS LITERALLY CUTE

But most importantly, Jonah was talking quietly. Not in his Mighty Mouse voice, but in a very, very soft one.

ON MY KNEES

And it had to be Jonah who had his fingers loose and heavy over my head as he murmured to someone,

Oh my godddd

Grandpa Gus and Jonah were sitting there muttering to each other, with Mo standing on top of Jonah’s thighs; she was the only innocent party in this entire thing.

Literally her backup