The doorbell rang; Lindsay ran quickly to open the door.
“Hello, everyone!” Lindsay said cheerfully, “It’s so lovely to see you, Come on in!”
Lindsay settled everyone on the couch.
“Lindsay,” Cara said in a worried tone, “We’re here to…tell you something.”
“What is it?”
Both mothers looked at each other.
“Was it the…”
Lindsay perked up, she then knew what day Cara was talking about…their anniversary! Then the doorbell rang again.
Lindsay opened the door with Phoebe and Lindsay’s niece Perriwinkle, standing outside; Lindsay was happy to see her niece…and Phoebe as well.
“Alright, is everyone here?”
“Yes!”
“Good!”
“Is there something wrong Mrs. Watterson?” Melanie asked in concern.
“No, but…there is something we’ve been missing.”
What Lindsay was missing…was that Photo Album! While they were still talking, Sabrina secretly placed the ripped picture of Ronan on the table.
Along with it, a note that said,
Explain this, please?
Once everything was in place, Sabrina then ran back upstairs.
Ronan took notice and said, “What’s that?”
Lindsay stood from the couch and walked to the table. She read the note and flipped the photo over…in shock, Lindsay remembered something that was important.
“Mom?” Ashley said as she came downstairs, “I found this old book in your room, I’m not sure if they’re interested.”
“It’s actually a photo album, sweetie, and they might want to take a look at it.”
Lindsay’s anticipation made things suspicious for Ronan, but not everyone else, who all looked very excited. Lindsay sat down.
“Alright, let’s see what we got here!”
As soon as she opened the photo album, Lindsay said, “I remember those times. My favorite time from here was Sabrina’s birth. Now that was cute!”
Periwinkle flipped through the album to a page where a picture of Baby Sabrina was in.
“Wait,” Phoebe said, “That’s a picture we took when Sabrina was born!”
“I remember that!” Cara said, “Crazy, right?”
“I don’t think it started out that way, did it?”
“Sort of,” Phoebe said, “I remember we were all so happy to meet the newest member of our friendship!”
“And her…her…” Ashley couldn’t think of anyone else!
“I want to say that her best friend was there, I just don’t know if he was!”
“Yeah!” Gottfried said.
“I agree, too!” Melanie said.
“Me and Ronan do, too!” said Kaylie.
“And come to think of it, she always talks about him when she remembers and she keeps staring at the distance, and she gasps in fright, like she’s been haunted by a ghost.”
“I think it’s because she’s remembering him. She said that she couldn’t remember his name. I know her best friend’s name.”
“What is her best friend’s name?” Melanie asked.
“Please tell us!” Kaylie said, enthusiastically.
“Alright, his name is…none other than the one and only…Ronan Ó Foghladh!”
“Yay!” Ronan cheered.
Everyone else was outraged! Ronan kept on cheering until he abruptly stopped.
“Wait a minute! How can I be Sabrina’s best friend if we just met? That doesn’t make sense!”
“Well, that’s not how we remember it!” Phoebe said, “You see, we met each other before you two were born!”
Every jaw began to drop!
“We actually have a picture of us when we met. It was right after my husband and I's wedding, we met right on our honeymoon!” Lindsay said. “Want to see?”
Lindsay went upstairs to her room to find her old video camera, and regular camera, and ran back downstairs.
“Alright,” she said, “Let’s all see what we got here!”
Lindsay then pulled up a picture of her, Periwinkle, Cara, and Phoebe. The year was March 31, 1993.
“We were so young back then!” Phoebe said.
“And it was right before we even knew our names!” Periwinkle added.
Ronan buried his head in his hands. He had never known that he had an extended relationship with Sabrina.
“Never in my life shall I believe this! Never, ever, ever!” Ronan declared.
“Okay,” Phoebe said with a guilt trip,“But I’ll tell Sabrina she’s got amnesia!”
Every jaw dropped…again.
“Bad timing?”
“Sure!” Lindsay responded.
“Ronan,” Lindsay said, caringly, “That…kind of…is the reason why me, your mom and sister…and Periwinkle only know about your extended relationship with Sabrina.”
“How did she get amnesia?”
“She bumped her consoling tree outside your house in Galway 5 times. And it was weird because she acted like nothing happened! When something DID!”
“That’s crazy!”
“Why did she do it?” Kaylie asked.
“Well, it was all because of them ‘moving away’, when really it was an excuse because they were going away for the final process.”
“She told me when she had amnesia, she also said that Sabrina asked where we were going. Lindsay said that we ‘moved away’, so that she wouldn’t worry, when, really, we were more worried about her.”
“But when they came back, Sabrina didn’t recognize them! When we went over to their house that day, Sabrina didn’t even look at me once I went up to Ronan’s room! She literally thought they were ‘new neighbors’!”
Apart from understanding like everyone else, Ronan scratched his head.
“How did we become friends?” he asked.
“Oh, you guys went WAY far back since Sabrina was born!”
“She’s not wrong,” said Melanie, “They have a picture of everyone…seriously!”
“We might have time for at least one story,” Lindsay said, “Because it’s kind of getting late.”
“I still remember it being crazy, the story of her birth.” Cara said.
“I still don’t think it started out that way," said Lindsay, "I remember myself being ready to carry out my new bundle of joy!”
.
.
.
(SEPTEMBER 11, 1995; GALWAY, IRELAND)
“It’s finally happening!” Lindsay said.
“I know it is!” said Johnathon Watterson.
Lindsay was sitting on the couch when three 5 year old children, and a 1 year old, came running home.
“Hi, Lindsay!” they said.
“Hi kids! Did you all have fun at the park?”
“Yeah!”
The children ran upstairs and left time for the adults.
“My baby boy is so cute!” Cara said, as she kissed baby Ronan’s cheek.
Cara handed Ronan to Lindsay, since he started to fuss a bit. Lindsay rocked his little head and kissed his cheek.
At that point, Ronan started to fuss even more.
“You probably want your mommy now!” Lindsay said, handing him back to Cara.
Lindsay felt a kick soon after.
Lindsay groaned and grunted and said, “God, am I ready to get this thing out of here!”
“Peri,” Finnegan asked, as they walked down the hallway of the stairs, “What does she mean by that?”
“The baby, Finnegan,” Phoebe said, “Does she, Mummy?”
“Yes, darling,” Cara said, “She does!”
Later in the afternoon, Lindsay laid on the couch. But this time she was watching TV. And then suddenly, she felt a very, hard-as-a-rock, kick.
“OUCH!”
John ran down the stairs as soon as he heard the shout.
“Johnny, honey,” Lindsay said in pain, “Dial Cara’s phone number, I think the baby’s coming!”
In a flash, John ran to the house phone, dialed Cara’s phone number and repeatedly shouted, “The baby’s coming, the baby’s coming!!!”
“WHAT?!” Cara shouted through the phone, “Lindsay’s not even due for another couple of days, I just got home from picking my kids up from school!”
“Oh! Sweet Heavens! Shoot!” John said in disbelief, “Okay, just meet us at the hospital, as soon as possible, okay?”
“Okay, bye!”
“Bye!”
John walked over to Lindsay and said, “It’s finally happening!”
“I know!”
“Baby Ashley’s going to have a sister!”
“I know!”
Before they walked out the door, Lindsay noticed they forgot something…or someone.
“Peri!” Lindsay called.
As their niece came down the stairs, with a 1 year old Ashley, John rushed everyone to the hospital.
Along the highway, John sped the car as fast as lightning!
“Don’t worry, everybody,” he said, “I promise you, nothing can stop us now!”
That was, until they were pulled over by a cop.
"Okay,” he mumbled, “Maybe something can stop us.”
John rolled down the window and said, “Hello, sir, I don’t know what I did wrong here, but I promise to never do whatever I did again!”
“Johnny,” Peri said, “I think you went over the speed sign thingy!”
Lindsay laughed, “It’s true!”
“What’s the rush?” the cop asked.
“This may not be obvious for you, but my wife here is having a baby, that’s why I was driving crazy fast, and our friends are already at the hospital! Please, sir, I can’t have a pregnant wife in jail!”
The cop was deeply touched.
“That’s beautiful,” he said, “May you be blessed with a beautiful baby! And I’ll let you go with a warning.”
When they got to the hospital, John was so exhausted! The nurse was ready to take the couple in a few seconds later.
“Good luck!” said Cara as she hugged Lindsay.
Meanwhile, a couple seconds later, Finnegan yelled, “I’m bored!”
And the girls kept talking.
A few more minutes later, Finnegan yelled, “I am so, very bored!”
And the girls were then drawing pictures.
Almost an hour later, Finnegan yelled, “Still bored!”
And then after two whole minutes, Finnegan had had enough!
In his cute little Irish accent, Finnegan yelled, “When is that baby coming?!?”
And after those seconds, minutes, and a couple hours, Finnegan eventually fell asleep on John’s arm.
The nurse came out and called John over. She took him inside the room Lindsay was in.
A moment later, John came out with a smile…and a video camera.
“Hey, guys, come on…there’s someone who wants to meet you!”
Everyone was excited when they walked into the room.
“Hey!” Lindsay whispered, “Come…come in!”
The kids walked in first, the parents came after.
“Say hello…to our new friend everybody.” John said.
“What’s her name?” Cara asked.
“Her name…is Sabrina! Would any of you like to–”
Before Lindsay could say anymore, baby Ronan started fussing. And then he reached out his little arm.
“Aw!” Cara and Lindsay said.
“That is so cute!” Lindsay said.
Cara sat the baby boy onto Lindsay’s lap; he then fell asleep while caressing Sabrina’s tiny shoulder.
“She’s beautiful!” Finnegan blurted.
“I agree!” Periwinkle added.
“Yay!” Phoebe cheered.
Lindsay looked down at Sabrina and said, “I can’t believe Ashley has a sister now!”
“Mind if I take a picture?” the nurse asked.
“Oh, sure, go ahead!” Cara said, “We’re going to need one for this occasion!”
“What’s the baby’s name?”
“Sa!” said the 1 year old Ronan.
Everyone smiled and awed.
“Quite the family you guys are. I can just imagine Sabrina and Ronan in their teen years! They are just so–”
“Hurry up, Miss Nurse! I have a cramp in my jaw!” Finnegan said.
The nurse happily rolled her eyes and said, “Good luck, everyone!”
And then she snapped the photo.
.
.
.
“I just love this story…so much!” Lindsay said as she gazed at the photo.
“I’m glad you told it, Mom,” Ashley said, “If we didn’t, then we’d just be on our phones the entire time!”
“I know!”
Everyone burst out laughing. Sabrina came after.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“We were just talking about you!” Ronan said as he stood up.
“What were you doing up in your room?”
“I was doing a ton of writing, so I didn’t come down right away.”
Sabrina and Ronan’s friends went home later in the evening.
“I had the best fun in Windsor. Thank you for taking me there.”
Sabrina said as Ronan hugged her tightly but tenderly.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. You’re welcome.” “I’ll see you sometime, right?”
“Yep!” Ronan replied, “Very soon.”
Ronan kissed Sabrina’s cheek and went along with his mom and sister. Sabrina went inside in glee.