This is the story of Noah and Daphne.
“Now you!” Daphne straddled Noah’s lap. She wrapped one arm around his neck, pulled her face in close to his and looked into the eyes she had always, always loved. They were squinty with mirth, and blue, like hers. “Now you be quiet!” she faked some very stern eyebrows and put her pointer finger just an inch in front of his lips. “I am telling you what we are going to do later, you hear?! I saaaay – ” Not listening but looking her straight in the eye, Noah quickly touched his tongue to her finger and swiped it back in his mouth as if nothing had happened. Daphne squealed with surprise and keeled back in laughter, almost falling off his lap. Noah grabbed her, his sonorous chuckle following after and letting her land gently on the floor, they began to kiss.
Noah and Daphne lived in a tiny mountain town. Everyone knew them. The mailman, the funny old woman who ran the general store and always had some gossip to share, the young children – for Daphne had been their kindergarten teacher, the Harley riding Sheriff, the town’s singular doctor. It felt like they had been there forever.
Noah had started the town’s newspaper, The Village – a company which now had three whole employees.
“Noah,” said Maggie, the enthusiastic teenager who had become his assistant editor, “Are you and Daph ever going to have a baby already?” Maggie swung around in her rolling chair to face his side of the office. When the paper first began, Maggie was thirteen and stalked Noah incessantly all around town on her bicycle, begging to be employed. It had now been five years.
“Well I don’t know,” said Noah, “I suppose I hope so.”
“Well why don’t you?!” exclaimed Maggie sing-songily, “Everybody’s been expecting it for decades! You’re beginning to get grays!”
“Nonsense Mags, don’t be silly. I’m barely thirty and Daphne’s only twenty-eight, we’ve got time.” Maggie, rolled her eyes and swiveled back to her desk.
“Tick! Tick! Tick!” she sung under her breath.
In bed that night, “Daph, are you asleep?” Noah whispered.
“No.” She turned over slowly to face him and her blonde hair shimmered over the pillow in the moonlight, like satin pulled over an edge.
“Do you think…” they had never talked about it out loud, only tacitly longed, “Do you think we could try to have a baby?”
“Oh Noah,” Daphne sighed… “I – I know you wish but – Ohhh, you know we can’t,” said Daphne, “You know we can’t.”
“I mean. There are options Daph, don’t you ever wonder? There are things we could do…”
“I. I don’t know. I would love a baby, a thousand babies, but. Let me think about it.” And she turned back away. He wrapped his arm around her, smelled her hair, kissed her shoulder and whispered, “It could be okay.”
A few weeks later, at the doctor’s, Daphne said, “Jim, so, there’s something I want to ask you about. It’s sort of, well…” She blushed sitting on the table and let her hair fall from behind her ear.
“Let me guess!” said Dr. Kalsburg, “Let. Me. Guess!” He smiled his big wide teeth and said, “You and Noah would finally like to have a baby!” Daphne blushed harder. “We have all been waiting for it! So! What’s the hold up? What can I help you with? Fertility treatments? Untying some tubes or something?!” Jim was such a kind man. He had managed to stay so bright even through the tragic death of his wife a few years before. They had two grown children who didn’t visit often.
“Well,” said Daphne, “Yes. See the thing is – well see,” for the first time in years, she thought of telling the truth. As suddenly as the thought entered her mind, fear gripped her mouth and she lied, “You see I’m fine, it’s just Noah, he hasn’t got any, you know, any stuff that, that you know, works.”
“Ah! Well, no problem then – must be nice for you guys,” the doctor winked, “Invitro it is then! We’ll just have to find you the right – ”
“Jim,” interrupted Daphne, “I don’t know how to ask this, but. Noah and I, we’d always hoped that if we had a baby, it wouldn’t just be anyone’s. We’ve been talking, and I was wondering, we were wondering, well, would you do us the honor of, I mean, could we get a donation from, well, from you?” Daphne drew in a breath. Of all the men Noah and she had discussed, Dr. Kalsburg was their first choice. He was kindhearted and funny like Noah, also older, but handsome and very intelligent. And he had blue eyes like theirs. When Daphne finally lifted her eyes to his, Dr. Kalsburg was smiling.
…
A few months later.
“Maggie! Maggie!” Yelled Noah as he clamored into the office, his cheeks flushed from cold. “Maggie!” he whisked his hat off of his head and into the air, “We’re having a baby!”
“Oh my goodness Noah!” She jumped from her chair, clasped his mittened hands and began jumping around him in a circle. “Oh my goodness! You did it! You finally did! That’s so exciting! When? When? What are you going to name it?”
“I know! I know! I don’t know!” said Noah. “I can’t wait. All I know is that Daphne just called from Dr. Kalsburg’s and he said it worked!”
“Noah! What are you doing here then? Why don’t you go see Daphne and celebrate?”
“See Daphne? See Daphne! That’s right! Of course! I should go see Daphne!” Noah turned to the door, and then turned back again to use the phone.
That evening when Daphne and Noah returned home, they heard ringing inside as they were getting out of the car. They hung their coats and Noah proceeded to the answering machine. One thing they loved about their town was that it was so old fashioned. Things were simpler this way, when everything is small and close together, there is no real necessity for complicated technology. The computer at the newspaper and the one with the dial-up connection at the general store were likely the only ones in town.
When Noah looked to the machine, he saw a number he knew. “Daph! Daphne, come here now!” Noah yelled to the kitchen with some alarm.
“What?!” Daphne called back, “What’s the matter?” she asked as she approached. Noah just looked at the machine, the number flashing again and again.
“It’s mom and dad’s,” he said. A blankness came to Daphne’s face. They looked at one another.
“Should we…” It hung in the air. Then, in synch with each other they both nodded together. Noah grabbed the phone and they brought it to sit in front of them on the coffee table.
“Okay.”
“Okay.” They looked in each other’s eyes, both blue, both hoping this would be the time. It had been four years.
“Do you think they really want to talk to us?” asked Noah.
“Well why else would they have called? Haven’t you dreamed of this?”
“Yes. Yes of course I have. But. What if, what if they don’t really want to? They didn’t leave a message. What if they changed their mind?” The resolve faded from Daphne’s features, which were elegant, carven, so like her brother’s but still her own…
“Oh Noah.” For a few moments they just stared at the phone, the receiver resting tentatively between them in Noah’s hand.
Then Daphne pressed the redial button.
Ring. Pause. Ring. Pause. Ring.
Eight times.
“You’ve reached the home of Joan and Noah Johansen!” said their mother’s voice, “We’re not available right now, but please leave us a message with your number and we’ll call you right back!”
They looked at each other. Then Noah closed and opened his eyes slowly, and hung up the receiver as the beep sounded.
Inside December 