The atmosphere between the two of them was strange, but not in a negative way, he didn't think. Maybe that was just his own eagerness at whatever was to come coloring things. He saw Melody blush, but rather than making him feel awkward it reminded him a bit of when they'd first met. He'd made her blush plenty during that fateful first summer. She'd been comparatively innocent to the ways of the world, and he'd enjoyed telling her stories from all across the globe to make himself seem worldly and desirable. And then her parents had gotten involved, and he'd gone off to Canada. Still, now that he had enough distance from Canada not to have it negatively color his experience of the whole year, the memories from that summer were happy ones. Being reminded of that was a little exhilarating, as though they had finally found that new start they'd both talked so much about.

"I swear I've seen her do it already," he said of his daughter. He'd let his eyes linger on Melody's face a second longer than he might have usually, but now he looked down at the baby in his arms. "I know the nurse said she can't yet, but I saw it."

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