the calmer you are the clearer you think

 Mercer couldn't think why Melissa was doing this, but she'd called him when he was asleep in the middle of the night. When he thought back on it, sometimes he wondered if it were just a dream.

"You have to be there for Sterling," she'd said. "Tell me, you'll be there for him when the baby gets here."

Mercer listened. He didn't answer right away, but of course, in the end, he told her he would.

And then when the baby arrived by c-section, she was gone. He didn't know how she left so quickly.

"Well, we were busy with the baby," Sterling's sister Tessa said about the matter. The three of them, Tessa, Riley, and Sterling, named the baby Maeson but would call her Mae. It was quite a family affair, and Mercer hadn't meant to be so involved, but like Melissa had asked, he was there for Sterling. Naturally, he would have been there for him without her asking.

Sterling would drive to Iowa every weekend to see Mae, and Mercer would tag along. Of course, Sterling told him he knew he had better things to do. "Isn't there a play or something you should be doing?"

"I'm taking a break," Mercer nodded. Despite Sterling's bitterness, it was good to see him be happy with the infant, and his sister and Riley were ready for someone to take over with the baby so they could rest.

In the beginning, Mae was such a sleeper, but she loved her pink pacifier. Little did Mae know how much control she had over them once she found her voice. All of them passed her around to hold her during her angry moments.

"I think she likes you best, Merce," Riley had told him early on. He held her till his arms hurt. "I guess that makes you an honorary uncle?"

Mercer didn't complain, but he doubted that. Again, he'd ask if anyone had heard from Melissa, but no one said. Melissa's sister came to visit, bringing lots of baby things, and she didn't mention her either.

Mercer didn't want to stress Sterling, since he knew Melissa was a sensitive subject. Instead, Sterling would ask about Staci, whom Mercer dated a few times.

"Staci?" Mercer winced. "Didn't you know, she's studying abroad." They hadn't texted each other in a long time. He'd tried, but she never responded. Maybe she got a new phone. She was in Paris now.

"Melissa is studying abroad, too."

"Really?" Mercer winced, wondering why Sterling hadn't told him.

"Tokyo."

"Tokyo?" He couldn't imagine Melissa there. 

Sterling didn't say another word about her, and neither would Mercer.