In Five Years

Bella decides not to tell anyone else about the pregnancy on their weekend away. Everyone goes to the beach and when Dannie is the only one who wants to take a walk, Aaron offers to go with her. They talk about friendships in general and Bella in particular, and something Aaron says lets Dannie know that he’s in love with Bella, even if he hasn’t said it out loud yet. They have a water fight that culminates in a moment when Aaron looks at her “intently” and says, “I just…I like you” (113). It takes Dannie back to their lovemaking in the premonition. Dannie challenges him to a race back and wins.

Bella tells Aaron about the pregnancy, and he’s very happy about it. Dannie and Bella go shopping for baby things. When Dannie comes over, the hallways are full of packages of baby things, and Bella has started painting the nursery. Because of the chances for miscarriage, conventional wisdom advises that pregnant women don’t start preparing for the baby until they’ve passed the twelve-week mark. Dannie says that Bella is “ahead of the curve for the first time in [her] life” (118), referring to the speed at which the nursery is coming together so quickly.