Page 80 of The Summer of ’98

“Oh, right,” Eleanor said. Leroy dished pasta onto my plate; his mother gave me a thoughtful look. “You didn’t notice how late your period was?”

“Fuck sakes,” Noah threw his hands up, speaking with a mouthful of food.

Jacob clipped him across the head. “Language.”

“I’m trying to eat and you’re talking about pissing blood. It’s disgusting.”

“Dude!” Leroy said. “Grow up.”

“No, I didn’t notice,” I tried to navigate the conversation back into a calmer state before it spiraled. “But I’d never paid it much attention before. Oblivious, I know.”

“You might not need a dating scan, then, if you’re quite sure of the date and that sort of thing. You could wait for the twelve-week scan instead.”

“Oh . . . what do you think I should do?”

Leroy leaned in a little closer. “It’s up to you, baby.”

“We can just wait and do the twelve-week scan,” I said.

“Do you have any allergies?” Eleanor asked.

“Nope.”

“I’ll get some prenatal vitamins from the pharmacy tomorrow then.”

My head was a mess of thoughts and words that I wanted to express but somehow, nothing seemed adequate. “Thank you.” I settled on simple and hoped she knew how much I meant it. “Thank you so much.”

The sun was still a few hours from setting, but it was darkening into that burnt-orange dusk shade that casts a blinding light the lower it goes. The back garden was illuminated, flecks of evening sun touching the pool surface, the plants, and behind the fence palings so that it shone through the gaps.

“You been sick at all, darlin’?” Jacob asked.

“Not so far.”

“That’s good. Don’t want to be stressing out about Eleanor’s slippers, do we?”

There was a collective laugh around the table and my face ignited, hot and humiliated at the reminder of my first night here. His teasing was harmless, though. That was just Jacob, so I joined in and felt lighter than I had in a long time.

Noah’s laughter subsided and he fixed Leroy and me with a sarcastic smile. Something told me that we were about to hear something that we didn’t want to. “I love how we’re all laughing over the fact that Leroy got a girl pregnant but if it was me, I’d be getting the life beaten out of me.”

Eleanor tilted her head in disappointment. “Honey, you’ve been wonderfully sensible and wise not to get a girl pregnant. You have our permission to hold this over your brother’s head for the rest of his life.”

Leroy’s jaw dropped. “What?”

Jacob raised a palm. “You messed up, no offense, son, but he can have this one.”

Noah looked proud of himself—I couldn’t blame him.

After dinner and wash-up, Leroy and I disappeared back upstairs so that we could lock ourselves up, appreciate our aloneness, and make up for the two weeks we’d spent apart.

Leroy slept so peacefully. His expression was relaxed, his features smooth. Even the edges of his lips curled up a little. I didn’t know if that was because of me or not. But it was a nice thought. Our bodies were tangled under the sheets of his double bed. Now that I was already pregnant, the rules about separate rooms were unnecessary. His dark-blue walls kept it from getting too bright, despite the sun streaming through the large window that stretched the length of his wall. The heat was awful and our limbs were damp with sweat. But I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Being beside him again, it was perfect.

I reached out and ran a finger down the length of his exposed chest, biting down on my lip as I felt the grooves and dips of his muscles. He was so beautiful, so sweet and caring. I couldn’t imagine getting sick of being beside him. This felt like home. It was comforting, soothing. The sadness that I’d felt over what happened with Momma was dull. My heart was full of love that I knew he returned.

He started to stir; a soft yawn followed by lip smacking before his hand found mine on top of his chest. His eyes remained closed, but he held my hand and squeezed. “Morning, baby.” His rasp was heart-clenching. Everything about him drove me wild and I couldn’t believe that I’d gone an entire two weeks without him. I never wanted to do that again.

When I didn’t answer, he tilted his head and peered at me with one eye open. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I leaned up on an elbow. “I just missed you. A lot. I’m glad that your mom is fine with us sharing a bed.”

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