Page 133 of Finding Wonderland

“I did,” Vera sighed as she sent a message to Blake that, no, they hadn’t heard anything. “Her due date was three days ago. It’s in her court now.”

“Judging by how her belly looked the other day, I’m surprised she’s not popped yet.”

Vera chuckled to herself. Mason had maintained a perfect basketball-shaped stomach her whole pregnancy until the last two weeks. When the baby dropped lower into her pelvis, her stomach went with it. She reminded Vera so much of Isla when she was pregnant with Everleigh that she almost cried happy tears when she first saw Mason after it happened.

She had missed so much but not being there when Blake or Mason was born or for the first years of their lives. Vera thought about it often, so she had been determined to memorize every single inch of Isla’s body when she was pregnant with Everleigh. It was also why she loved spending time with her kids as much as possible. There wasn’t a second she wanted to waste of their lives.

“The baby will come when the baby is ready.”

Pulling up Mason’s text thread on her phone, Vera sent her a message.

Hey, sweet girl. Just wanted to check on you. How you doing?

Mason didn’t take long to respond.

I’m about to make Chase give me an orgasm to get this baby out of me. So I’m about to be doing much better.

“Oh, geez,” Vera groaned with a laugh as she tilted the phone toward Isla to show her. “We raised that.”

Isla chuckled. “That’s how we got Everleigh out, remember?”

“That was some of my best work.”

“I’ll say it was.”

Vera thought back on the memory of their youngest daughter’s birth. Isla’s contractions had stalled in intensity, so Vera took the opportunity to put into practice a theory she’d only read about. Sure, she’d coached patients through it before. But the effectiveness always varied by person.

However, sex worked like a charm for Isla. As it so often did. Within an hour of her orgasm, Isla birthed Everleigh in their bedroom. It was one of the most intimate moments Vera had ever experienced with her wife, and she never wanted to forget that. The memory of that night brought a smile to Vera’s face. She wished she could freeze moments like that and save them so she could visit them anytime.

There were so many memories Vera wished she could live one more time with her family, but the one memory currently occupying her mind was of Mason. She was twelve weeks along in her pregnancy, and had called Vera late one Saturday night sounding stressed.

“Mama, can you come over?”

Vera knew by the sound of Mason’s voice she was on the verge of tears. She wasted no time grabbing her keys as she walked into the kitchen where Isla was making dinner. Putting Mason on speakerphone, Vera sat the phone down on the counter.

“What’s wrong, Mace?”

“I don’t know,” she whined. “Chase is working late tonight and I’m home alone overthinking everything with this pregnancy. Like is it normal to still be feeling nauseous? I’m twelve weeks; the baby blogs say this should be going away. And I’m hungry all the time. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Vera’s heart went out to her daughter. Mason had never planned on being the one to carry a baby. But after things became serious with Chase, she changed her mind. So far, she’d had an easy pregnancy and Vera thanked God daily for that.

But Vera also knew what a bitch hormones were during pregnancy. Mason’s already heightened emotions were amplified even more with pregnancy, so they had been on high alert to keep her calm for the next few months.

“It’s okay, honey. I’ll be over in a few minutes okay.”

After hanging up with Mason, Vera smiled sadly at Isla.

“She breaks my heart when she sounds like that.”

“I know,” Isla put her arm around Vera’s neck and kissed her. “But she’s doing great. She’s just our Mason. Her overthinking brain will always get the best of her.”

“Do you want to come with me?”

“No, you go.” Isla smiled. “She needs her mama right now. I’ll hang out here with Evie.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

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