“Seriously?”
She nods. “Jack and I have a deal. I’m in charge of what goes into the baby, so he handles what comes out the other end.”
I chuckle and run my hand through my hair. “How long do you think that’s going to work?”
“No idea. But I’ll take it while I can. It’s only been a week. I pushed a baby out of me, so I think that earns me a bit of pull.”
Leah’s phone rings. She looks at it and says, “Oh, shit. This is a client that I’ve been playing phone tag with for over a week now. Excuse me. I have to take this.”
She heads out to the front porch, leaving Liz and I alone.
I say, “A tattoo client.”
Liz squints at me. “Duh. I didn’t think she was taking clients as a lady of the night.”
“Shut up,” I quip. “So, how are things really going?”
“We are exhausted. Babies sleep a lot, but it’s for such short periods that you don’t sleep much at a time. But it’s completely and totally worth it.”
“I’m proud of you.”
She punches me in the shoulder. “Shut up. If you get all weepy on me, I’ll start lactating.”
“Thanks for putting that image in my mind.”
“Anytime.” She grins. “How are things with Leah? Mom said the two of them went shopping the other day.”
“Yeah. I told her that Leah was going through shit with her mom.”
“Ah. And Mom stepped in to try to help?”
“Of course. That’s what she does. But this time, it really helped.”
“That’s good to hear. I’m glad she didn’t scare her off. Our mother is one tough broad.”
“True,” I agree. “But so is Leah. Speaking of our mom, how’d she take it when you didn’t tell her you were in labor?”
“How do you think? She flipped. But it wasn’t like I was going to let her in the room with us. She would’ve just been sitting in the waiting room. I tried to save her from the boredom.”
I gasp. “And she didn’t appreciate that?”
“Not even a little bit. She did mention Leah’s birthday party.”
“Yeah, we’re finishing up the plans now. Are you guys going to be able to make it?”
“Can I wear sweatpants and a ratty old t-shirt? That’s pretty much all I’m wearing right now.”
“I don’t care.”
With a grin, she responds, “Then, I think our schedule is wide open.”
forty-one
Dirty Thirty
Leah
Two weeks later.