“She only watched romcoms.”
She laughs. “Glad you dodged that bullet.”
“You and me both.”
“How’s the house? Did you finally get everything unpacked?”
“Yep. I like it, but I didn’t fathom how lonely it would be sometimes.”
“I find it hard to believe that you get lonely, but I get what you’re saying.”
I decide to change the subject because I really don’t need my pregnant sister worrying about me. She’s got more than enough on her plate.
“Are you guys ready for the baby to come?”
“Figuratively? Yes. I’m ready to have my body back to normal. Literally, no. We still need to finish setting up the nursery.”
“Let me know if you guys need any help.”
It’s crazy to believe that not all that long ago, Liz was living it up in LA. We hadn’t seen her in years. Now, she’s back, in love, and having a baby. It’s nice seeing her so happy.
She cuts another bite of steak. “I know I’ve been a little mean lately. And I absolutely hate asking for help, but thank you for coming with me today. It was nice to have some company.”
“You’re welcome.”
“You have always been such a good brother to all of us.” Emotion chokes her up as tears form behind her eyes.
“Liz! What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she sniffles. “You’re just the best brother. I’m sorry. The baby makes me a tear factory.”
I have no clue what to say.
She adds, “I want to tell you something. We wanted to keep it a secret, but I want you to be the first to know.”
“Okay?”
She sets her hand on her belly. “It’s a girl.”
“I have another niece?” I ask.
“Mmhmm.”
I feel the tears threatening to spill out of my own eyes.
The pregnancy emotions must be contagious.
sixteen
Ready or Not
Leah
The universe has a really fucked up sense of humor.
That’s the only way I can make sense of this whole thing. I’ve been driving around for hours, and that’s the only reasoning I can come up with as to how this happened.
Okay, I get how this happened. I understand where babies come from.