Page 17 of Unexpectingly Happily Ever After

″But you thought about getting pregnant again? For Cooper and Emma.”

″But I didn’t have to keep those babies.”

I admit, I do–did–enjoy being pregnant despite the side effects, but it had been tough dealing with my own kids while carrying two of Emma and Cooper’s. At this moment, I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to be pregnant while running around after the three of them.

″I guess I just thought I was done,” I finish.

″You don’t have to be. You’re still young. We both are.”

“I don’t feel it. I’m almost forty-two.” I rub my ear, feeling the hoop earring that I forgot to take out. I forget a lot of things–my phone, my lunch, and sometimes even going to the bathroom will get pushed out of my mind if I’m distracted by the kids.

Those three mean the world to me. Why wouldn’t I want another?

″Could we afford it?” I wonder, sounding practical for the first time in my life. “Not that I’m saying anything, but four would be expensive. And, oh my god, what if I had more than one!”

I almost miss the look of horror that flits across J.B.’s face.

″The restaurant is doing great,” J.B. reminds me, smoothing out his expression. “We’re thinking about opening another one. Look, Case, we don’t have to talk about this right now. It’s the middle of the night.”

″It’s actually only eleven thirty,” I tell him. “And it’s really the last thing I want to talk about.”

″I can take a hint,” he says stiffly.

″We could talk about other things,” I suggest, moving close enough to hook my fingers in the waistband of his boxers. “It’s still early for you.”

He glances at me with narrowed eyes. “It’s not for you.”

″I’m still awake. Or maybe we could not talk at all.” In case he didn’t know where I was going with this, I slide my hand down the front of his boxers. “Are you awake enough? Seems like you’re a little sleepy, but I could wake you up all the way.”

″Are you kidding me? A couple of minutes ago you jumped out of the bed for mentioning babies.” J.B. says incredulously. But he doesn’t push me away. “Now you’re trying to tell me the topic turns you on?”

″Those two kids pushed you out of the bed, not me. And I’m tired of talking. Wouldn’t it be more fun to practice, without really practicing? Especially withoutan audience?”

My husband is a smart man and knows a good thing when he gets it. Without another word, J.B. grabs my other hand and pulls me against him.

Chapter Six

Mothers should refrain from allowing children to join them in mundane errands as it fosters a sense of complacency among children.

A Young Woman’s Guide to Raising Obedient Children

Dr. Francine Pascal Reid, (1943)

The next morning, J.B. whisks Ben and Lucy out of the bed before the two of them decide it would be a fun thing to do to wake up Momma. When I finally crawl out of bed, still with a smile on my face from the kitchen-apades that went on last night, I jump into high gear right away.

J.B. is heading to the restaurant later this afternoon, but we have much to do before then. Brunch with Emma, Cooper and the boys. Grocery shopping. A possible play in the park.

My mind heads back to what J.B. asked me last night.

He wants to have anotherbaby?

What is he thinking? How can he think I have enough energy to deal with another one? And what if it’s more than one?

That thought is scarier than any Stephen King novel.

What would life be like withfivekids? I’ve been pregnant twice in my life and both times I ended up with multiples. I skirt over the fact that with the surrogacy, it was Cooper and Emma’s fault. They put two egg/sperm combos inside me, and that’s what came out. My uterus is obviously a playground for babies. The more, the merrier.

So chances are if I got pregnant again, I’d be having more than one. And that is unimaginable.

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