Holly: Never mind. FaceTiming you.
As I slip off my shoes and flop onto the bed, my phone rings, and I answer it, smiling at her beautiful face. “Hey, woman.”
“Someone wanted to see his Aunt Juli,” she sings, bending and picking up something… or more accurately,someone.
The most adorable child ever created pops onto my screen with a scream. “Chewyyyy!”
“Aidennnnn!” I yell back.
All his tiny teeth are visible when he laughs. He seriously has the best laugh, mouth open and emitting nothing but pure, childlike joy.
“My Chewy!” he insists, pointing at me. My nephew is thirteen months old and can’t quite pronounce Aunt Juli, so I’m Chewy.
“I am your Chewy,” I assure him. “And you’re my Aiden.”
He blows me about ten enthusiastic kisses in a row, which I return with equal fervor. Holly watches our interaction with a smile, her nose buried in his black curls that are streaked with umber.
Then, as if showing me so much love has completely tired him out, he leans back into his mother and yawns. “Night nights, Chewy,” he tells me before closing his sweet brown eyes.
“Night nights, baby boy,” I say quietly, but he’s already snoozing.
“I swear, I’ve never seen another kid who can go to sleep at the drop of a hat,” Holly says, readjusting her son onto her shoulder.
“Tell me what he smells like,” I request, missing all the senses my little nephew brings to the table.
Holly presses her button nose into the light brown cheek of the toddler. “He smells soft, like baby lotion and…” She gives him a deeper sniff and scrunches her face. “And a little bit like wet dog. He helped me bathe Chester earlier.”
I laugh. “Go lay him down. I’ll wait.”
The view on the screen switches to the ceiling of their home for a few minutes before she returns and picks up her phone. “I swear, I’m the luckiest mom in the world. Aiden is such a good sleeper.”
“His eating is excellent too. He pretty much eats anything you give him.”
Holly snuggles back against the couch. “He does. They always say if your first kid is easy, your second one will be a hellion. I’m sure this nextone is going to refuse to eat anything and will want to party like a rock star all night long.”
I freeze at the same she does, both of us realizing what she’d just said aloud. “This next one?” I repeat, excitement bubbling in my belly. “Holly, are you pregnant?”
“Shit.” My sister-in-law face palms herself and groans, “Didn’t mean to say that. Bubba and I wanted to surprise you when you got back. He’s already picked out a T-shirt to give you and everything.”
“I won’t say a word, and I’ll act surprised,” I assure her, bouncing in place on the bed. “Eeeee, I’m so excited, Holly. Tell me everything.”
“Well, I went to the doctor this morning for a regular checkup, and bam! He walked in and told me my urinalysis showed that I’m expecting. I almost fell off the table.”
“How far along are you?”
“Haven’t seen my OB yet, but Dr. Fergus estimated that I’m only about six weeks.”
“Soooo, around January?” I ask, doing a quick calculation in my head. She nods. “Is Bubba excited?”
Her laughter is a bubble of happiness. “What do you think? He’s about to freaking burst at the seams. He immediately called my OB’s office and made an appointment for tomorrow, even though I’m a grown-ass woman who is capable of making her own doctor’s appointments.”
“He loves taking care of you,” I say softly, loving the shit out of my brother right then.
Holly nods. “He does. He’s such a nurturer. I’m a lucky woman.”
“You are indeed. I hope I can find someone half as good as him one day.” A bitter edge cuts through my next words. “But I’m sure I won’t. I’ve been spoiled with awesome male figures in my life, and it will be hard for anyone to live up to them.”
“There are still good men out there, Jules. You’ll find someone,” she says before turning the subject around. “So, I ask again, who hurt you? Because that was some angstyshit you wrote.”
