He’s completely ridiculous but also incredibly cute, and I love that crazy, baby-obsessed daddy with all my heart.
I tune back into the hockey talk around the table as the server begins bringing pizzas. My lips turn up at the corners when I look across the table at Aiden, who claps happily when he sees his cheese pizza.
“Just a second, you little monster,” Holly says, picking up a piece of it and blowing on it. “Let me cool it off first.”
Bubba, who’s sitting beside me tonight, distracts his son with goofy faces.
“And the last one,” the server says, placing a pizza in front of Bubba and Jordie. “Supreme with anchovies.”
The pungent scent of the tiny fish turns my stomach, and I slap my hand over my mouth. “Sorry, stinks,” I mumble, leaping up from the table and dashing to the restroom in the back. I barely make it before I lose my guts in the toilet.
“Shit,” I breathe, spitting one last time into the bowl before blindly reaching for the toilet paper.
“Jules, you okay?” the sweet voice of my sister asks from outside the stall.
“Yeah,” I croak out before wiping my mouth and flushing the toilet. When I open the door, I see Jordie leaning against the sink. “I’m fine. I’m not sure what happened there.” I add a chuckle that I hope doesn’t sound as nervous as it feels. Because I do know what happened. In a word: pregnancy.
My sister wets a paper towel and dabs at my sweaty forehead. “I have some mouthwash in my purse.” She produces a travel-sized bottle, and I take a mouthful, swishing it around before spitting. “Better?” she asks.
“Much. Thank you. You didn’t have to follow me in here.”
She gives me a careful hug. “I don’t mind. Do you need me to drive you home?”
I return her embrace and shake my head. “I’ll be fine. Let’s go back out there.”
When we arrive at the table, I find that my family has rearranged themselves, leaving an open seat at the opposite end of the table from the offending pizza.
I take my seat beside Holly, and smile through wobbly lips. “Sorry, everyone. Not sure what happened.”
My friend bobs her eyebrows up and down. “Oh, I think I know.” I zip a glare at her, warning her not to say it, but she does anyway. Gleefully. “You’re pregnant.”
It’s likeThe Exorcistat our table with heads spinning in my direction, six sets of eyes asking me for confirmation. All except Aiden because he’s blissfully munching on his cheese pizza, bless his cute little heart. My thoughts whir around in my brain, looking for a foothold but finding none.
Except for the truth. I can’t exactly tell my family I’m not pregnant, and then when the designated time comes, yell, “Surprise! I was a big fat liar two weeks ago!” Even with a bright smile and jazz hands, that wouldn’t go over well.
So I paste on a smileand admit, “I am.”
There’s only a beat of processing time before chaos ensues. Someone knocks a drink over, someone else claps, and everyone is talking at once.
“Congratulations, sis.”
“That was fast.”
“When are you due?”
“You’re going to rock this.”
“I didn’t even know you were dating anyone, honey.”
That last one was from Dad, and I wince. My siblings know about my plan to have a child, but I hadn’t told my fathers yet, so me being pregnant is kind of out of left field for them.
Plus, I promised Reno I wouldn’t divulge our relationship without him present, but what choice do I have? Maybe this would be better. There’s no way Bubba would flip the table in a rage in the middle of a busy restaurant.
Probably.
But before I can answer Dad’s inquiry, Holly covers my hand protectively. “Juliette decided a while back that she wants to have a baby, and we’re all going to support her, right?” She glares around the table until everyone nods. “She’s a grown woman who can make her own reproductive choices, and if she wants to go to a sperm bank, that’s perfectly fine. Women do it every day.”
Well. Shit.
