Page 28 of My Secret Snowflake
Three dresses from my sisters lay strewn on my bed, and two more hang over the closet door—one with ruffles.What was Rose thinking? My latest outfit—a black top and jeans, which would have been my go-to outfit—didn’t make the fake pregnancy belly look real. The black top is too thin. I need a dress with a thicker fabric. I should have never agreed to dress up as a pregnant woman so Dahlia wasn’t the only pregnant woman at her party. Rose dropped off a selection of her maternity clothes yesterday—mostly the ones Dahlia didn’t borrow for her own pregnancy—but these outfits make me look like a bear in hibernation, which is probably why Dahlia didn’t take them. I finally settle on a blue dress that actually looks good when I try it on. It doesn’t look quite as great with my black sneakers, but I’m planning to win some of the party games tonight, so sneakers it is.
Fatma is sniffing the clothes and looks like she is about to curl up for a nap on top of one dress. I move them to the side so she has her own space on my bed. My room is in the top of our house, in the back overlooking the garden.
I pick up my phone to text Maddie—that maybe there’s something between her and Nick—when my phone rings.
“I desperately need breast milk storage bags. Can you do me a huge favor and stop by Baby Love on the way to Dahlia’s party and pick some up for me?” It’s my sister Rose.
“Okay,” I say.
“You’re a lifesaver. I’ll text you a picture of what I want.”
Fatma has now curled up right in the middle of all the clothes on my bed, completely disregarding the space cleared for her. Of course. I’m going to have to remove all the cat hair before I return these to Rose.
AsIenterBabyLove, I blink.Is that Sebastian standing near a whole bunch of pregnant women?
It definitely is. Some saleswoman seems be giving a product presentation, and he’s listening intently—with an I’m-so-out-of-my-comfort-zone expression on his face. I stifle a laugh.
Oh no.I look like I’m six months pregnant. I really should have thought this through. Our bar and block are safe, but wandering around the city looking like a pregnant woman is a different story.
I need to slip by without his noticing me—but the product presentation has been set up smack in the center so I have to go through it to get to the rest of the store. If only I had a massive scarf or some way to hide my face. I could pull my coat up to hide my face, but that would probably only attract attention. This pregnancy coat makes me look like a huge bear. I might have to brazen it out and pretend I’m carrying a backpack under my coat.
“Iris!”
Too late. I’ve been caught. Sebastian is jogging over.
“Iris. Wow. I’m glad to see you here.” He looks down at me and his eyes widen, his brow furrowing, but he snaps his glance back to my face, manfully covering up his obvious confusion.
He continues, “I have no idea what to get Anita, and there’s a scavenger hunt competition at two. But I need a partner who actually knows something about babies. Maybe we can win something for Anita.”
No. Hanging out with Sebastian is not a good idea. Especially when I’m attracted to him.
He’s not my type anymore. I’m looking for a nice guy who doesn’t give off rakish vibes. Who doesn’t make me think he’s a lot of fun when he’s mischievous.
“Did I shock you into silence?” Sebastian asks, a teasing note in his voice. “I’ve certainly never stepped foot in here before.” He makes atsssound like he’s just been burned by a hot flame.
He is Mr. Single.
He takes another quick glance at my middle area and wrinkles his brow. How can I explain this? I should say no to hanging out and not explain. Just leave him wondering why I’m dressed like I’m about to go on an Artic expedition.
“I can’t do it alone,” he says. “I don’t know anything about babies. Two hours of your time. Tops. This is a huge opportunity to win something big for Anita without spending more than the thirty-dollar limit. That is ridiculously low. You promised you’d help me shop for her.”
“I did promise. And I gave you my sister’s baby shower list as gift suggestions.”
“That’s not the same as actually helping pick out stuff. And I repeat, two words: scavenger hunt. And you’re here.”
He obviously listened to what Maddie said last night. Still, I’m impressedhe picked up so quickly that I’d totally be into a scavenger hunt. And I do want to figure him out. This is a perfect opportunity.
“Fine. But…”How am I going to explain my belly?“I’m dressed as a pregnant woman. My younger sister didn’t want to be the only pregnant woman at her party because none of her friends are even considering having kids yet. Because they’re all in their twenties.” Dahlia has always known she wanted a big family. She babysat starting at twelve and now works as a daycare teacher. Her dream is to start her own daycare. “To be honest, it started out as a joke, but then Dahlia seemed really touched by the idea. And it seemed easy enough. We had the belly from when my brother played Santa Claus at our bar.”
Dead silence greets my statement. And then finally, he says, “I don’t understand. What do you mean?”
“I have a huge costume belly strapped to my abdomen. I look like I swallowed a pillow or a basketball or a baby elephant.”
“A baby elephant is oddly specific,” Sebastian says.
“It is. Maybe I justfeellike I swallowed a baby elephant. And it’s hard to get it to look right without the straps showing.”
“That’s perfect. We’ll look that much more legitimate participating in the scavenger hunt.”
