Page 44 of A Me and Him Thing
“You’re still winning the gold,” Ren jokes so that only I can hear. “By a landslide.”
I force a smile and hope it doesn’t look fake. I notice Sawyer is massaging Quinn’s shoulder in a comforting manner.
I turn to Ren, and he winks at me.
Winks.
No comforting back rub for me. My eyebrows furrow as I dwell on that thought for a moment. But it passes quickly.
Michelle shouts above the din. “Next question: How did Quinn tell Sawyer they were expecting?”
“Hey,” Sawyer says. “She was just as surprised as me, let me tell you.”
“Maybe we should tell you how it happens so you can prepare for the future,” one of the men hollers as the other men laugh raucously.
“I’ve got it down, thanks,” Sawyer jokes back, exchanging fist-bumps with several of the men.
Whose idea was it to have men at a baby shower? This should be the girl zone. No men allowed.
WROTE HIM A NOTEone lady holds up her card high in the air, ignoring the men.
That’s a really good guess. I even know what drawer she would’ve put the note in. But I don’t know the answer to this one. Quinn would’ve done something clever, just like she did with the twins. She left sets of pink and blue booties in obvious places all over the house until Sawyer noticed them. Of course, they didn’t know they were having twin girls at that point.
Many more answers are thrown around the room.
SHE LEFT THE PREGNANCY TEST WHERE HE WOULD FIND IT.
SURPRISED HIM WITH THE PICTURE OF THE ULTRASOUND.
GAVE HIM A BABY RATTLE.
TOLD HIM SHE WAS NOW EATING FOR TWO.
Quinn and Sawyer simply smile. Quinn doesn’t look my way this time. No one does. Everyone knows I don’t know the answer to this one.
Michelle takes over again. “Sawyer, why don’t you tell us how you found out in your own words?”
He tilts his head back and laughs. “Hate to admit this, but I was a little slow on the uptake. Came home from work one day and said hello to Josie and Jordyn. I didn’t even notice anything at that point. Then my girls said, ‘Daddy, do you like our new shirts?’ Both of their shirts saidBIG SISTERon them. It still took several moments to sink in and for me to understand what that meant.”
More laughter rings out around the room. Quinn holds up her answer card.PUT BIG SISTER SHIRTS ON JOSIE AND JORDYN. “I sort of thought my man was going to pass out for a while there.” Quinn rubs his cheek lovingly.
Sawyer runs his hands through her long blond hair. It’s just something he does, without even thinking about it, a constant sign of affection.
Again, I turn my face to study Ren. He’s smiling along with everyone else. He has a great smile, one that makes me a little weak at the knees. “That’s cute,” he says to me casually.
But he doesn’t touch me. Not a quick pat on the back or a casual arm around my shoulder or a sweet cupping of my cheek.
Nothing.
“Okay, last question.” Michelle looks just as relieved as I am that this is about to be over.
It’s so obvious that I’m not a part of Quinn’s life anymore. Had I been, I would’ve known about her craving for strawberries. I would’ve known about the Big Sister shirts. She would’ve told me about her plans, asked if I thought it was a good idea.
“What is the exact due date of the baby?”
Everyone groans.
One of the men says, “Does Sawyer even know that one?”
