Page 61 of 7+Us Makes Nine

“I am now. But the doctors are concerned about what my body might do with another pregnancy. But I’ve always wanted four children. I’m willing to take the risk, though. I love my children, and my husband’s always wanted a big family like me.”

“I’ve got five,” Libby said. “And I also have the wine cabinet to prove it.”

We all giggled as I grabbed a drink from a passing tray.

“Do you want anymore?” I asked.

“Not a chance. After my last cesarean, I got my tubes tied. No more for me, thanks. Six is enough.”

“I thought you said five?” I asked.

“My husband makes six most days. I promise,” she said.

I threw my head back and laughed at her sentiment.

“I’m telling you, I ate so much ice cream with the twins that I thought I was eating for five,” Natasha said.

“I remember that. You basically lived off the stuff for two months. And that one kind, too!”

“It was so good though,” she said. “Even now, my mouth waters simply thinking about it. And it shouldn't shock anyone that the twins love that kind as well.”

“My triplets were a beast,” Emma said. “I had no idea my body could get to be the s

ize it did. And the stretch marks they left behind? My body’s, like, sixty percent stretch marks and forty percent baggy skin.”

“And you look phenomenal, darling!” Ryan exclaimed. “Hey, Catherine!”

“Hey Ryan!”

“How’s Jace!?”

“Alone with the kids!”

“So, almost dead!?” he asked.

I waved at him before he went back to talking with Carter and the boys. The more I looked around, the more I came to the realization that I was the only single one there. Everyone else had their children and their husbands. Their dogs and their livelihoods. Then, there was me. Single, no kids Catherine.

“One day you’ll understand,” Emma said.

“Understand what?” I asked.

“I know that look,” Natasha said. “You’re wondering what it would be like to have a family of your own.”

“Have lots of wine on hand,” Libby said.

“She loves her family,” Joanna said. “But they do drive her a little nuts.”

“They drive us all a little nuts,” Natasha said.

“I hope one day to have a family of my own. To have children of my own,” I said.

“Trust me, if there’s anyone fit to be a mother, it’s you,” Emma said. “And one day, it’ll happen. You just wait.”

I stood around with the girls, listening as they all talked about their families. And as I interjected with anecdotes of Jace’s children, I found out something about myself. I was starting to consider his children to be my own. And that was dangerous territory. Yes, Jace and I were sleeping together. And yes, I took care of his kids. But that didn’t mean the two worlds fused. That didn’t mean his children were mine. In the end, they were Anya’s. As much as it made me sick to admit it, Anya was their mother. Not me.

Something inside of me ached at that admission.

“I found out I was pregnant in Africa,” Natasha said. “Africa, of all places.”

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