“You two gonna be okay?” Mom asks. “You and your new husband?”
I nod. “Trying.”
Mom moves to the kitchen and gestures with her chin for me to follow.
I meet her by the fridge. She dabs at my eyes with a paper towel.
“Marriage isn’t always easy,” she advises, cupping my cheek. “But if you find the right man, it’ll be worth the effort. I really like him. Want to tell me what’s been happening this past few weeks?”
I shake my head.
Her face falls. And it feels like it did back when I was with Ray and shutting her out. I’m sure that’s what she’s feeling right now. And I really don’t want her to give up on me again, because I know deep down that she did that once already.
I make a snap-judgement and lean in. “I’m pregnant,” I whisper.
Mom jolts in surprise. “You are?”
I nod and give her a shaky smile.
Her face splits into a wide smile. “Ah. That makes sense. It was a surprise and caused you to question things? I thought you were on the pill.”
“Um… a lot of crazy things happened all at once. And we really don’t know one another as well as we should. I panicked. And… needed a minute to think.”
“You did get married fast, but sweetie, Grandma and Grampa got married after knowing each other five weeks. And we all know they lasted fifty-one years before she died.”
“What’s this?” my father asks.
Might as well let the cat the rest of the way out of the bag.
“I’m… I’m pregnant,” I announce, making sure I’m loud enough for Grampa and Cody to also hear. “We were going to do a Christmas Day reveal, even that might’ve been a bit early to be telling anyone, but you guys caught me feeling not my best and… I evidently can’t keep a secret.”
Mom wraps her arms around me. “I’m so happy for you. Do you want us to go?” she asks. “Do you need to rest?”
“I…” A pang of guilt hits me. “Let’s see how I feel. I seem to feel better when I eat gingerbread cookies, so maybe you could make me a hot chocolate and throw another batch in the oven?”
“Ginger is good for nausea. Actually, those pregnancy lollipops help, too. Do you have those? The girl at work, you know the one with the brother that used to go to school with Colleen? She swore by them.”
“No. What are they called? I’ll buy some.”
“You need fresh ginger, some mint tea, and those ginger pills. Have you bought crackers? Plain crackers. And Jell-O. And Gatorade. I should run out and get you some supplies.”
“I’ve been eating a lot of crackers. And promptly evacuating them almost immediately afterwards. Cookies work better.”
“You sit there and have a cookie. I’ll nip out to the store for some of those lollies.” She kisses my cheek. “A grandbaby!” she squeals. “When? How far along?”
“Just about six weeks, I think. So, August. I had a bit of a scare, though. A bit of spotting a few days ago. On the meatloaf night. That’s why… uh… why I’m here. Killian got super-protective and insisted he take care of me.”
“Good man,” my father says. “He taking good care of you?”
I nod, a lump in my throat. It’s kind of a lie if you take into account the stress I’ve been under since last night, and lately, but Killian is trying. “He’s trying,” I say.
Mom clasps her necklace and sighs. And then she sobers. “Don’t worry. I bled with your brother in the first trimester. Terrifying. But he was fine. Just happens to some. Just take it easy, sweetheart. Let your husband pamper you. Sleep as much as you can. And take some vitamins. I’ll buy you some prenatal vitamins.”
“I already started those, Mom.”
“Congrats, munchkin,” Dad says, leaning over and kissing my head. Grampa smiles and squeezes my hand, then kisses it.
“I’ll miss havin’ you at the house with me. But this is where you belong. Glad he’s steppin’ up.”
“Thanks Grampa. He wasn’t ever trying to not step up. I just needed space.”
“Well, whatever the case, I’m glad you’re workin’ on it.”
Cody smiles and leans over, talking low. “That’s crazy. My sister havin’ a baby.” He then lowers his voice even further. “Real glad it’s with this guy and not the last one.”
“You and me both,” I whisper and give my brother a hug.
He reaches for another cookie and I growl in a voice a couple octaves lower than my usual voice. “Those are for the baby. Stop it.”
“Finally, I’m no longer at the bottom of the totem pole.” He pops one into his mouth.
I ruffle his hair and pull another package out of the fridge so I can bake them.
Killian was right. This distraction is helpful. And it’s making things feel a little more real.
Morning sickness? Real. Worry about spotting? Also real. But talking to your parents and other family members about having a baby? That’s taking things to a new level.