He acted wounded and gripped his chest, but grinned and pointed upstairs. He shouted at my back as I took off. “Love you, too, sis!”
“Be careful, baby.” Ian’s sigh reached me all the way at the top of the steps. “Or not.”
“Rose!”
Mom stuck her head out of Rose’s childhood bedroom and waved at me. “In here.”
I rushed into the room and promptly burst into tears. Rose sat on the side of her old bed, holding her newborn baby and glowing as she smiled. “I told them we shouldn’t travel right before your due date! I told them you might have her early. Did they listen to me? No!”
“Oh, Vi, it’s okay! I think you being there through video call was enough. You got a little bossy with the doctors.” She grinned and held her daughter out to me. “Meet your niece. Lily Faith.”
More tears flooded my eyes as I took Lily into my arms and looked down at her. Her eyes seemed so large in her tiny face: bright blue, just like her mom’s. She wiggled in my arms and grunted. “You named her Faith?”
Rose yawned. “Of course I did. She should have the force of her aunt behind her. Her badass aunt.”
Mom clicked her tongue. “Not in front of the baby, girls.”
I rolled my eyes and winked at Rose. “Can you imagine if her first word ended up being fuck?”
Rose laughed and then clutched her stomach. “Too soon. She trashed my insides.”
Mom put her hands on her hips. “It never stops. It just goes from your insides to your outsides.”
“Ew, Mom.” I ran my finger over Lily’s cheeks. “Look at this face. She could never trash anything.”
“Oh, you two looked as sweet as angels when you came out. I’d never seen two prettier babies.” She blinked back tears. “You ruined my body, I swear. My hips were never the same. You were worth it, though. You’ll see. No matter what you go through with her, you’ll never stop being proud. You’ll never love her any less than this moment. It just grows and grows.”
I sniffed and looked up at the ceiling to try to stop even more tears from coming. “Jeez, Mom. Warn a woman before you try to gut her with emotions.”
She smiled through tears that she couldn’t keep in. “I’ll let you girls catch up.”
“No, Mom.” I handed Lily back to Rose and stood up. “There’s something I want to tell you.”
Rose gasped. “Don’t you dare, Violet!”
I wiped my eyes and bit my lip. My heart was so full that I wanted to scream the news. “You can’t react, okay? I mean, not loudly.”
Mom moved closer. “What is it?”
Rose glared at me. “Violet, my hormones can’t handle this, if it’s what I think it is.”
“I’m telling the guys tonight. They don’t know. I want to tell you two first. So much has changed between us and gotten better. Having you both in my life more has been something I didn’t know I needed so much. I do, though. I need you both. Now more than ever.” I rested my hand on my stomach and smiled through tears. “I’m pregnant.”
Mom screamed and nearly tackled me. Poor Lily screamed right along, startled by the commotion. Rose sobbed ugly tears, smacking my leg since it was the only thing she could reach.
“My baby! My babies having babies! Oh my gosh. This is the best Christmas!” Mom jumped up and down, shaking me about, and then stepped back and straightened her clothes. “I love you girls so much. I’m going to go drink a martini and hope it calms me down. If not, I’m going to stare at you all night, waiting for you to tell them.”
Rose sucked up snot and whined. “I miss martinis.”
I hugged Mom and breathed out a sigh of relief. We’d come so far in our relationship, but I was still worried at times. My relationship was definitely a stretch for her to accept, but she did it every day. Seeing her so excited to welcome our baby eased the last of my anxiety. I squeezed her tightly. “I love you, Mom.”
She left Rose and me to comfort Lily a moment later. I took Lily while Rose blew her nose and tried to get comfortable on the bed. I made faces at my niece and grinned when she watched me intently.
“They’re going to grow up together, almost like us.” Rose leaned her head on my shoulder. “They’ll always have each other to face the world together.”
“They’ll have each other to talk the other one out of crazy things.” I rested my head against hers. “Happy anniversary, by the way.”
She looked up at me. “Happy anniversary to you. You got three boyfriends a year ago exactly.”