Tyler was sitting between his mother and father, the baby was perched in a little padded noodle-type thing, and Suzette was grinning up at her from an over-stuffed floral chair. Rex was drinking a beer on the chair in the corner looking on. In the center of the room, just in front of the fireplace, was a wing-backed chair with a halo of blue balloons, a little stack of presents piled beside it.
“Tawny, sweetie, come in.” Luke’s mom rushed toward her and planted a kiss on her cheek, then swept toward her son and did the same.
“And the man of the hour, too. Come on, come on, the food’s out and we’re all dying to start celebrating.” She ushered them into the kitchen, and there, laid out on the Formica counter was the strangest party spread Tawny had ever seen.
One paper plate held an array of crackers all with little Cheez Whiz hearts on them. On another plate were hotdogs that had been cut to the size of cocktail franks. There were jello molds and something that looked like dip but might’ve been a tuna casserole. And those were just the plates where Tawny could figure out what the food actually was.
But none of that changed the fact that these people had gone out of their way for her and her baby and tears pricked the back of her eyes. In fact, the awkwardness of it all almost made it sweeter.
“This looks amazing. Thank you so much.”
Luke’s mom blushed. “It’s nothing, nothing. I’m not a great cook, but I had fun with it. Now come on, you’re eating for two.” She handed Tawny a plate and she took a little from each dish, but when the other woman left the room and she and Luke were alone, Luke grimaced.
“I should have gotten you food on the way over here. She tries.”
“It’s sweet. Really.” She crunched into a cracker, then added, “Besides, the baby loves Cheez Whiz.”
Luke’s dimples flashed and her heart did a little back flip, but before she had the chance to brave some of the less discernible food on her plate, Luke’s mother and Suzette were ushering her toward her throne in the middle of the room.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t wait. I just can’t wait,” Suzette said, and then pointed out the most elaborately wrapped gift as the one that was from her. “You can open it whenever you like, but I’m dying to see what you think.”
Tawny started with the most oddly-shaped gifts first. As she tore the paper away, though, she found something familiar in her hand. A stuffed giraffe she’d always thought was always on the ground here in the living room.
“That one’s from me,” Tyler said proudly.
A swell of emotion rose in her chest. “You…you’re giving the baby your toy?”
Tyler nodded. “The other one is from me, too. I really like them, so the baby will probably like them too.”
Tawny swallowed hard. “I’m sure he will.” These people were so warm. So loving. She could only hope those were qualities her son would inherit.
Luke ruffled his brother’s hair, and they both thanked him before Tawny moved on to the gift Suzette had pointed out. Inside the elaborate box was a picture of a half-finished crib.
“What’s this?” Tawny frowned.
“My dad is helping me build it, but I couldn’t get it done in time. I hope you like it.” She beamed.
“You got us a crib? The crib?” She was struggling to keep it together. It was the dream crib she’d pointed out in passing, not the one she’d registered for, and she knew how much it cost. She was about to argue but Luke gave her hand a squeeze and she realized that Suzette was excited to have been able to get them this gift. “Suze, you really shouldn’t have. It’s so gorgeous.”
“It’s nothin’, really. Only the best for my godson, am I right?” She winked, but her own eyes were suspiciously glassy. “Now come on, I wanna see the rest of your haul.”
There were a few other boxes—a stuffed monkey and set of newborn diapers, some bottles and pacifiers, a tiny rocking horse, and a car seat—but when Tawny got to the bottom of the stack, she was struggling to choke back her tears.
These people didn’t have much, and they didn’t have to do anything for her. A few months ago, besides Suzette, they hadn’t known her at all. And now… Now they were her family. Her baby’s family. And with every passing moment, their thoughtfulness and love threatened to overwhelm her.
When she reached the bottom of the stack, she ripped off the paper and opened another box to find a tiny, faded quilt with little squares of grey and white and blue. On the corner, someone had stitched an intricate letter “L”.
“Ah, that was Luke’s baby blanket. My mother made that and gave it to me at my baby shower. I thought maybe we could keep it in the family?” Luke’s mother grinned at her and Tawny forced herself to look down at the blanket again, running her fingers over the seams of the fabric. “I can change the letter to whatever fits, when you pick a name.”