I straightened and leaned over to kiss her cheek, its bitter cold touch icy against my lips. "Good morning. You're cold. You should put a warmer jacket on."
"I'm fine, sweetheart. Crisp, morning air is good for you."
"Not if you have an existing respiratory condition, it's not."
She rubbed my shoulder and laughed. "Well, luckily, I don't."
"Yes. Still, I think you should put another layer on."
She placed her hands on her hips. "Who's the parent here?"
"That doesn't work anymore, Mum." I chuckled at her cuteness and continued to pick up wood.
"Sure it does, and it always will. You'll see." She nudged my shoulder. "Because when you and Danielle have kids, you'll feel the same way."
I nearly dropped the wood on my foot. "Mum! Don't you think you're jumping the gun a little?" Shit! I really need to tell her the truth.
"Not at all. First comes marriage, then come babies … or so the nursery rhyme says," she mumbled. "So it's only a matter of time, really."
The smile that beamed from her face was akin to a brightly lit lighthouse. It sank my stomach like an anchor. I really need to tell her. I REALLY need to tell her.
She squealed and threw her arms around me in a vise-like grip. "I'm so thrilled for you, Elliot. You've waited so long for this. I've always known you and Danielle were meant to be. Call it mother's intuition, whatever. I've just always felt it within my bones that you'd both find a way back to one another."
Prying her arms loose, I pulled her in for a quick hug, unable to look her in the eyes nor let her go. "Do you want to know what I think?"
"Of course."
"I think what you're feeling within your bones is frostbite. I also think you read too many romance novels."
"Nonsense. You can never read too many romance novels."
My laughter bobbed her head against my chest. "If you say so."
"I do." She stiffened and pulled back, her lighthouse beam near blinding me. "Oh my God! 'I do!' You'll be saying that soon. When? Have you both set a date? When can I start making plans? Have you picked a location yet? What about-"
"MUM! Settle down. Danielle and I haven't spoken about any of that-"
"What? Why?"
Before I could summon my balls into my hands and confess, Danielle and Jeanette arrived. Mum waved at them like a kid at Disneyland.
"What's gotten you so excited this fine, cold morning?" Jeanette asked as she and Danielle walked toward us, arms linked, bodies slightly huddled.
I offered them a small smile. "Morning."
"What are you just standing there for?" Mum scolded, shoving me forward. "Go and warm your fiancée up. Look at her, she's freezing."
She shoved me again, and I had no choice but to wrap my arms around Danielle at the very moment she began to protest. "It's o … k … k … kay, I'm ffff fi-"
"Shit. You're an iceblock." I rubbed my arms up and down hers, desperately trying to warm her up.
Jeanette blew into her hands, steam from her breath rising in front of her face. "That's because her stupid car doesn't have a working heater."
"My c … c … car isn't stuuuuupid, Mum," Danielle replied, her teeth chattering. "It's a c … c … . classic."
"It's old. You need a new one. Elliot, dear, please convince her to get a new one. I worry all the time when she's driving that thing."
"I have to agree," Mum chimed in. "It's definitely not suitable for when the baby arrives."
Oh, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!
Danielle's legs nearly gave way, her body slipping down mine just slightly. I caught her and held on for dear life, but mainly because if I held tight enough, she wouldn't be able to kill me.
"WHAT?" Jeanette shrieked, turning to face her daughter front on. "YOU'RE PREGNANT?"
Both Mum and I raised a hand to stop Jeanette continuing. "Wait! N-"
She covered her mouth but kept talking. "Of course. This is making even more sense now-"
"I'm NOT pregnant, Mum." Danielle shrugged free of my grip like a ninja and glared so heatedly that she almost lifted the frost from the ground. "Elliot and I haven't even had sex yet."
"Oh!" Jeanette's hand dropped from her mouth. "But … OH!"
I'd never known true silence until that moment. Not a sound. Not a breath. Not a blink of an eye. Hang on a second … did Danielle just say 'yet', as in sex is pending?