“How are you feeling?” Jenna asked, standing in front of Max, who offered a warm grin. “You gave us a big scare.”
“You had to make a big scene so Jenna couldn’t pay the bill,” Nicole scolded playfully, narrowing an eyebrow at her.
“That was the plan.” I shrugged. “You know me. I like to win.”
“Next time, use a different tactic,” Kate added. “We’re so relieved you’re fine.”
“I’ll make sure to do that. I’m not planning on doing this again.” I glanced over to Matthew. After raking his hair back with a soft sigh, he finally took a seat. At least his serious face softened. He appeared a bit more relaxed than when he’d come in. Looked like Matthew and Max were either discussing work or me.
“What did the doctor say?” Jenna asked, rubbing my arm. “What happened to you?”
“My blood pressure was too high,” I answered, feeling bad for causing all of this trouble.
“I didn’t call your parents. I didn’t—”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I’ll let them know what happened. My parents will be coming to visit soon. They want to see their grandbaby after all. Meanwhile, I’m going to need lots of visits from my dear friends. I’m stuck at home.” I frowned.
“Don’t think of it that way. It’ll be a great excuse to get together. Party at Becky’s,” Nicole said.
“Which place?” Jenna asked.
“It’ll have to be at my new place. The lease on the apartment where Jenna and I used to live ended several days ago.” Stupid pregnancy hormone was making my eyes teary, but that was my excuse. “You’ll have to excuse the mess, though. There are still unopened boxes.” I looked at Jenna when I said those words. It saddened me that the place where we made memories was a place of the past. There were a lot of happy and sad memories that were created there, memories that molded our friendship and made us the persons we had become.
Jenna took a deep breath and blinked rapidly as she smiled at me. She was holding back her tears. We had a deep level of friendship that we didn’t have with Nicole and Kate. I loved them dearly, but Jenna and I had been through growing pain wars together. We cried. We laughed. We argued. Pretty soon we were going to be sisters-in-law. Pretty soon we were going to become mothers, whether we were ready or not.
“That sounds like a plan,” Nicole said. “We should probably have the baby shower at your new house.”
“That might be a good idea.”
“Great. Let’s do that. It will work out perfectly. I’ll call our guests to let them that we’ve changed location. Kate and I just need to take care of a few things. And...oh, I informed everyone that we didn’t know the gender of both babies.”
“Okay.” I yawned and closed my eyes a bit.
“I think we should get going so you can get some rest.”
Nicole was right, but I would never ask my friends to leave. Suddenly, my eyes felt heavy and I was floating into a peaceful state of relaxation, a peaceful state of relief that everything would be fine.
After they left, Matthew took my hand. There was so much I wanted to tell him, but my eyes were closing and my body felt limp, hopefully drifting into a peaceful rest. “Matthew,” I mumbled. Matthew leaned closer to my mouth. My voice was hardly audible. I wasn’t even sure if he could hear me. “I’m ready.”
Matthew brushed his fingers through my hair, making me even sleepier. The feel of his touch and the serene feeling he was producing from his actions were making me fall deeper. “After the baby is born and the doctor says all is good. I’ll be ready to officially be your wife.” I wasn’t sure if those words left my mouth, but for sure that was what I wanted to tell him. I figured I was successful even knowing my eyes were closed by now. Matthew pressed his lips on mine and I heard the sweetest sounds. “I love you, Becca.”
I love you, too. Those were the words I wanted to say, but I couldn’t. I was already knocked out.
Chapter 35
Becky
I couldn’t believe the day was finally here. My baby and I did great. We held on until the cesarean date. I looked like a balloon and my body felt so heavy to move, but that would disappear in time.
After the doctor gave me an epidural shot on my spine, which I couldn’t believe I felt no pain from, I started to go numb below my waist. When I saw the size of the needle, I was glad I hadn’t seen it before. I probably would have refused it.
“My family, your parents, Jenna, and Max are in the waiting room. Do you feel anything?” Matthew asked, walking in. The doctor had asked him to fill out more forms in addition to the ones I had already signed.