Kate glanced at her husband. “What are you laughing about? You should read that book.”
Everyone started laughing again. “Let’s change the subject. We have kids here,” Max murmured, gazing at Addison and Connor. They were staring at us with wide, curious eyes.
“Wow. Mason can shoot lightning?” Connor admired.
“No, no, no,” I said quickly while we continued to laugh, but now it was from Connor’s question. We had to start being careful of what we said. Connor was more observant about what we discussed these days. “Uncle Matthew was joking.”
“Oh,” he chuckled. And just like that he picked up his fork to eat again and turned his attention to Addison and Shawn.
“Excuse us for a moment,” Becky said out of the blue. “Jenna, Kate, Nicole, I need to talk to you.”
We followed Becky to the back. It was the first time I’d seen my birthday cake. Max had it made from my favorite bakery. It was decorated Louisiana-style to match the atmosphere of the restaurant. It even had a beautiful mask on the top.
Becky placed a box in front of us. “I was originally going to get it for Jenna as her birthday gift, but I couldn’t help myself. I had to get it for all of us.”
“Becky, you didn’t have to do that,” Kate scolded playfully.
“Open it.” Becky looked so excited. She was practically holding her breath. “I can’t wait for you to see it.”
“It’s beautiful. Oh, Becky.” I hugged her tightly with tears in my eyes.
“I love this,” Nicole added. “It has my baby’s names. Shawn and Sarah.”
“Mine, too.” Kate held hers up. “Kristen and Kelly.”
Becky reached into her shirt and pulled something out. “See. I was trying to hide it. I got one, too. It’s sterling silver, so make sure to take good care of it.” The names of her children were imprinted on the bottom of the circular pendants that were layered from small to big, Addison and Mason.
Placing the pendants on the palm of my hand, I reflected on the years when Becky and I first became roommates.
“How many children do you want?” I asked Becky as we sat on the sofa, sipping our tea on a cold winter night.
“I think two. I don’t think I can handle more than two kids fighting together,” Becky snorted. “My sister and I used to fight all the time. Drove my mom crazy. How about you?”
“At least three. Two boys and a girl. But I’m a bit afraid that I may take after my mom and will have a hard time conceiving.”
Becky snapped out of her thoughts and started laughing. I knew she was thinking dirty thoughts. “Well, think of it this way. You can have lots of sex trying.”
I had to laugh at her humor. “I hope sex is good.”
“If you meet the right husband it will be.” Becky blew into her cup and took a sip.
“If that ever happens.” I ran my finger around the rim, wondering whom I would end up getting married to.
“You will, Jenna. You have a beautiful heart. I have no doubt you will marry a man with the same heart. I’ll make sure of it,” she stated and winked.
“The same goes for you, Becky.”
“I hope so,” she sighed. “With my luck of men these days, who knows?”
“Someone great is waiting for us out there.”
“I hope they’re wonderful.”
“Yeah...I hope one day we’ll get our something forever.”
“Jenna, are you okay?” I heard Becky’s voice.
I blinked my eyes as I snapped back to reality. “Yeah. I was just thinking about what we said to each other when we first became roommates.
Becky nodded with a small smile. I could tell from her expression she knew exactly what I was talking about.
“Could you help me with this?” I asked.
After Becky put on my necklace, she swung her arms around my shoulders. “Group hug.”
Kate and Nicole squeezed in as we held each other tightly. From my position, I could see Max and Matthew smiling at us. Their faces were full of love, care, and understanding. Then my vision shifted to all of the children. Thinking about them always warmed my heart. I thanked God for my life. So much had happened in the past seven years for Becky and me.
This one insecure girl, who wanted everything to be safe, had changed. I had become the woman I was meant to be. The confident Jenna needed a man like Max to show me that I could trust and love again with all of my heart and soul. He made me feel beautiful. He made me feel desired. He showed me that I was worth fighting for. And that alone made me believe in us.
Life was full of surprises. Sometimes the surprises were not so good, but the good ones made my life even better. Like Max and the unexpected pregnancy. At the end, those unexpected surprises were the ones that brought the most joy in my life. I could not imagine my life without Max and my children. As I looked at them, my heart expanded with so much happiness that it couldn’t possible get any fuller.