Worth the Wait(54)

After about an hour or so, Cam and Callie seemed to be dragging so I shuffled them back to the house. The poor kids were so tired they didn’t even eat any candy before passing out stone cold. Kenzie and I had to peel their limp bodies out of their costumes and tuck them in. They remained comatose the entire time.

After getting changed and throwing that damned Prince Charming costume in a pile to burn the following day, we headed into the living room to cuddle up on the couch. That was when Kenzie introduced me to one of the perks for parents when it came to Halloween. The candy tax. It was our responsibility to go through all the candy to make sure it was safe. Then we got to take our cut.

Another good thing I learned about Halloween was Kenzie had a thing for melting down those mini Three Musketeers bars and licking them off my body.

Oh, yeah, I could totally get into the whole trick-or-treating thing.





“This shit is not supposed to be for men. I don’t understand why I need to be there.”

For the fifth time that morning, I had to explain to Brett why he was being dragged to Emmy’s baby shower.

“Because,” I said again as I applied one final coat of mascara, “Emmy and Luke are two of your best friends in the world and they want you there. They wanted to do a coed shower, so all the men are required to go. Quit your bellyaching.”

From my vantage point in front of the bathroom mirror, I could see Brett throw his head back and stare up at the ceiling. “Why, God? Why have you forsaken me?” he cried out dramatically. It really was pathetic to watch.

“Honey,” I giggled. “It’s three hours of your life, not the end of the world.”

“It’s three hours I’ll never get back, and I run the risk of losing my man card afterwards. I’m telling you right now, I’m not eating any of that fuckin’ slimy shit babies have to eat, or letting you try and pin a diaper on me, or whatever the hell you women do to torture us men at things like this. I’ve heard stories. I’m watching you.”

Damn, there went my plan for the baby food guessing game. I’d been looking forward to seeing Brett’s expression when I made him eat a jar of turkey and green beans. That would have been classic.

“You’re no fun.”

“And you women are evil. The only reason y’all want us there is to degrade us.”

I had no response for that. He was absolutely right.

We’d left the kids with a sitter and took Brett’s Jeep to the shower at Emmy and Luke’s house, with Brett sulking the entire way.

The second we walked through the door, it became clear that the coed themed shower wasn’t Luke’s idea at all. He stood in the corner, flanked by Trevor, Jeremy, Gavin, and Ben, all wearing matching expressions of misery.

Oh, this was gonna be fun.

“Go play with your friends,” I said sarcastically with a pat to Brett’s cheek. He immediately took off in their direction, taking the beer that Trevor held up for him. A baby shower with booze. Thank God for that. I wasn’t going to admit it to him, but I felt the same way about these parties as Brett did. I mean honestly, who in their right mind actually liked sitting around for over an hour watching a woman unwrap gifts and coo over the eleventy-billion onesies she got for the kid she was cooking. I was a mom and I hated these damn showers!

“Kenzie! Over here.” I turned to find Savannah, Mickey, Lizzy, Stacia and Emmy standing around the kitchen island with a few other women I hadn’t met. The house was packed with people. It was as if the entire town had come out to celebrate with Emmy and Luke.

I made my way over to the girls, my heart swelling at just how welcomed they made me feel. I was quickly introduced to the other women standing in the kitchen. Savannah’s mom, Victoria, and her mother-in-law, Kathy, were there. I also met Lizzy’s mom, Diana, and Nana, as well. And I had to admit, after only five minutes of conversation with the old woman, I was pretty damn sure I wanted to be Nana when I grew up. The woman was something else.

The last woman I was introduced to was Luke’s mother, Ilene. She was a sweet, quiet woman who had the same bright green eyes as Luke’s. Just by looking at her, I could tell she was ecstatic to be meeting her grandson soon. She doted on Emmy and kept rubbing on her belly every so often. Emmy just stood there, a bright smile on her face, and let her. Obviously she had a wonderful relationship with Luke’s mom.

Standing around so much family, I couldn’t stop the pang of sadness that shot through my heart. That was what I’d always wanted…a family to stand around the kitchen with me, laughing at the most inane things. A mother who would rub on my swelling belly, beyond excited for her grandchild to come into the world. It had been over a decade since I’d spoken to my own mom. I was certain she didn’t even know she had two grandbabies.