Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21629 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 108(@200wpm)___ 87(@250wpm)___ 72(@300wpm)
“Oh my god, I’m not going to be an only child anymore. Suh-weet!”
But now, the most important people in my life are coming over, and I want them to enjoy and appreciate our home. After all, I spent ages painting the walls a delicate eggshell color, and picked out a number of colorful prints and houseplants to brighten the place up. Most importantly, we have a beautiful nursery upstairs, although I haven’t shown it to anyone yet.
The doorbell rings and I take a deep breath before answering.
“Hi Mom, hi Dad! I’m so glad you’re here!”
Jonathan and Zara each squeeze me tight in a hug. “We wouldn’t miss a gender reveal party for anything in the world. This is our first grandchild after all!”
I smile with tears in my eyes because to say my parents were shocked to find out about Marcus and me would be an understatement. They knew him, of course, but only as my best friend’s dad. However, once they got over that initial surprise, they were happy for me. They adore Marcus now, and have realized that the two of us are great for each other.
Marcus shakes my dad’s hand and hugs my mom.
“It’s good to see you Jon. How are you, Zara?”
“Overwhelmed to meet my new grandchild! Excited. You both look amazing. Especially you, darling,” my mom coos. “How are you feeling?”
I rub my enormous belly. According to the doctor, I’m seven months along right now, and I nod.
“I feel good. I definitely have some weird food cravings, but other than that, it’s been wonderful. I’m never sick and sleep really soundly at night.”
At that moment, Faith walks in and greets us.
“Hi Mommy-to-be! How are you? And how’s the little bugger?” she asks, indicating my big belly.
I laugh.
“I hope you don’t call him or her ‘bugger’ after they’re born.”
“Of course I won’t,” Faith chortles. “I’ll just call them ‘Bug’ instead.”
I laugh and clap my hands. “Okay, okay. We’ll have to talk about that more, but is everyone ready to eat?”
“Bella cooked a feast for us, so I hope you’re all hungry,” my boyfriend growls. “There will be leftovers for sure.”
“I’m starving,” Faith exclaims while following her father into the dining room. We rarely use this space because we usually eat in the kitchen, or on the couch in front of the TV. But since tonight is a special occasion, we decided the formality would be nice. Our guests ooh and ahh as we serve the scrumptious meal: there’s roasted chicken, potatoes, broccoli and a gooey mac and cheese that has my friend gasping with delight. Faith can’t even get out any words, merely a long moan of enjoyment as she gobbles down the cheesy deliciousness.
After dinner, we chat lightly until my mother jumps up, her hand trembling a bit.
“I want dessert!” my mom announces.
I shoot her a smile.
“Mom, we just finished eating. Just give me one second to digest,” I laugh. But my mom shakes her head.
“Make room for cake, honey. It’s the special one, remember?”
My eyes widen. Marcus and I gave my parents the envelope with our baby’s sex in it and asked them to make a gender-reveal cake for us. That’s right, I’d forgotten in the flurry of preparation.
My mom re-enters, bearing a huge cake in her hands, and Marcus reaches over to hold my hand. I can barely breathe as he squeezes my small palm.
“Alright, you two. Here we go!”
Smiling, we take a knife together and slice into the cake slowly. The interior is a gorgeous shade of light blue.
“We’re having a boy!” I exclaim with tears in my eyes, throwing my arms around Marcus’s neck. We nearly fall out of our chairs, but everyone is laughing in excitement.
“A little brother!” Faith chortles. “That’s awesome. He’s going to have the best big sister ever.”
“Yes, he is,” I say, squeezing her hand. “And the best grandparents too.”
My parents have tears in their eyes as they hug one another, almost as if they’ve won a grand prize. As Marcus divvies the cake, I beam happily. How could life get any better? But when I bite into my slice, my teeth crunch into something hard. It’s metallic and oddly slippery too.
“What the heck?” I say, spitting out the object. And there, on my plate, is a little plastic egg. “Mom, what is this? Did you drop something in the batter?”
My mother smiles at me mysteriously. “I think you should open it, sweetheart.”
My heart’s beginning to race because I have an idea of what I’m going to find. With trembling hands, I pull the egg open, and suddenly, there’s a touch at my elbow. Marcus is kneeling beside me, his handsome face expectant. Sure enough, when I look down at the open egg in my hand, there’s a beautiful, sparkly diamond ring.
“Oh my goodness,” I gasp with tears in my eyes. “Is this what I think it is?”