Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
“Why? I don’t get it. Why does God only give them to women?”
“That’s a good question.”
“Aidan from school said you lied to me about how babies are made.”
Jake’s fork dropped. Looking like he was going to lose it, he downed his water to keep from cracking up.
“What exactly did Aidan tell you?” I asked.
“He told me Daddy plants a seed in you and waters it. And that makes a baby. Kind of like a Chia pet.”
“Oh.”
Jake’s shoulders shook in silent laughter.
A perplexed look washed across A.J.’s face. “But how does he do it? Plant the seed. I don’t get it. That sounds kind of difficult.”
Thoroughly amused, my husband’s face lit up. “It’s a lot of hard work, son.”
A.J. looked back and forth between the two of us, his spiked Mohawk sticking up in the air. “So, Daddy does all the work?”
Jake shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t mind.”
Crumpling a napkin, I threw it at him jokingly.
“When did you do it?” A.J. asked.
My face must have been a deep shade of pink. I was at a total loss for words and just let Jake take over the conversation, which turned out to be a mistake.
“I’ve planted and watered several hundred, actually. Technically, we should have a massive crop.”
“Can I watch next time you plant one?”
My eyes were bugging out as I threw my fork down. “Okay. I think we’re done with this conversation. After lunch, Daddy is going to take you for a walk to the bookstore. They have a book there that will explain exactly how babies are made.”
Jake flashed me a shit-eating grin. Even when I wanted to kill him, I loved him so much.
CHAPTER 22
JAKE
Seven Months Later
It was hard as a rock, looking ready to burst and always moved when it got excited.
There was nothing better than time alone with Nina’s gigantic belly while she slept. It was like a beach ball wrapped in silk.
Dim sunlight peeked through the heavy sliding curtains in our room. We were at a hotel in New Hampshire on a babymoon and were scheduled to head back to Boston early this evening.
Nina was sleeping soundly through the noise of the rickety air conditioner. She was eight months along now. We’d decided to let the gender of our baby be a surprise. I was sure it was a girl. Nina and A.J. thought it was a boy. It didn’t matter to me as long as it was healthy.
My sister had taken A.J. for the weekend so that Nina and I could have one night away before the big arrival next month. Since the pregnancy with A.J. had been problematic, resulting in a C-section, Nina’s doctors scheduled her for another one this time around just to be on the safe side.
“Hello, my little alien,” I whispered against Nina’s belly as the baby did what looked like slow breakdancing. It was impossible to resist softly kissing the taut skin whenever it moved. It was just the two of us up now, after all, while Nina snored.
“You’re a morning person like Daddy, eh? Well, your brother and Mommy like to sleep in. So, when you come out, maybe we can watch the sunrise together sometime. Would you like that?” I ran my lips along the smooth skin of her stomach again. “It’s probably pretty dark in there right now, huh?”
“Hmmm.” Nina stirred before rolling over toward me and asked in a sleepy voice, “Who are you talking to?”
“The little alien. We hang out sometimes when you’re sleeping.”
“Who?”
“Our kid. She was showing me her moves.”
Nina flashed a joyful smile. “She, huh?” Her mood seemed to quickly shift. “Oh my God.”
“What?”
“Jake, I’m so wet.”
“Giddy up.”
“No!” she said, jumping up and patting the sheets. “Not that kind of wet. Feel.”
The sheets were damp, the spot right under her completely soaked.
“Shit.”
“I think my water broke! Oh no. No, no, no. This is not good.”
I frantically searched for my phone. “Can we call your doctor?”
“She’s just gonna tell me to go to the hospital. I don’t even know where the nearest one is to us right now.”
I opened Google and started searching for hospitals close to the lake region where we were staying. We were far from a major city, which was unsettling. “Saint Andrews is the nearest one. It’s five miles away.”
The words were spilling out of her mouth so fast. I could hardly understand her. “This isn’t supposed to happen. My body is not supposed to go into natural labor. I’m scared because I’m more prone to uterine rupture because of the prior C-section. What if we don’t get there in time and something happens to the baby?”
“Is there a chance you’re not actually in labor?”
“I think once the water breaks, that means it’s happening.”
“We’ll get you there, baby. Don’t worry. Everything is gonna be fine.”
Now, if I could only convince myself of that.