Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133688 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
She nearly shrieks. “Holy…I guess double congrats are in order then.”
I laugh with a shrug. “Yeah, we were pretty shocked too.”
After a few minutes, I excuse myself and go back to my office, where Missy anxiously waits.
“It’s not your lunch break yet.”
“I told Monica to cover for me because I couldn’t wait.”
As I shake my head, I walk behind my desk and decide to show her instead. Placing my hands over my belly, I tighten the fabric of my shirt and show off my bump.
“Shut your mouth!” she exclaims, jumping to her feet. “You’re pregnant?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I knew you were getting dick’ed! Totally called it.” She does a fist bump in the air. “Apparently a little too well…”
“Oh my God, you’re obnoxious.” I snicker, sitting down.
“Do you know what you’re having?”
“Twins…” I snort.
She smacks my desk. “You’re lying.”
“Nope. Not sure about the genders yet. Soon, though.”
“Dare I ask who the father is?” She arches a brow. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors but…”
I relax my shoulders and proudly tell her. “Noah Reid.”
Missy’s smile widens, and it’s obvious she already knew. “No wonder you’ve been so happy these past few months.”
“It’s been amazing,” I agree. “Never been happier.”
She tells me how happy and excited she is for us, and I feel lighter for the rest of my shift. Now, everyone knows. After work, I pick up Owen from my mother’s. Now that school’s out for the summer, I drop him off at her house or Loretta’s in the morning. Since basketball season is over and I wanted him to stay busy and active, he signed up for baseball. So they take him to practice and youth group. Loretta has temporary guardianship of Anthony until Brittany’s trial, so Owen’s getting to play with him as well. Though Owen doesn’t know the full story of why Anthony’s living with Loretta, the time will come eventually, and I’ll have to figure out how to have that conversation.
“How was your day, sweetie?” I ask when he jumps in the back seat.
“Fine.”
“Anything excitin’ happen?”
He shrugs. “Not really.”
“How was practice today?” I question as I drive us home.
“Good.”
Lord, it must take a witch’s brew to get more than one-word answers from him.
“What do you want for dinner?” I look at him through the rearview mirror, and he shrugs.
“I don’t care.”
“Noah found a new movie on Disney Plus he thought you’d like. Could make some popcorn and snuggle up with blankets,” I say enthusiastically, hoping he’ll budge. He’s been in a mood for the past two months, and I don’t know why he won’t talk to me about his feelings. I won’t push him, but I want him to know he can open up to me.
“Maybe.” He shrugs again, staring out the window.
By the time I pull into the garage, I give up on getting him to talk. As soon as we walk inside, he rushes to his room, and I remind him to take a shower since he’s all sweaty. Instead of responding, he slams his bedroom door.
“Hey,” Noah says, coming from our room. “What’s that about?”
I inhale sharply. “Who the hell knows.”
Noah wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a kiss.
“He used to be so clingy and loved hanging out with me. Now it’s like he doesn’t want anything to do with me at all.” I pout.
“Give him time. He’s still adapting to all these changes. Plus, he’s almost eleven and probably going through preteen hormonal changes.”
“Well, I wasn’t ready for this yet. It seems way too early.”
“Want me to talk to him?” Noah offers.
“You’re sweet, but somehow, I think that might make it worse. Maybe it’s best we just let him know we’re here if he wants to chat and let him can come to us whenever he needs to.”
“Sounds like a solid plan.”
Since finding out we’re pregnant, we’ve tried to include Owen in all the excitement and house planning, but he hasn’t seemed interested. I know a lot of changes are happening at once, but I hoped he’d come around by now and would want to be a part of it.
The following morning, I stay in bed later than usual and catch up on sleep. So I can have a peaceful morning to myself, Noah takes Owen to the new house with him. I hope they’ll be able to bond or at least have a conversation that consists of more than one-word answers. Noah’s trying so hard not to overstep his boundaries while still wanting to be the role model Owen craves. I never seriously dated anyone after Gabe, so I didn’t know what to expect when I finally did. I hadn’t anticipated that Owen would feel like Noah was trying to replace his dad. I can’t help but feel guilty about not only adding a man to our lives but also two siblings.
Everleigh: You should come shop for some maternity clothes before the end of my shift. Then we can go to the Coffee Palace together!