“Can I get a little more intel?” he asks. I go on to tell him the conversation I just had when Winnie.
“Consider it done. How is she?”
“My wife is in tears thinking I don’t want her.”
“Fuck,” Chase murmurs. “I’ll handle it. See you tomorrow for the shower.”
“Thanks, man.”
“None needed. You take care of your girls. I’ve got this.”
It’s times like these that I’m glad to have my best friend as my right-hand man. I could fire her, but I know with the way my blood is boiling at the moment, I would say things that were far from professional. It’s best to let Chase handle this.
I should have fired her ass a long time ago.
It’s Saturday afternoon, and most of our guests just left. My parents, as well as Winnie’s, along with Chase and Gabby, remain.
“Does my niece really need all this stuff?” Chase asks, picking up a small pink fuzzy blanket and caressing it with his thumb and forefinger.
“Definitely,” Janet says while my mom nods in agreement.
“Babies go through several outfits a day sometimes, and that includes sheets and blankets and burp cloths.” My mom ticks items off, raising a finger for each one.
“Is there anything that we still need that we don’t have?” I ask Winnie.
She smiles. I can see the exhaustion in her eyes, but it’s second to the happiness that’s shining in those green depths. “I have no idea.” She laughs.
“We should have done this at our place,” I tell her. “Less work packing it all to get it home.”
“That’s why they invited me, and well… for the cake. They knew they needed muscles for all this loot.”
“Muscles. I don’t see any muscles,” Gabby quips.
“I can show you,” Chase whispers, no doubt so our parents won’t overhear.
“I’d hate for you to hurt yourself,” she counters.
“Aww, are you volunteering to be my nurse?” Chase gives her a wolfish grin. “Because I’ve had this fantasy—” He throws his head back and laughs when Gabby smacks him on the arm.
“Thank you all for this,” Winnie tells our mothers and her sister.
“It’s our pleasure. Go through everything and let us know what you still need,” her mom tells her.
“Oh, and me too. Janet, we should plan a day to go shopping to pick up the rest of what they need,” my mom suggests. I can already see her wheels turning, planning a shopping trip.
“Guys, we can get whatever else it is we might need. I’m not sure there is anything else,” I tell them.
“Oh, Harrison.” Janet laughs. “That’s not going to stop us from buying more gifts. This is our first grandbaby, after all.”
I look over at Gabby, who’s watching Chase with a small pink bear in his hands. “Gabby, we’ll save all of this for you as she grows out of it,” I tease her. “That way you have a head start.”
“Hold up.” She holds her hands out in front of her. “There are no babies in my future. I’d need a decent man for that to happen,” she grumbles.
Chase turns to look at her. I’ve suspected for a while, but I finally see it. The fire in his eyes when he looks at her. It’s more than just getting under her skin. If I were a betting man, I’d say my best friend has it bad for my sister-in-law. He opens his mouth to speak, but then shakes his head, turning his attention back to the bear in his hands.
“We’ll still save it,” Winnie tells her. “Our next one might be a girl.”
“Next one?” her dad asks.
She shrugs. “We want more.”
By the look on our parents’ faces, you would think they just won the lottery. “Really, let us get this all unpacked and inventoried,” I say, only half joking. The floor is littered with gifts and items I’ve never even heard of. I’m grateful for our friends and family, but I doubt we’re going to need anything else.
“She’s going to need lots of clothes. Those little buggers grow so fast, and she’ll be lucky to wear half of what you got.”
“Seriously?” I ask my mom.
She nods. “Janet’s right. Babies grow so fast, and some people don’t think about seasons when they’re shopping. Like this.” She pulls out a thick pink sleeper. “It says six months. It will be the middle of summer. She likely will never wear this.”
“I’ve got a lot to learn,” I say, not really caring that I’m showing my weakness. We’re with family after all.
“All right. Let’s start loading the truck. Between mine and yours, we should be able to get this in one trip.” Chase stands and starts grabbing boxes.
“I can put some of the smaller bags and clothes in my car.” Gabby stands too, grabs a handful of gift bags, and follows Chase out the door.
“There’s something there.” Janet smiles, her eyes glued to where Gabby and Chase just disappeared.
“Mom,” Winnie warns her. “Let it be.”
“So I’m right?” She claps her hands.
“Honey,” Dwayne says gently. “We need to stay out of it. We said we would let the girls make their own choices,” he reminds her.
“Pfft,” Mom chimes in. “They just need a little push is all. That boy is like a second son to me, I know him.”
“Sarah.” Dad laughs. “No.”
I watch as my mom looks over at Janet, and some kind of secret mom language passes between them. I should warn Chase, but then again, I’d rather watch this play out.
Winnie squeezes my hand, grabbing my attention. She’s grinning from ear to ear. “They have no idea what’s about to go down.” She laughs.
“Should we tell them?” I ask, not really wanting to.
“Nope.”
“I love you.” Leaning in, I kiss the corner of her mouth. “I love you too, Sophia,” I say to her belly before kissing it too.
I hear a chorus of “aww” and look up to find everyone watching me. I just shrug and pull my wife closer. I’ll never shy away with showing them how much I love them. Reluctantly, I release my hold on her and help our dads, Chase, and Gabby load everything up in three vehicles. It takes all three of them to haul it all. An hour and a half later, our living room is cluttered with lots of pink, and I couldn’t be happier. In four short weeks, I get to meet my daughter. I hope she looks just like her mama.