Kensington was taken aback. She’d never seen two people so excited about a television show. Then again, her mother would probably have a freakin’ seizure if she ever missed a day of All My Children.
“Aiight, dang! It must be all that! Ya’ll being all secretive and thangs.” Kensington got up off the sofa and headed for the stairs. “Let me go check on Sydney before it starts.”
“I’m off to get the popcorn,” Janessa said, getting up off the sofa, which took a lot of energy. Tempest was right. She was really beginning to look like Shamu.
“Make some Kool-Aid while you’re in there,” Tempest suggested. “With no fake nails mixed in mine, please. You have to drink one hundred percent juice though, and don’t even think about trying to guzzle down some Kool-Aid on the sly. The red tongue will give you away.”
“Gurl, sometimes I think you’re the one who is pregnant. The way you keep breaking bad with a sistah.” Janessa immediately regretted the words the moment they left her lips, but it was too late to take them back.
Tempest glared at her angrily and then realized it was just an honest mistake. Janessa would never intentionally throw her sterility up in her face. They’d moved way beyond that. “I’m just playing with you about the nails, dufus. Stop being so sensitive.”
Kensington stopped on the bottom step of the landing and leaned over the banister. “Tempest will probably get pregnant right after the wedding, maybe even on their honeymoon, and then all three of our kids can grow up together.”
Janessa and Tempest just stared at each other, both at a loss for words.
“Wouldn’t that be cool?” Kensington asked with glee. When she received no response, she added, “I’ll be right back. How much time before the show starts?”
“About ten minutes,” Janessa replied, still staring at Tempest.
“Okay.” Kensington went on up the stairs to check on the baby, leaving Janessa and Tempest alone.
“You alright?” Janessa took Tempest’s hand and intertwined their fingers.
“I’m fine.” Tempest pulled her hand away, not wanting to be mothered.
“You’ve never told Kensington, huh?”
“Janessa, it’s not exactly something I go around town announcing on a mega
phone.”
“I know, I know. I just assumed you would have told Kensington by now. You two have become so close.”
Tempest walked over to the fireplace and leaned against the mantel. “Yes, we have, but Kensington is just a child. Wise beyond her years and being forced to face up to her mistakes, but still just a child.”
Janessa looked at Tempest disapprovingly. “Don’t you think you should tell her? She’s expecting you to start pushing out babies any second now.”
“I’ll tell her eventually.”
“I’m going in the kitchen.” Janessa walked toward the hallway leading to the other side of the house. She glanced back and took one more quick survey of Tempest’s facial expression. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m straight.” Once Janessa was out of view, Tempest picked up a photograph of herself and Geren they’d had professionally taken. She had so much to be thankful for. A great man, her dream home, a career that brought her focus and fulfillment, and loved ones who appreciated her efforts. Yes, there was much to be thankful for. “I’m straight,” she repeated to herself in a whisper.
• • •
“How’s the baby?” Tempest asked, startling Kensington in the upstairs guest bedroom.
“Sleeping peacefully.” Kensington was leaning over the bassinet, covering up Sydney with a receiving blanket. “I was just looking at her.”
Tempest came closer and looked over Kensington’s shoulder at the baby. Even at four months, she had a head full of hair. “She’s beautiful. Looks just like you.”
“You really think so?”
“Without question.” Tempest placed her hand on Kensington’s right arm and noticed she was trembling slightly. It was obvious she was still learning to deal with the fact that she was a mother at the age of fifteen. “Watch, as she grows older, you’ll swear you’re looking in a mirror.”
“I just hope I can do right by her.” Kensington picked up the half-empty bottle of formula out of the bassinet so she could refrigerate it when she went back downstairs. “I’m so scared.”
“Don’t be,” Tempest said, letting her hand slide down Kensington’s arm so she could take ahold of her hand. “Geren, Janessa, and I are behind you one hundred percent. So is everyone down at the center.”