Baby & Bump (The This & That Series)

by Moss, Brooke

  “Damn these hormones.” I laughed and wiped my eyes. “Yes. Yes. I’m fine. I’m just pregnant.”

  She slid an arm around my shoulders. “Good. Corbin and I were hoping this room would be a selling point, not make buyers cry.”

  “No, I’m chock full of raging hormones.” I used the end of my coat sleeve to dab at my cheeks. “Candace says I’m supposed to be horny all the time, but all I want to do is eat and cry.”

  “Okay, that was more information than I needed.” Corbin put his hands out. “I don’t want to ever hear you talk about being horny again, is that clear?”

  “Grow up, honey.” Andrea guided me over to the window seat, and we sat down. “Your body is going through something major, Lex, and you’re doing it all alone. I can only imagine how difficult it is.”

  I sighed. “It really is.”

  It felt good to let my guard down. As excited as I was to be planning my life with my baby, there was always a nagging feeling in the back of my mind at all times. I wasn’t quite sure what it was. Worry, maybe? Just a tiny tickle in the back of my brain that occasionally reminded me that if the baby got sick in the middle of the night, there would be nobody there to calm me down. If the baby had colic and cried all night, there would be nobody there to relieve me long enough to take a nap. And that didn’t even begin to cover all of the thoughts I’d had about attending school conferences and piano recitals alone.

  “You know that we’re here for you, right?” Corbin asked me, sitting down on a discarded tool box in the corner. “Mom is, too, you know.”

  When I shot him an oh, please look, he added, “In her own way.”

  “Corb and I can’t wait to be an aunt and uncle.” Andrea squeezed my hand. “We want to spend as much time with your baby as possible. Trips to the park, lunches at McDonalds, sleepovers, afternoons at the toy store, babysitting, you name it. We’ll do it all.”

  Guilt pushed down on my shoulders. Though Andrea’s words were sweet, the happiness didn’t quite make it to her eyes. “I feel weird talking about how difficult it is to be pregnant alone when you two have been trying to get pregnant for so long. How selfish can I be?”

  “No, Lex, no.” Andrea’s hands covered mine. “Don’t worry about us.”

  “How can I not? You’ve been paying doctors thousands of dollars to do what I managed to do with just a bottle of wine, and—”

  Corbin covered his face. “TMI, little sister.”

  “Right,” I said quickly. “Sorry.”

  “Listen, Lexie,” Andrea said. “We have something to tell you. It’s not common knowledge yet, so don’t say anything.”

  “Which means Mom doesn’t know yet,” Corbin explained. “So if you tell her that you knew first, she’ll lose her cool.”

  “Got it.” I nodded firmly.

  They exchanged a glance, and then Corbin cleared his throat. “We’ve decided to adopt.”

  Elation filled my chest, and tears pressed against the backs of my eyes. “Ohmigosh! That’s wonderful! Just incredible!” I jumped off of the window seat, and pulled both of them into a hug. “Details. I want details.”

  When we pulled apart, both my brother and his wife were beaming. For the first time in, oh I didn’t know how many years, they actually looked happy.

  “We don’t know any details yet,” Andrea gushed as Corbin held her tight. “But our application was approved, and we passed our background checks. We decided to adopt from Korea, because I traveled there after college and had such an amazing experience. Right now we’re working on our dossier and getting our passports taken care of.”

  “We’re hoping to be matched with a child within six months. Maybe more.” Corbin grinned, and it was a mirrored image of our late father. My heart squeezed. “The waiting is the hardest part.”

  “This couldn’t be happening to two better people.” I fanned my eyes to keep from crying. “You two will make the most amazing parents. And my baby will have a cousin. I can’t wait!”

  Watching them holding each other while they discussed their future child was more than my hormonal heart could handle. Sure enough, I started to cry. I wanted to celebrate my baby with someone. I wanted someone to be standing beside me, rubbing circles on my back as I gushed about nursery plans and car seat options.

  Out of nowhere, an image of Fletcher’s smile popped into my mind, followed quickly with the memory of his mouth hovering so close to mine. My heart pinched, and I opened my mouth to speak, but only an odd sounding whimper came out.

  Andrea was back at my side in an instant. “Are you all right?”

  Nodding, I wiped my eyes on my sleeve. “Yes. I’m just a walking, talking hormone. It attacks when I least expect it. The other night I cried because I was out of Jello.”

  Andrea laughed, but Corbin stepped closer to my other side. “No. There’s something more. I’d know that sound you made anywhere. You made it every time you cried when you were a kid.”

  I sniffled. “I did not.”

  Corbin laughed. “Yes, you did. Something’s weighing you down. What gives?”

  I looked at them through my tears. “Have you guys ever wanted something so hideously inappropriate that you were embarrassed to say it out loud?”

  Corbin frowned. “Everybody wants things. What is it? How inappropriate could it be?”

  I covered my face with my hands, and spoke in a muffled voice. “I think I’m in love with my obstetrician.”

  There was a few seconds of silence, then Andrea giggled. She slapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I thought you were kidding.”

  That made even more tears flow. “I wish I were.”

  “You’re in love with your doctor?” Corbin repeated. “The guy who, um, you know.” He gestured with his hand in a manner I hoped to never see from my brother ever again.

  Andrea elbowed him in the gut. “Does he love you back?”

  Shaking my head, I hiccupped. “I don’t know. I doubt it. Well, maybe. He almost kissed me the other day at my appointment.”

  Corbin’s eyebrows were high on his forehead, as he scratched the back of his neck. “Dude. You made out with your gyno during your appointment?”

  “Please tell me your feet were out of the stirrups.” Andrea tried to suppress a laugh by pressing her fingers to her mouth.

  I rolled my eyes. “Ugh. Yes. Of course.”

  “I can’t listen to this.” Corbin turned towards the door.

  “Wait!” Andrea touched my arm, and Corbin stopped in his tracks. “Didn’t you tell me a few weeks ago Marisol was dating him?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Oh, honey, I’m so glad you came!” My mother’s smile was wider than usual when she swung open the front door. I tried to ignore the set of googly kitten eyes staring at me from her pink sweatshirt when she pulled me across the threshold.

  The only reason why I’d finally agreed to go to a family dinner at my mom’s house was because Corbin, Andrea, and Darren had all texted me, begging me to call a truce with her. Plus, Corbin and Andrea were going to make their big announcement, and I didn’t want to miss that.

  Though I was really hoping I would be able to keep my hormones at bay while they were telling everyone the news.

  I hadn’t seen Fletcher in a while. We’d briefly spoken over the phone about my ultrasound results, but he’d kept the interaction short and to the point.

  Never once did he bring up the fact that we’d almost turned my last OB appointment into an episode of As The Word Turns. Fletcher simply apologized for my unborn child’s reluctance to turn the right direction during the sonogram, but that everything else inside of my uterus looked healthy as ever.

  Now I just had to sit around wondering about the sex of my baby for the next four months. Oh, and whether or not my doctor loves Marisol or me more.

  All in a day’s work.

  “Thanks for having me, Ma.” I peeled off my coat and tossed it onto the couch. “What’s for dinner? It smells—”

  “J
ONAH!” My mother dove for the coat, and plucked it off an African-American Cabbage Patch doll. She fluffed his yarn hair affectionately. “Don’t hurt the kids, dear.”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled, walking around the corner to the dining room. I was greeted with a chorus of hellos.

  Corbin was at the end of the table, with Andrea by his side. Across from him sat Darren, whose arm was slung around the shoulder of a tiny, buxom woman with eye makeup thick enough to cause permanent damage.

  He brought Pandi to dinner, I thought to myself, nodding politely at her. This really was getting serious. Darren rarely brought his girlfriends home. She looked particularly uncomfortable sitting next to Pastor Irm, who beamed at me from his regular seat at the table next to Mom.

  “Hi, guys. Sorry I’m late.” I pulled out my chair, and noticed the small, unassuming man sitting next to Pastor Irm. His reddish gold hair was thin, and he’d attempted to grow a mustache, but since his hair was so thin, it just looked like he’d drunk orange Kool-aid. He offered me an anxious smile. When I sat down, the pastor nudged him with his shoulder and gave him an encouraging nod.

  “So, um, Pastor Irm, is this your brother from Iowa you’re always telling us about?” I unfolded the napkin onto my lap.

  “Oh, no.” Pastor Irm said happily. “My brother can’t travel anymore because of his gout.”

  Darren snickered, and Corbin kicked him under the table. I barely noticed the commotion, because my head was buzzing. This had better not be another set up.

  My mother brought a steaming pan of lasagna into the dining room, and plopped it down in the center of the table. “Kyle’s a junior pastor at the church, dear. He’s three hundred miles from home, and Pastor Irm thought he might like a home cooked meal.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Not a set up. Pastor Irm would never do that to me. He may be a man of God who probably wanted to see me married, but he wasn’t thoughtless. That much I could count on. Besides, my mom and I hadn’t spoken in over a month. She wasn’t dumb enough to tick me off again. “Well, welcome, Kyle. I’m Lexie. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You, too.” A high-pitched giggle escaped his mouth. Through the corner of my eye, I noticed that Darren and Pandi were stifling laughter.

  “So how’s the baby doing?” My mother dished up square portions of Italian goodness. “It looks like that belly is taking over your whole body.”

  My face scalded. I thought I’d been keeping my weight gain under control nicely. With the exception of my round belly—which was now the size of a basketball stuffed under my vintage Kiss tee shirt. My mother had a knack for saying the wrong thing, and it was up to me to keep my temper in check. It wasn’t her fault she was nuts. Living in a house with a thousand dolls lining the walls could really do a number on a person’s psyche.

  “Baby’s fine.” I plucked a piece of French bread out of the basket, then passed it to Pandi. She took it from me with the longest, sparkliest fingernails I’d ever seen. “Growing right on track, and wiggly as ever.”

  “Oh, are you feeling her kick?” Andrea’s face lit up.

  “Her?” Corbin forked a cheesy bite of lasagna. “Why are you so sure it’s a girl?”

  Darren pointed his slice of bread at me. “That there’s a boy.”

  “How do you know?” Andrea teased. “It looks like a girl belly to me.”

  “Bullsh—”

  “Watch it.” My mother pointed her fork at Darren. “Don’t you swear at my table.”

  “Sorry, Ma.” His arm slid around Pandi’s shoulders. I wondered if she was cold in her strapless party dress. Had my brother told her to dress for a night of clubbing, or was this how she always looked for family meals? “What do you think my sister’s baby is, babe?”

  Pandi shrugged, and her oversized hot pink earrings danced. “Like, I dunno. Right?”

  Everyone stared at her until Corbin broke the silence. “Well, I think it’s a boy, too, Darren.”

  “Should we start a pool?” Andrea offered.

  I put up my hands. “Sorry, guys. I had an ultrasound a few days ago, and it was inconclusive. The baby wouldn’t roll the right way, so all we could see was its back.”

  “Well, get another.” My mother popped a bite into her mouth and chewed. There was a string of cheese dangling from her lip.

  “I can’t.” I fiddled with the crust of my bread. “My insurance only pays for one ultrasound unless it’s a high risk pregnancy. And I can’t afford another one. Sorry, guys. It’ll be a surprise for us all.”

  “Oh, I’ll never make it.” Andrea smiled up at Corbin. “There’s so much waiting going on.”

  Corbin pressed a kiss to the side of her head. “I know, babe.”

  “What’s going on with you two?” My mother asked, the cheese string wiggling. “Are you guys up to something? Are you sick? Who’s sick? What is it? Cancer? Thyroid problems? Andrea, I thought you looked puffy.”

  Corbin shot our mother a warning glare. “Calm down, Ma. Andrea does not look puffy.”

  Andrea drew in a deep breath. She was a champ at tolerating my mother’s occasional bouts with medical hysteria. Instead of throwing her hands up and storming away from the table, like I would have done, she reached into her purse and pulled out a brochure. “Actually, Patsy, Corbin and I have some news.” She slid the glossy paper down the table, and my mother picked it up. “We’ve decided to adopt a child.”

  “No freaking way.” Darren craned his neck to see the brochure. “Dude. That’s so awesome, you guys!”

  “You mean…you mean…” My mother looked up at Corbin and Andrea with tears in her eyes. Her thick eyeglasses magnified them as she quivered in her seat, the cheese string swaying precariously close to the brochure.

  “Patsy, dear, let me.” Pastor Irm reached over with his napkin and tenderly swiped the cheese away. My brothers, sister-in-law, and I all stopped eating to stare at the exchange.

  Kyle cleared his throat. “This is excellent lasagna, Mrs. Baump.”

  “Thank you.” My mother blushed. “So Corbin, I’m going to have another grandbaby?”

  Corbin glanced at me and winked. “Sometime in the next year and a half or so, if everything goes according to plan.”

  My mother’s squeal of joy would have broken the windows, had it not been muffled by all of the dolls. My brothers and I all put our hands over our ears, but Andrea just laughed and wiped away tears of joy with her napkin.

  Pandi—just tuning into the conversation—looked up from her meal blankly. “Is this, like, a big announcement, or something?”

  “Yes!” My mother bellowed. “Yes, Panda—”

  “Pandi,” Darren corrected.

  “Whatever.” Mom waved a hand. “Yes. Corbin and Andrea are going to adopt a baby. They can’t get pregnant. So they’re going to go to…go to…where is it you’re going?”

  “Korea,” they said in unison.

  “Isn’t that just wonderful.” Pastor Irm ate a bite of his lasagna with a smile.

  My mother pressed the brochure to her chest. “They’ll go to Korea together and pick out a baby.”

  “Well, it doesn’t work quite like that,” Corbin explained, sitting forward in his seat. “They’ll pair us with a child, that’s called getting a placement, and then—”

  My mother shoved a bite of salad into her mouth and spoke around the greens. “Oh, I don’t care how it happens, as long as you bring home my darling, sweet grandbaby. Do you know what it is, yet?” When they shook their heads, she winked at me. “It’s just as well. Now we’ll have lots of surprises to look forward to. But you’ll travel to Korea, right? Together?”

  “Of course.” Corbin laced his fingers with Andrea’s. My heart tugged watching them.

  “I don’t think either of us could stand to miss a thing.” Andrea rested her head on her husband’s shoulder. “We’re just thrilled.”

  “I can imagine, dear. So am I.” Mom gestured to me. “And I’m so glad you’re going through this together. Instead o
f doing it Lexie’s way.”

  I looked at my mom. “Huh?”

  “Mom.” Corbin frowned at her. “Don’t.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’m not coming down on her.” My mom rolled her eyes at Pastor Irm. “I’m just saying that it’s really special that Corbin and Andrea are going to pick up their baby together, whereas Lexie’s going to deliver her baby all alone.”

  Darren glanced at Pandi. “All hell’s about to break loose.”

  “No joke, right?” She tucked a strand of her long extensions behind her ear. Seriously, she sounded like she was stoned to the gills. Well, she was dating Darren, so it was a definite possibility.

  I folded my hands in my lap, no longer hungry. “I won’t be alone. Candace and Marisol will be with me.”

  “We will be, too.” Andrea nodded.

  “Of course,” Corbin added.

  Darren looked up from Pandi’s cleavage. “Well, I’m not going to miss it, either. I’m gonna be the coolest uncle ever. I’ll give him his first pocket knife, take him out for his first beer…”

  “You think we can get the baby out of diapers before you get him drunk?” Andrea asked.

  “Ha!” He pointed at her. “You just admitted that it’s a boy.”

  Out of nowhere, Kyle released another one of his high-pitched giggles, and my mother shot him the look of death. “I see everybody else has been invited but me.” Her voice cracked and Pastor Irm patted her hand.

  “Wait, wait. We’re losing focus.” I didn’t want to fight with my mother tonight. Not in front of the whole family. Not in front of Pastor Irm. And certainly not in front of creepy Kyle. “This is about Corbin and Andrea’s big news.”

  “Great!” Andrea’s voice was shrill. “You guys should meet the placement coordinator, he’s the best—”

  “I can see that you’re mad at me, Alexandria.” My mother’s eyes bored a hole in the top of my head. “And I don’t think you’re understanding what I’m trying to say.”

  I put a hand up. “Mom, I got it. You don’t need to explain. Can someone please pass me the salad?”

  “It’s just that your brother’s baby will come into a home with two parents,” she explained, wringing her hands around her napkin. “Which, we all agree, is what’s best for the baby. Do we not?”