by Jessa York
“I missed the girls. Besides, Edith looked a bit frazzled, so I sent her home,” I told her, waving toward the door.
“She always looks like that. So do we. We’re victims of our circumstances,” she said as I took her hand, leading us to the couch.
“Another baby? What are the chances it’s a boy this time?” I asked my glowing wife while I dragged her beside me on the couch.
Her body shook from laughter. “Fifty-fifty. However, from the looks of things, I’d say possibly less. I’m convinced my eggs don’t like boy sperm.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Happy?” she asked, her face falling a bit with worry.
“Ecstatic. We make great babies together,” I said, taking her mouth in a grateful kiss. “We filled up your house in no time flat. That must be some kind of record or something.” I tried very hard to do the math on how many kids we’d had in how many years or months. Being severely sleep-deprived, math made zero sense right now.
“Do you think we can handle it?” she asked, allowing her concern to finally surface. “We were already outnumbered, and now adding…” Her hands grasped my arm, holding on tightly.
“Adding another blessing to our house is more than we ever hoped. It’ll be fantastic,” I said, taking her face in my hands.
“But what about my age? I’m—”
I cut that shit off immediately. “I have a deal to propose.”
“A deal?”
“A deal. You have the babies and I’ll figure out how to look after everything else.”
“Honey, you don’t know where thirty-three percent of our children are most of the time.”
“I’ve got thirty-three percent of your kids right here. She was stalking that dang cat of yours. I don’t think you’ll ever get Jinxy out from under your bed,” Gerry said, tromping into the living room with Leah in his arms. “You’re a mischievous little thing, ain’t you, little Leah?” He tickled under her chin before letting her run wild again.
“Thanks, Gerry. What do you think about converting the room upstairs?” Vivienne asked, leaning back on the couch. Pregnancy fatigue must be setting in already. It had been difficult to spot due to our normal fatigue of musical beds every night. Not to mention running after three young kids.
Another baby. Who would have thought? I gazed over to the big table, three blonde heads bobbing around, chatting and playing. Once Hope learned how to say her L’s, she was going to make a heck of a leader, just like her mother. When Leah wasn’t running off somewhere, she loved to sit with me and read books. It was one or the other.
And little Sadie, she liked…food. I guess she was a good mix of both Viv and me. Thinking about adding another blondie to the group made me grin from ear to ear. I wondered what this one would be like.
Vivienne poked me in the side. I hadn’t realized they’d stopped talking shop already. “What are you thinking about with that goofy smile on your face?”
I laughed, putting my arm around her. “It’s a good thing you bought that big table. We’re going to need it.”
“Hmm, I was just thinking we should take it out back and burn it. Put it out of its misery,” she said sarcastically.
“How long to renovate the office, Gerry? Any guess as to a timeline?” I asked.
“Well, we need to…” He continued talking about up to code, insulation, wiring, and all the other words we hated. Shit. This was going to take a while. “So, my best guess would be…”
Vivienne and I looked at each other, cracking up. “Eight months,” we all said simultaneously.
Acknowledgments
Carla Kay VanZandt. WHAT would I have done without you on this one? I shudder to think.
Auden Dar, thank you for your kindness and honesty. You’re always there for me and I appreciate it more than you know.
Tempi Lark, thank you for being my friend. I’m so glad I met you and I look forward to our conversations where I usually end up laughing my guts out.
Beta readers: Leslie Wiggins Spraggs, Alexis Krobatsch and Jennifer Valade-Zabel. There’s no possible way to thank you for jumping at a moment’s notice to read for me (again). But THANK YOU!!
Tina Snider, thank you for all you do. I’m so lucky to have your friendship.
Michelle Clay, Helen Altafulla and Annette Brignac. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done to get the word out about my books. Posts, pimping, graphics. You guys are the best.
Thank you to my readers. Your messages and emails thrill me. I love when you reach out and share your connections with the story or characters. It makes this all worthwhile.
The biggest thanks of all to my hubby. Your words of encouragement and praise mean the most. Thank you for putting up with me and the weird hours and demands this lifestyle causes. I love you. Thank you most of all for giving me our two babies. Becoming a mother and raising those girls with you has been and continues to be the greatest experience of my life. A dream come true. I couldn’t ask for more.
And to all of you whom I’ve forgotten at the moment. You know how I am—I’ll wake up at 3am, realizing that I missed you. It doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate you, it only means I’m stupid and thoughtless. Once I remember, I’ll add you in. Don’t fret.
About the Author
Jessa lives in a very nondescript, unassuming town filled with the best kind of people. Most days, she can be found in the stands of various soccer fields, cheering on her Youngest, or discussing books with her Oldest (who is an English Honors student).
At night, if she’s not up burning the midnight oil, Jessa enjoys snuggling up to her real-life chef hubby and watching his latest cheesy romance movie pick. He always chooses the best ones (after he cooks supper, of course).
Visit her BLOG or drop in and say “hi” on any of the social media links below.
