For someone who never cared about Hawk’s money, Kelsey is enjoying it despite her best intentions.
“Has anyone ever told you,” Elijah says, “that you’re statistically more likely to marry someone with the same first initial?”
Normally it’s me with the odd facts, and him telling me it isn’t the time. Apparently we’ve reversed roles.
“That does sound familiar,” I tell him. “I guess that’s why I’ve got Evan Martin saved in my phone as ‘backup’. Wait, why have they stopped?”
The float has come to a dead halt, thirty feet before it’s reached us. Judy and Hawk are surrounding Kelsey, and security is moving toward the float to help her down. In the distance, there are sirens.
Both of our phones chime at the same moment.
CAROL
Kelsey’s water just broke. We are on our way to the hospital.
Kelsey looks in our direction and appears to be mouthing an apology to us, which makes little sense but is also typical of Kelsey, worrying about everyone but herself.
We rush from the stands. By the time we break through the crowd, Kelsey has been loaded into an ambulance, and Hawk is climbing in beside her.
Elijah calls for a car. We help Judy in, then slide in beside her.
We’ve only been in the very full hospital waiting room for about an hour—most of the Boudreaux family is here, along with all of the Cabots—when Hawk walks out to announce they’ve had a seven-pound baby girl.
“Holy crap,” I whisper to Elijah, my shoulders sagging. “That was really close. She’s lucky she didn’t give birth on the float.”
Elijah says nothing, but he was tense when she climbed off the float, and he’s still tense now. We let the new grandparents—Hawk’s parents and Judy go first—and then about ten minutes later, Elijah and I go back with Carol and Betty.
Kelsey is beaming and certain of herself as she holds her daughter. Hawk is thrilled but far less certain, especially when Betty says something about how she could juggle three babies if she needed to.
We don’t stay too long—Kelsey’s yawning and Hawk will have a nervous breakdown if Betty tries her one-armed carry again.
Carol sighs. “What a close call. I can’t believe I tried to convince her to wait to go to the hospital.”
“You just wanted Elijah to do his thing,” Betty counters. “I mean...honestly, it would have taken another five minutes at most.”
Beside me, Elijah stiffens, while Carol gives Betty a sharp glance.
“I need a drink,” says Carol, dragging Betty off, “and you need to keep some things to yourself.”
I wait until we’re around the corner and alone before I ask, “Thing? Whatthingwere you going to do?”
He runs a hand over his face. And laughs. “It wassupposedto be a proposal.”
For someone with two advanced degrees, it takes me way too long to realize that he’s saying he was proposing tome.
“This sign was supposed to unfurl from the bride and groom’s hands, and then their faces would rotate...they looked like us on the other side.”
My eyes swim. “That’s incredible. That would be...the greatest proposal ever.”
He gives me a half-hearted smile. “I guess you’ll have to wait ’til next year.”
I stare at him. “You can’t be serious. I’m not waiting another second. Let me see the ring.”
He shakes his head. “You want a story like Kelsey’s, and you’re getting one.”
Which is when I finally realize how stupid and misguided I’ve been for a very long time. I couldn’t care less about having a story like Kelsey’s.
“What were you going to say?”
