“Make a wish,” Paige says.
I close my eyes, make a silent wish, and blow out my candle.
For being a teenager, Paige is so thoughtful. More than I ever could imagine she would be in this situation. Not because she’s never been thoughtful. But what teenager would throw a baby shower? I’m sure it’s not at the top of her priority list.
“Where’s yours?” I ask as she hands me my cupcake. “We always celebrate together.”
“We will. But today is all about you.”
A strawberry flavor swirls around my taste buds as I take a bite of my cupcake. It’s so good, and I can’t help but finish it fast. I regret it, because now I want another one.
“Hey, B.” My cousin, Kylee, comes toward me. “I can’t believe you’re pregnant,” she says with a big smile. “You’re so cute.” She rubs my belly.
“Thanks. I don’t feel so cute.” Kylee is my aunt’sdaughter and a couple of years older than me. She’s already out of high school and going to college. I haven’t spoken to anyone in my family since I found out I was pregnant. “When did you find out I was pregnant?”
“Not too long ago. My mom told me after your mom called her.”
My mom must have kept it to herself for a while, then. “My mom is pretty upset. She stopped talking to me.”
“We heard. My mom has been trying to talk to your mom about it. Your mom is pretty stubborn and isn’t listening.”
We both chuckle. “Tell me about it. I know I upset her, but I didn’t think she would go this long without speaking to me.”
“Give her some time. Hopefully, she’ll come around soon.” She pulls me into a hug. “I’m going to head out. Call me when the baby gets here. I want to meet her.”
“I will. Thanks for coming.”
“All we need is a crib,”I say as Kai and I drive back home. We have a lot of essentials the baby is going to need, like diapers, wipes, and clothes. We also got two of the biggest things we needed: Uncle Dave got us a car seat, and my aunt bought us a highchair.
“What’s Kevin doing?” I ask. He’s standing outside our apartment as we pull in and park.
“He dropped some gifts off.”
“Oh.” I didn’t realize we didn’t have everything with us.
Kai and I go around the back of the car and grab bags out ofthe trunk.
"Here, let me take those.” Kevin comes over and takes the bags out of my hands.
“Can you open the door for us?”
I nod.
I take a seat on the couch as they bring in all the presents. Exhaustion has taken over, and I haven’t had my afternoon nap yet.
“That’s all of them.” Kevin places the last of the bags down. “Do you want me to help you take them to your room?”
“No. I’m not sure where to put them yet. I’m going to make room for them somewhere.” Our tiny closet doesn’t have much room for our clothes, let alone the baby’s. We have one dresser with five draws, and that is already overflowing. Since this is only a one-bedroom apartment, we have to share the bedroom with the baby. I haven’t thought about where to put the baby clothes yet. If we get a bigger dresser, that would take up the space for the crib.
I tilt my head, looking at Kevin as he stands in place with both hands in his pocket. He’s rocking back and forth on his feet and looks like he has something to say.
I narrow my eyes at Kai as he stands there, looking between Kevin and me.
“What is going on?”
“Could you just go to your room?” Kevin says.
“There is one last gift, B. It’s in the room,” Kai says.
