“You act like you’re disappointed about it. At least you’ve got the boy out of the way. Even though I’m sure Stew wanted to have a girl.”
“You’re right. I’m thankful that he wasn’t one of those weird dudes talking about a legacy. You should’ve heard him lovingly telling me off when I slipped up and said something about him getting a boy first. He happily reminded me that we already hadtwo sons and I had to cry so that he wouldn’t fuss at me too badly and blame it on hormones.” She rolled her eyes but looked slightly guilty and I didn’t know what their story was so I knew I was missing context.
“I’m sorry, did you forget you had two boys? Or am I missing something?”
She smiled and it was so filled with love I now had to agree that she was gonna give that man as many kids as he wanted. “He’s not their biological father—”
Carine snorted and I glanced between the two of them, noting the smile on Rachelle’s face. “Please don’t say that around that man because he won’t hear of people trying to separate his family out by blood.”
I nodded at Carine’s warning and when I looked at the serious way that Rachelle was nodding I knew it was probably far worse than she let on. “Noted.”
“I wasn’t really trying to exclude him, I was just trying to find something for him to be happy about since he was disappointed that he wasn’t going to have a daughter. But damn, he was pissed like I wasn’t acknowledging his place in their lives. I felt like shit though because he’s always been a better father than the one who contributed to their DNA.”
“Your jaws okay after making it up to him?”
“It wasn’t even like that.” That grin showed that some other part of Rachelle took a happy beating though. I was staring at her wide eyed and she glared at Carine. “Stop talking before you scare this girl, Carine.”
“Whatever. If you need us for anything besides just the shopping please let us know. I have been more than happy to come with this, but if you need help finding the best pediatrician let me know. Rich knows a lot of them and we went through so much when we were finding one for the baby.” She grinned the way I assumed moms did when they thought about their babies.
“Both of y’all buying all this cute baby girl shit and I’m stuck with three men who smell and a little baby who’s gonna piss on me and then smile. I’ll just have to keep borrowing y’all’s babies until Stew’s swimmers get with the program.”
Carine’s daughter was with her mother-in-law and I was grateful that they agreed to take me around to the best baby stores in the area. I knew where to get regular items that the little girl needed but I didn’t want to have her out here lacking when she needed to be seen with her father. Appearances were going to be a big deal no matter how we tried to pretend they weren’t. I wasn’t going to spend Aldrich or myself into the poorhouse, but I was going to ensure that she had special pieces for each season just in case he needed to make appearances with her.
“You are carrying low.” I know that it didn’t mean anything, but I wasn’t above listening to the midwives’ tales. Those ladies knew a lot and listening to a mother’s intuition was always something I would do.
“I forgot that you were a nurse too.”
“I am.”
“How do you like travel nursing? Are you going to feel weird staying here for an extended period?” Carine picked up another outfit and added it to her stack.
“It’s good but I like that I have somewhere to just be for a minute. It’s a greater sense of purpose and I’ve always loved working with babies.”
We walked up to the register and I begrudgingly used the card that Aldrich had handed me before I left. I didn’t know him well but I felt as though he was somewhere watching to ensure there were enough swipes going through on his account.
When it was Carine’s turn she had to give special instructions to the salespeople for her daughter’s clothing. Seeing her having her daughter’s outfits monogrammed had me wondering whatAldrich had named his daughter. We hadn’t spoken about her by name and I felt terrible not knowing what I was going to be calling this little girl. Whenever we spoke he’d always just called her the baby.
I’ve got to stop thinking about this man as a man and get on my damn job.
“Anyway, back to what we were talking about earlier do you want us to call Porsha for you?”
I had to blink because I completely forgot we’d been talking about hair.
“Um no. You said that she doesn’t take just anyone—”
Rachelle nodded as she pulled out her phone and I watched her dial. “She doesn’t. But we know you.”
“That doesn’t mean she will take me.” I was trying to stop them from getting their feelings hurt but they seemed determined.
“She would because we’d vouch for you.” Carine looked like it was as simple as that and I wasn’t about to get my hopes up knowing how stylists could be.
“Are you free today?”
I looked up and Rachelle had a mischievous smile on her face. “I’m sorry?”
“She said to bring you by and she’d see what you needed. She’s got a break in her schedule after her client.” Her full lips were pulled in a smile and her maple-brown skin glowed. Probably more from joy than the baby, but it could’ve been both.
I tried not to get too excited but I was. Having my hair done was one of the few luxuries I allowed myself. “You’re serious?”
