“Let’s eat, then.” Mom claps her hands and we all disperse to our seats in the dining room.
“Do you know if you’re giving us a niece or nephew yet?” Tinsley asks as we pass around the plate of ribs that smell divine. Sweet but savory scents swirl around us.
“We will find out in a few weeks.” Darcy imparts, beaming at my sister, and moves quickly to scoop potato salad onto hers and my plates.
“Thank you,” I say, passing the bowl over to my dad.
“Seems late? I went at sixteen weeks with the girls and Tate.” My mom asks.
“Tate is out of town for work that week, so we scheduled it during the nineteenth week,” Darcy replies.
“Will you do a gender reveal?” Asks Mom. Surprisingly, we haven’t talked about it, so I turn to Darcy, curious to see what she thinks.
“Um, we haven’t decided yet, but I know my friends will make a huge deal out of planning a baby shower. Maybe for a gender reveal,” offers Darcy, gesturing at her and me, “we can do something just for us. What do you think, Tate?”
“I think that sounds great.” Before my sisters have a chance to complain, I add, ”Don’t worry we will still make sure everyone finds out in a video or something.”
“Oh good, no way do I want to miss your reaction,” Tessa says in my direction, ”I think you’re going to cry.”
I roll my eyes, “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t.”
“Son, I said the same thing, and I cried like a baby when we found out we were having a boy. Then, I cried even harder when we found out we were having two girls… at the same time.” My dad jokes and we all laugh together.
“Who wants pie?” Mom asks, already headed into the kitchen.
“Rose dear, let’s wait a little while on the pie. Maybe play a round of Scrabble while our stomachs settle.” Dad hollers in the direction of the kitchen.
“I’m stuffed,” I groan, leaning back into my chair.
“Me too, but the blob will want some pie in like an hour or two,” Darcy adds.
“Me three.” My sisters say in unison. I swear they share the same brain or can read each other's minds or something. This happens all the time.
“Fine. Let me beat your butts in Scrabble then,” declares Mom.
* * *
“Coagulated.Fourteen points, triple word score. Forty-two points. Read it and weep, bitches!” Darcy yells, immediately covering her mouth, flush with embarrassment. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.”
“And here I thoughtIwas competitive,” I laugh, slightly aroused by her now-untethered competitive spirit.
“Looks like that's a game.” Mom looks frustrated about losing to Darcy by the slimmest of margins. “I’m going to go heat the pie.” My dad follows closely behind her, likely to ensure she doesn’t carry over her frustration into the next game.
“Is she mad?” Darcy asks, furtively looking towards my sisters and me.
“Definitely. Mom is a bit competitive.” Tess says.
“That’s why Tatum was so good at hockey when he played. He got dad's build and mom's combined competitive spirit.” Tinsley adds and my jaw immediately tightens at the revelation I used to play. I can’t be mad at my sisters, they don’t know Darcy is unaware of that part of my past.
“Wait… you played?” Darcy’s eyes are the size of dinner plates.
“Yes, but we can talk about it on the way home. I don’t want to talk about it right now,” I stress, a little too defensively, Darcy’s eyes immediately welling with tears. I didn’t intend to be so harsh, and I regret my tone as soon as the words have left my mouth.
“Excuse me.” Darcy stands, swiftly exiting the room before I can even apologize.
“Cover for us,” I plead quietly, pointing at the twins. I turn, following in Darcy’s footsteps before they can even respond. I find the bathroom door is slightly ajar and the lights are on. Not even bothering to knock, I push into the cramped space to find Darcy sitting on the side of the tub wiping tears away from her eyes.
“Mama.” She doesn’t look at me so I squat down in front of her, cupping her chin with my hand and forcing her to look at me. “Mama,” I repeat, this time the focus of her attention, “I’m sorry for being rude back there. I want to tell you. My personal history with the game is a touchy subject and I don’t want to rehash it in my family’s living room. ”
