“I’m good. No nausea,” I mumbled back to him, my cheeks flushing as I noticed everyone staring at us.
“Go sit down. I’ll bring you a cup of tea.” As Bash ushered me toward the dining room, I stopped short.
“No, why don’t you get everyone settled? I have to change Birdie anyway.” He frowned, but before he could protest, I ducked under his arm and headed for the living room.
“Dinner’s ready! Everyone grab a seat, we’ll be back down in a minute,” I said, picking my girl up, who eagerly snuggled into my chest.
Stopping in the nursery, I quickly changed Birdie into her new T-shirt. It was black, and in shiny pink letters, it said BIG SISTER. Once she was all set, we went into the master bedroom. Birdie lunged for the bed. She loved to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy. Sunday mornings were usually spent in bed, watching morning cartoons between tickle fights and quiet cuddle time. As she bounced around in the center of our bed, I grabbed the gift I had hidden for Bash.
Heading back into the bedroom, I crawled onto the bed until I was close enough to grab my girl for a good snuggle. She giggled and squirmed in my arms.
“Mommy! Cartoon time?” she asked, giving me the best puppy dog eyes.
“It’s dinnertime, pumpkin. Remember, we’ve got big news to tell everyone?” I reminded her. It was a risk, telling Birdie about the baby. Thankfully, she didn’t fully understand it yet, we had only told her that morning, and it was a miracle she hadn’t said anything so far. I slid off the bed and stood next to it, arms out.
“Surprise time! I get to yell it right? And show everyone my sparkwy shirt?” she asked, jumping to her feet on the bed and pulling her shirt down to make sure I could see it.
“Just like that! You ready?” I asked, and she nodded before launching herself off the bed into my arms. My girl was getting big—almost too big to carry. Putting her on the ground, we walked down the stairs hand in hand before making our way to the dining room.
As we stood outside the door, I stopped, taking in the scene in front of me. The tabletop was covered with dishes, people were already halfway through plates or asking for seconds. Every seat was filled, and the table was at full capacity. Sounds of easy conversation and laughter floated over me, and I couldn’t help the smile that crossed over my face.
I loved those people, and I loved the life I had—one that continued to get fuller with every day.
“Mommy?” Birdie pulled on my hand, and I snapped out of the reverie I was in. I cleared my throat, and everyone at the table turned to look. Bash stood up and joined us, lifting Birdie into his arms as he wrapped his other arm around my back.
“I think Birdie has something she wants to share with all of you,” Bash said, his eyes were sparkling as he gripped my hip, pulling me tighter into his side.
Realizing it was her moment, Birdie leaned perilously forward in Bash’s arms as she threw both her arms up in the air.
“We’re having a baby! Look! I’m gonna be a sister. A BIG sister!” she screeched, then leaned back into Bash’s arms to look at us for approval. Nodding, we each gave her a kiss, then looked up at our friends and family.
Squeals and offers of congratulations rang out as everyone stood up to give us hugs. Birdie took her time showing each of them her shirt, and when we finally sat down at the table, it was almost difficult to wipe the smile off my face long enough to actually eat. We managed to get a few minutes into the meal before the questions started hitting us from every direction.
“How far…”
“Do you know the..”
“When are you due?”
“ZIP IT,” Guard yelled, cutting everyone off before the barrage of questions could start.
“They’ll tell us everything in due time. Give them a minute. No one has any patience anymore in this world. Let the pregnant lady eat,” Guard grouched, and I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Fiona is a little over fourteen weeks. So far, everything looks good. We don’t know the sex,” Bash replied, and I coughed. Suddenly everyone was looking at me. Bash was an amazing girl dad, and he doted on Birdie hand and foot.
As I slid the wrapped parcel over to Bash, I had a moment’s hesitation.Is this a good idea?I know he said he wanted to be surprised, but my gut told me that this was the right thing to do.
Marriage and babies were never in my plans. They never seemed like a feasible option for the life I thought was mapped out for me. I knew that those were limitations I put on myself, and the sooner I let them go, the further I would get, the more I would grow.
Now that I was married, and with Birdie in our lives, I couldn’t imagine a different life than the one I have. When we talked about having another child, I didn’t have a particular sex in mind. As long as the baby was happy and healthy, I was good. Once I found out we were having a boy, though, I felt an urgency to share.
Images of Bash with a son who looked like him, mirroring his every move, growing up surrounded by all those strong men and women. One girl and one boy. It sounded perfect to me. My attention returned to Bash, who was opening the small gift. I had made it online, not wanting to ask Match and reveal anything.
Once the wrapping paper was gone Bash pulled out a baby onesie, holding it in front of him so he could see the image. It had a biker vest printed onto it with the prospect patch on the front. He looked at me smiling, a bit of confusion on his face. Clearing my throat, I looked around at everyone before focusing on my husband.
“So our son can look just like his daddy,” I replied, and Guard slapped the table in excitement as Match cheered. My eyes never left Bash’s, though, trying to read his mind just from his expression.
“We’re having a boy?” he asked me, his hand sinking around the back of my neck to pull me close enough that he could press his forehead against mine.
