“No clue, but let’s not do it again.”
We get everything inside, taking turns so someone is always outside with Dorothea, then come back out with a beer to let Dorothea play until the sun goes down. We sit on the lounge chairs on the newly built porch. We have wide steps that allow us to see right out into the front yard, and it wraps around the entire house. The back is even bigger, allowing us to put more furniture. I wanted a grill and table up there, but Tommy made a good point about the propane tank being dangerously close to the house. Especially since it’s so high up, and not so easy to transport it further away. But because of that, we tiled a section of the yard in the back for the grill and an outside dining set. And Anastacia doesn’t know it yet, but she’ll be getting a hot tub real soon. Once she can use it. Getting it for her now, when she can’t go in it, will only make her cry.
“Soon enough, there will be three of them running around,” I say, gesturing to Dorothea who is pulling grass out of the ground and tossing it away.
“Can’t wait.”
I huff a laugh, then take a swig of my beer.
“I’m glad you moved here,” I tell my brother.
“Me too. Seems like it was just what we needed.”
We’re quiet for a while, just sipping our beers and staring out at nothing, but also keeping an eye on Dorothea. We enjoy the peace together, because soon enough, we won’t have any. Soon enough, we will have two screaming babies in this house, along with a one year old. Lord, help us.
“Is everything all set for tomorrow?” he asks.
“Yep,” I say with a grin. “And they have no idea.”
Tomorrow, we will realize we “accidentally” forgot some ingredients we need, but really we’ll be setting up for their surprise baby shower. We’re having a barbecue, but that was a cover up for their shower. They’ve been inseparable since Anastacia came back to me, bonding because they’re bothpregnant. Tommy and I both love it and hate it, but we thought what better way to celebrate than to throw them a joint baby shower? Neither one of them got the chance to have one before, which is really fucking sad. I should have thought about that sooner, when Anastacia was still pregnant with Dorothea, but I didn’t know anything then. I’ve learned a lot over this year.
“Good. Everything will work out then,” Tommy says, holding his glass bottle out.
I clink mine with his and say, “It always does.”
“What do you mean you forgot to put pans on the list?” she cries, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I don’t want to go back to the store, Grizz. You go.”
“I can’t go, Angel. I’m helping Tommy with the food.”
“The food can wait!” She throws her arms up, letting them fall to her sides.
“Angel, please. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important. Besides, you love driving that car, right? You have to break it in a little more.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re trying to get rid of me. “
“Why in the world would I do that? I’m just trying to get everything ready for today.”
She cries more as she walks away, grumbling to herself.
“Does that means she’s going?” Tommy whispers.
“I have no clue,” I mutter, running a hand over my face.
Dorothea is sitting in her high chair, playing with a wooden spoon and eating dry cereal. She’s babbling to herself, whacking the tray with her spoon and then laughing.
“Guess I better go talk to Kelsey.” Tommy wipes his hands on the dish towel and tosses it onto the counter. Maybe this wasn’t such a good plan after all.
“You better work your magic. We need them both gone.”
“Yeah, no shit,” he mutters. “Fu—” He groans. “I meancrap.”
I laugh to myself. Not swearing has not been easy around here, but we’re trying our best. Thankfully Dorothea hasn’t repeated anything bad yet…yet.
I keep chopping up all the vegetables, and it takes about ten minutes for Tommy to come back down. Thankfully, Kelsey is behind him, cheery about going out.
“Thank god,” I mutter to myself.
He hands her the paper list I tried giving to Anastacia, and after kissing Tommy, she heads off to find her.
