It’s only when I get up to head inside that I notice Wes sitting on his front porch steps, staring at the empty street.
The day drags. My phone is glued to my hand, and I’ve almost worn a path across my grandmother’s kitchen floor.
She’s watching me from her spot at the counter but doesn’t say anything. Both of us were supposed to go into work for a few hours, but neither of us could stand the thought of being there while we’re waiting on news about Margot. Instead, Nonna continues measuring ingredients and whatever else it takes to prepare tomorrow’s massive meal, and I continue pacing.
This new radio silence is killing me. I’ve already talked to Mom a few times, but all I’ve gotten is that there’s “nothing new.”
“Didn’t you have a lunch date today with Olivia’s friend?” Nonna asks.
“I did. But I canceled. I can’t go to lunch today.”
Nonna lets out a humming sound but doesn’t look at me. “I need you to run to the store for a few things,” she says finally.
I spin around. I can’t go to the store. I need to stay here and wait for Mom’s call. “What do you need?”
“For you to get your mind off things.”
I roll my eyes and start pacing the room again. “I’m not leaving right now.”
My phone rings an hour later and it scares me so bad, I drop it. It takes forever to find it underneath a side table.
Mom’s name flashes across the screen.
“Hello?” I say, almost out of breath. It feels like my heart is beating out of my chest.
“Soph,” she says. “They’ve rushed Margot in for an emergency C-section. They should have the baby out in just a few minutes.”
Mom’s voice sounds gravelly. Nonna has stopped moving.
“Is she okay? Will the baby be okay?” I can barely squeak out the words.
“They told us it’s safer for Margot to deliver than to try to stop it from happening. There’s a neonatal doctor and nurse waiting to whisk the baby to their unit, and plenty of doctors and nurses caring for Margot, so there’s no reason to think that everything won’t be just fine.”
Except the fact that the baby is coming early and, until this morning, the goal was for Margot to get further along before delivering. I mean, is the baby ready?
Even though I’m scared as hell, a sudden thrill runs through me. I can’t believe Margot is about to be a mom. And I’m going to be an aunt!
“Will you call me as soon as you know something?”
“Of course. I’ll call you soon,” Mom says.
“Okay. Tell Margot I love her and can’t wait to see the baby!”
“Oh, sweetie, I will.”
And then the line goes dead.
I catch Nonna up. “Is it possible to be terrified and excited at the same time?”
She comes up behind me and pulls my hair back, twisting it around her hand, just like she used to do when I was little. Her voice is soft when she answers. “It’s how I’ve felt every time one of my children or grandchildren was born…and now a great-grandchild! It’s amazing what doctors can do nowadays. Six weeks is early but not unheard of.”
“I know,” I mumble. “But we haven’t even had her baby shower yet. She wanted to get past Christmas first.”
“Well, then, once we know if it’s a boy or girl, we’ll just have to go shopping.”
I swore I’d never step foot in a store on Christmas Eve, but for this, I’m willing to change my mind.
Nonna is back at the stove and I continue to stare at my phone.
