“Sloane…” Her voice is an emotional whisper. “Your dad and I… we’re having a baby.”
Silence explodes in the room.
Louder than any fireworks.
I blink. Once. Twice.
My brain tries to process the words, but they feel like a foreign language.
A baby?
I look at my mom. She’s forty-two. She’s beautiful, vibrant—but she has a twenty-five-year-old daughter. I thought that chapter was long closed for them.
I look at my dad and see an expression I’ve never seen before.
He’s not just happy.
He’s moved.
Then I feel Cohen beside me. His hand squeezes mine even tighter, anchoring me. When I turn to him, he’s smiling—wide, sincere, admiring—at my parents.
“Wow,” he murmurs, shaking his head respectfully. “Congratulations, Coach. Truly. That’s incredible.”
His calm lets me breathe again. The panic evaporates, replaced by shock.
“Pregnant?” I croak. “Mom? But… I mean… did it just—”
She shakes her head, answering before I can finish.
“It wasn’t an accident, sweetheart. We wanted this. We chose it.”
She exchanges a look with my dad so intimate it almost makes me feel like I’m intruding.
“When you were born, we were kids,” my dad adds, taking her hand. “Seventeen. Scared. I tried to build a career to give you stability, but I was always away… we did our best, but we missed a lot.”
Mom looks at me, eyes glossy.
“Now that he’s leaving the club, now that we finally have time and stability… we wanted to live this experience together. Truly together. Without fear of the future. Without constant travel.”
“We didn’t tell you because…” she hesitates, biting her lip. “At our age, it’s not simple. We did tests, checkups. We waited untilwe were sure everything was okay before saying anything. We were afraid of hoping. But now… now it’s safe.”
I stand up. My legs tremble—but not from fear.
They planned this.
They chose to start again.
They chose love—again.
A little brother. Or sister.
Someone twenty-five years younger than me.
It’s absurd. It’s insane. It’s… beautiful.
I throw myself at them, hugging them both, burying my face in my mom’s neck that smells like pie and new beginnings.
“I’m so happy,” I sob, realizing it’s the absolute truth. “You’re crazy—but I’m so happy for you.”
