Bella paused, then sighed. “Of course I do. But we did everything backwards. Usually you meet someone, fall in love, move in together, get married, andthenget pregnant, like you’re doing. But we met, got pregnant, moved in together, andthenfell inlove. And all of this happened so quickly! So, if Luke isn’t ready for us to be married yet, I don’t mind.”
“Right.” Callie nodded. “Sure.”
“It’s true!” Bella protested. “Honestly, having Luke deliver our baby and handle most of the nighttime feedings, and go together on trips to Seaside and Mount Hood is just as meaningful.”
A small voice in the back of Bella’s head added that it would be nice to be married, too, but she didn’t say that. She really was happy to wait.
“Bella, dear!” the familiar voice of Luke’s mother called from across the room.
“Sorry, just a minute.” Bella excused herself from her friends and went to join Luke’s parents. Luke was with them, holding James, who was now dressed in his duckie onesie since the truck one was covered in frosting.
“Look at him,” Luke was saying. “He’s already showing milestones well beyond his age. I swear, yesterday I was holding him and reading from a medical journal, and he said the word ‘coagulate.’”
“A-ga,” James put in, and everyone laughed. Bella came to stand by Luke, holding out her arms for James and smiling at Luke’s parents.
“We were just telling Luke how lucky he is to have such a sweet baby and such a wonderful girlfriend,” Luke’s mother said.
“And I said that I know,” Luke added. “I couldn’t be luckier. It’s been kind of an amazing year, hasn’t it?”
“The highlight was the baby Ewok photoshoot,” Bella said, making Luke’s parents grin.
“The highlight was you,” Luke said.
“I agree,” Luke’s dad said. “We’re so happy to have met you, Bella. And you’re so wonderful to our son.”
“He’s wonderful to me,” Bella said. Luke put his arm around her and gave her a hug.
“Ma ba,” James said, reaching up to grab some of Bella’s hair to try to put it in his mouth. Everyone laughed.
“Oh, and the food is just amazing,” Luke’s mother continued. “I’ve eaten so many of those crab puffs, I’m worried they’ll start coming out of my ears!”
“I can give you the recipe,” Bella said. “They’re quite easy.”
“I think you should just come over to Pittsburgh and make them for us,” Luke’s father said with a wink.
“We will,” Bella agreed.
“Soon,” Luke added. “But for now, I need to steal Bella for just a moment. Would you mind holding James?”
“Mind?” Luke’s mother beamed. “It’s the only thing I want. Come here, my little Ewok.”
She held out her arms, and Bella handed the baby over, then took Luke’s hand. They walked along the edge of the space, which was filled with their friends — Luke’s colleagues, now friends, from work; Bella’s employees, now friends, from the Cherry on Top; and the babies and parents they’d met in James’s baby class. Everyone was eating the food Bella had prepared, talking, and laughing. The babies were playing in a cozy cornerthat Bella had set up for James, and as they watched, Luke’s mother carried James over to join them.
“Your parents are wonderful,” Bella said as they paused so Luke could hand her a drink. “I never imagined having parents like them in my life.”
“They are pretty great,” Luke agreed. “And they’re incredibly grateful to you. They don’t know the whole story, but they know how closed off I got after Jenna died. I barely saw them and only talked to them rarely after moving to Portland — until you came along and showed me that I could open my heart again.”
Bella blushed. “It was nothing.”
“It was everything, Bella.” Luke stopped at the front of the room, by the window that looked out onto the leafy trees on the street outside. “You’reeverything.”
“Luke,” Bella protested, blushing again.
“No, I’m serious. Since I met you, nothing has been the same. I’m able to talk to my parents again without worrying about losing them all the time. I’ve been able to make friends at work and with other parents. I’m not a closed-off, grumpy surgeon anymore.”
“You’re still grumpy before you have your coffee,” Bella pointed out.
“Hush,” Luke said teasingly, holding up a hand. “I’m trying to say something here.”
