“Yay!” she cried, throwing her hands in the air. “Happy birthday!”
We all laughed.
“It’s not a birthday party, sweetie,” Jericho said with a grin. “It’s a… What should we call it? Baby-announcing-party?”
Casey gasped. “Uncle Jericho, you’re having a baby, too?”
“Yup.” He grinned and put an arm around my shoulder affectionately. “Well, I guess we’re having two, aren’t we?”
“You got yourselves a whole litter!” Beth said.
“Wait!” Shadow gasped, looking back and forth between Jericho and I. “You two are together now?”
I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. “I guess so. It turns out you were right after all.”
We eventually ordered our lattes, cappuccinos, hot chocolates, and small sweet pastries. I liked that Jericho picked a cafe instead of a restaurant or something - it felt more cozy and casual. The tense atmosphere from earlier had vanished, and I found myself having a great time.
At the end of the night, I was totally wiped. Even after a couple lattes, I had to lean on Jericho to get up from the table. We all thanked the servers and said our good-byes before heading off to our homes.
I don’t know what compelled me in that moment, but I stared up at the sky. Maybe it was the moon and stars calling. And there, on the highest branch of the tree, was a pitch-black raven, barely visible against the night sky. I squinted and wondered what such a bird was doing here, in the middle of the town, since usually ravens stayed closer to the out-of-town wilderness.
Suddenly, the raven spread its wings and took off into the air. It flew until it disappeared from sight. I had a strange feeling in my gut as I watched the bird disappear.
“What’cha looking at, my dear?” Jericho asked.
“Huh?” I said. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just the sky.”
“Beautiful, huh?” he murmured, looking down at me. “Just like you.”
“Oh, shut up,” I muttered, my face turning red.
He chuckled. “Come on, gorgeous. Let’s get you home.”
