“The couch is fine,” she said.
19
Avery
Kellan carried me to the couch and helped me get settled. “I’m going to head out before your Mom gets back with the kids. Do you need anything else before I go?”
“Would you grab my laptop for me? I need to get some work done while I can.” Between being in the hospital and being sick at home, I’d fallen behind on my work. Thankfully, most of my clients had been with me for a while and were very understanding.
Kellan returned with my laptop and charger and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll call and check on you later, but you call me if you need anything. I don’t care what it is or what time it is.”
“Thank you, Kellan. I really appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”
He gently brushed his fingers against my cheek. “I care about you. I’d do anything for you,” he said and softly kissed my lips.
I spent the next hour working on finalizing two book cover designs and answering multiple queries from my social media pages. When my children came through the front door, I was ready for a break.
“Mommy!” Riley yelled. “Jenna lives on our street! Can I go over to her house and play? Pleeeease!”
“Hold on just a minute. Who is Jenna?”
My sassy little girl huffed and planted a hand on her hip. “My best friend,” she said as if she’d already told me this new bit of information.
“Well, I’m happy you have a best friend that lives so close, but I will need to meet Jenna’s parents before you can go over to her house.”
Riley stuck out her bottom lip and stomped her foot. “I’ll never get to play with her. You’re too sick to do anything!”
She started to run to her room, but stopped when I yelled, “Freeze!” I took a deep breath and lowered my voice. “Riley, you do not talk to me like that. Go sit down for five minutes and then we’ll talk about this.”
With a scrunched face, she crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her bottom lip, but she managed to quietly walk to the love seat and sit. I turned my attention to my son. “And how was your day, Braxton?”
My little man smiled broadly. “It was great, Mommy. I kissed Lucy on the lips and now we’re getting married.”
“You did what?”
“I kissed Lucy. We’re gonna get married and have a baby. Like you and Savie!”
I gasped in horror and slapped my hand over my face. “I’m not…we’re not…”
My mother reached out to take Braxton’s backpack from his shoulders. “You can tell Mommy the rest of your story in a little while. Go put on some play clothes and come to the kitchen for a snack.”
She jerked her head in Riley’s direction and gave me a pointed look. “Riley, go change into some play clothes, too. We’ll talk after you’ve had your snack,” I said.
Once both kids were upstairs, my mom said, “He doesn’t know anything. He’s just verbalizing his assumptions about you and Savior.”
“He asked me today when I was going to tell the kids about the baby.”
She sat down beside me and clasped her hands in her lap. “And what did you say?”
“I said I didn’t know yet. Mom, I have no idea how to tell them I’m pregnant,” I confessed.
Mom nodded knowingly. “Listen, Avery, you’re approaching it like they’re going to have adult reactions. They’re not going to automatically know you were diddling the hot guy and got knocked up.”
I groaned. “Mom! Please don’t say it like that.”
She laughed. “Excuse me. Would you have rather I said ‘fucking the hot guy’?”
“Anyway,” I said and rolled my eyes. “You’re right; I was anticipating adult reactions from them. And, judging by Riley’s outburst just now, I think she needs an explanation as to why I’ve been so sick.”
