“We’re having a little girl,” Sel exclaims, her cheeks bright with excitement as she retrieves the ultrasound photo from her purse. My sisters-in-law crowd around, oohing and aahing over it.
“How precious.” Mom leans into Dad, snuggling into his side, and her delight is obvious to see.
“Congrats, son.” Dad squeezes my shoulder. “I’m made up for you.”
I grin, loving how his Irishness creeps into the conversation every now and then. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re going to have your hands full with a demanding baby and a moody teen,” Kalvin says, grabbing me into a man hug. “But there is no better man for the job. You’re going to make wonderful parents. I’m so happy for you, little brother.”
“Thanks, man.”
“You might be able to coax Hewson into babysitting if you throw him some clothes.”
My fashion brand recently added a young adult line to our collection, and my nephew has been dropping hints the past couple of times I met him.
“I’ll babysit anytime,” Hewson instantly offers from his seat at the table. I thought he had disappeared with Matthew to play video games, but he must have come back without me noticing.
“Clothes in exchange for babysitting. We can do that,” I reply. “I was actually planning to ask if you had any interest in modeling for me?”
Hewson almost chokes on his soda. His wide blue eyes pin mine in place. “Is this a joke?”
I chuckle at the horrified look on his face. “It’s a serious offer.”
“I think you’d make a great model,” Faye says, failing to hide her grin.
“Thanks, but no thanks. Babysitting I can do. I draw the line at modeling.”
“Pity,” Sel says. “You have amazing cheekbones, and with your height and build, I bet you’d be a natural.”
“I’ll stick to the football field,” Hewson replies, and I can tell he wants to end this conversation pronto.
“I wouldn’t be so hasty to turn your uncle down,” Kalvin says, dragging a hand through his dark hair. “Chicks dig models. You’d have girls crawling all over you.”
“Stinky!” Lana yells, throwing cautionary eyes at her husband. “Do not encourage that!”
Hewson smirks, leaning back in his chair. “I have girls crawling all over me now, and that’s before I’ve taken my clothes off.”
“Oh my God.” Lana buries her head in her hands.
Mom says, “I think that’s quite enough of this conversation.” She eyeballs Hewson. “I hope you always use a condom.”
A chorus of “Mom!” rings out, followed by loud groans.
“I think she’s even more embarrassing than when we were kids,” Kal says.
“That’s not even remotely possible,” Kyler says. “If there’s one thing Mom is, it’s consistently embarrassing.”
3
LANA
“Why do I have to sit on a booster seat?” Heather grumbles as I strap her in the back of Kal’s Lincoln Navigator. “Boosters are for babies!”
“You are five, little terror, and I hate to break it to you,” Kal says, glancing over his shoulder into the back seat, “but you will be sitting on that booster for many years to come.”
“Boosters aren’t for babies,” Hewson adds, powering up Heather’s iPad. “Babies sit in baby seats, and you need to sit on a booster to keep you safe while Dad or Mom is driving.” He pulls upBeauty and the Beast, the cartoon version, which is my youngest daughter’s current obsession, and hands the iPad to her. We only have a fifteen-minute drive to our house, but Heather can’t sit still for fifteen seconds without some distraction. It’s way past her bedtime, but we know from experience she won’t sleep on the ride home. She’s a live wire who seems to exist on minimal sleep, which is why Kal and I constantly have dark shadows under our eyes. Still, I wouldn’t swap her for the world. She’s so energetic and vibrant, and she brings enormous enjoyment to our lives.
We had initially planned on staying the night with my in-laws and the extended family, but my husband knows me well. After we learned Selena and Keanu’s amazing happy news, he knew I would want to return home.
