I grimace. “My parents can stay out of the deal.”
“I’m fairly confident they got the memo. How did your sisters take what happened at the gala, by the way?”
“Miriam got to them first and gave some biased account of what happened, so they were quite upset with Andrea’s behavior. But then I explained what actually happened, and they’re pissed at our father now. They thought he’d stopped calling me names like that, that he’d realized my diagnosis isn’t as debilitating as he believed.”
“I’m really sorry that you still have to put up with his bullshit all these years later. Shelly is always available if you want to talk. You know that, right? She knows you don’t have a therapist at the moment, and she’s more than willing to have casual sessions with you until you find one.”
“That’s very kind of her, thank you. But I’m doing good, Kev. Really good. I have the best girlfriend in the world, my company is doing great, I work with my best friend, my goddaughter-to-be is adorable…”
“We’re doing the Christening on the last weekend of February, by the way. Our parents are harassing us to have it sooner, but Shelly still isn’t feeling up to it,” Kev explains.
“How’s she doing?”
“Better with every toothless grin of our little Maddy. She started smiling, you know.”
“Yes, I got your seventeen pictures over the holidays.”
“Sorry for loving my daughter so much.”
“Did I complain?” I retort with a quirked eyebrow.
“Anyway, I’m putting another baby in my wife as soon as she’s willing. I know you don’t want your own, but I’ll make up for it—if Shelly is, too, of course.”
Although this isn’t a can of worms I expected to open this morning, I’m in such a joyful mood that I don’t hold back the need to share this recent development with him. “Actually, that has changed.”
The utter shock on his face is comical. “Wait, what?”
“Out of some cosmic luck, Andrea wants children with me. And while I’ve never even considered it before, I’m more than eager to make that happen.”
“You want … children?”
“We agreed on at least two.”
His mouth, which is open with shock, turns into a broad and delighted smile. “I can’t believe you’re going to make me an uncle, after all! Fuck, Lex, that’s big news!”
“Calm down, Kevin. Millions of people have children every year. It isn’t that big a deal.”
“It is for you. Does it mean you’ll have to—”
“Yes, I already booked an appointment. Now, all that won’t happen for another few years, so calm down, He-Man.”
“Don’t wait too long. Maddy needs cousins close to her age.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “I knew I shouldn’t have told you. And now Shelly will also know, and she’ll be on my ass about it, too.”
“I will tell her, but I promise we’ll try to stay chill about it.”
“Good. Now, off to work. We both have to catch up from the lengthy break.”
“Right, yes.” He gets up from the sofa and walks to the door. Gripping the handle, he turns around with teary eyes, visible joy plastered on his features. “I’m really happy for you, Lexi. I used to worry about you, and now… I can’t express how good it is to know you’ll be okay and have a good and happy life.”
I don’t hold back from rolling my eyes, even though his words affect me deeply. I was too close to my situation, blinded by tunnel vision, to realize where I was heading. But from an outsider’s perspective, especially one who knows me so well, I can see how my life wasn’t on the healthiest path.
After one last smile and a nod, Kev leaves my office, closing the door behind him. As much as I’d like to linger in the meaningful moment I just shared with my best friend, I have too many things to do. So, I’m quick to return behind my desk. My phone dings with a notification right as I’m sitting, and when I check, I see it’s one of my recently installed apps.
Maria Carmen has played her words, so now it’s my turn. It takes only a moment to find what’ll earn me the most points, so I take it down a few notches and play a different one. I can get competitive, but this isn’t one of those times. I’d rather she doesn’t get sick of me and keeps playing than win some silly game.
I put my phone down and think to myself that it’s a great thing I didn’t tell Kevin about the ring. Although I plan on proposing to Andrea, it won’t happen immediately. So, her abuela’s engagement ring will stay in my sock drawer for a little longer—until we’re ready for the next stage of our life together. Plus, I’ll change the main stone so Maria Carmen can keep the diamond her husband bought for her over fifty years ago. I need to find a jeweler who can make an elegant pendant for it.
