“Yeah? Why’s that?” Gloria chugs from her glass of water. She faces me.
I shudder. “I love women’s health, and it’s super rewarding. The highs are the highest there is. But I need to make sure that’s what I really want to do, because when things go bad, they can go really bad. I saw it all. I witnessed broken tailbones, significant tearing. This particularly awful situation called uterine inversion where your uterus turns inside out. I saw a woman almost die that way. I swear, it’s put me off pregnancy.”
Gloria’s mouth hangs open. Her face has taken on a pale cast.
“God, I’m sorry,” I say. “I get carried away. I apologize for being so graphic.”
Gloria emits a little squeaking noise. “It’s not just that,” she says.
I pause. The whir of an electric fan punctuates the silence. I take in Gloria’s pained expression, then clap a hand over my mouth.
“Oh.” I touch Gloria’s shoulder. “Holy shit. Am I going to be an aunt?”
Moisture pools in Gloria’s eyes. “Well I wasn’t going to say anything just yet. But yeah. That’s happening.”
I stand, scraping my chair against the floor as I throw my arms around Gloria, then Blaine. Gwen watches the whole exchange with a smile on her face. “Congrats, Gloria. That is amazing news. And forget all the shit I just said.” I sit back down. “Those types of things are really rare. And you two will be amazing parents. I’m so sorry for scaring you.”
Gloria swipes at her eyes. I kick myself mentally. I tend to open my big mouth all the time, and I’ll never forgive myself if I terrified Gloria just because I have my own hangups involving pregnancy.
“I can’t believe I’m going to have a little niece or nephew.” I grasp Gloria’s hand, and my sister-in-law finally smiles at me. “That little baby is going to be the light of my life. I can already tell.” I take a bite of my garlic bread. “Have you told Mom yet?”
“Not yet. We were going to try and tell her in person,” Blaine says.
“She’s gonna be thrilled. Tickled, she would say.”
Gloria folds her hands over her stomach. “So far, only you know. And my doctor, of course. The nurse at the office did congratulate us and asked if we conceived ‘the natural way.’”
“Ew.” I drop my fork. “None of your business, lady.”
Gwen nudges me. “No? Sounds like something you would ask.”
“I’m not that uncouth.” I crunch on some ice from my drink. “Besides, I already knew Blaine’s equipment still worked. We talked about it a long time ago.”
“Good Christ Almighty.” Gloria buries her head in her hands. “I always forget what you two are like together.”
I cock my head at Blaine. “You going to tell Dad?”
“I don’t talk to that asshole,” Blaine says. “You know that.”
Next to me, Gwen’s shoulders inch toward her ears. I chew on my lip. Our father’s been in and out of our lives, and there isn’t any way to perfume that reality—he abandoned us several times, only coming around occasionally to offer some crumbs of hope. Our mother struggled to make ends meet. I’ve been talking to him some, though, and I’m somewhat optimistic about it, which probably sounds naive, but he seems to harbor genuine remorse over how he’s been absent.
I always wanted some acknowledgment from him, and now that he offers it, I have trouble turning him away. So far, he hasn’t disappointed me. We’ve talked some and had lunch a few times.
Blaine has no such sympathy for the man, and I don’t blame him.
“I know,” I say, and then drop it. I grasp his hand, glancing at Gloria as I do so. “I love you two. Start preparing a guest room, because I’m moving in when this child gets here.”
Blaine laughs. “We have a shed out back with your name on it.”
I swat at him, but I’m smiling.
Once we’ve finished eating, Gwen goes to freshen up, and Gloria moves into the living room to watch television after Blaine shoos her out, telling her he’ll do the dishes.
I follow him to the sink, helping him load their dishwasher. Blaine pulls forward.
I squawk. “You just rolled over my foot, asshole.”
“Ah. Oops.”
