“So…this might not be the best time, but there’s something I need to tell you,” she says, her voice unusually soft. “It’s big, but so exciting, and I feel like this moment needs it.”
I raise an eyebrow. My pulse quickens. “What is it?”
She hesitates for a moment, looking down at her hands, then up at me. “I’m pregnant.”
The words hit me like a tidal wave. For a second, I just stare at her, my brain not processing. “Wait…what?”
Millie laughs, her nerves giving way to excitement. “Yeah, I’m pregnant. Gabriel and I—well, we weren’t planning on getting pregnant so soon, but we are. We’re thrilled.”
Her eyes sparkle when she says it, and for a brief second, all the fear in my chest dissolves into something lighter. Something hopeful.
I blink, still trying to wrap my head around it. Millie, my little sister, who has always been so calm, collected, and in control, isgoing to be a mom. Of course, she had Aura. Even though Millie wasn’t her biological mom, she took the role of being a mother head-on.
“That’s amazing,” I say, a slow smile creeping onto my face. “Oh, my goodness! Mills! You’re gonna be a mom again!”
She smiles back, the excitement finally taking over. “Yeah, and it feels kind of unreal, honestly.”
Before I can say anything else, I feel a small tug at the sleeve of my sweater. I look down to find Cohen standing beside me, his face curious, brows furrowed like he’s trying to read our expressions.
“What’s happening? Why are you smiling like that, Mom?”
I crouch beside him and tuck a stray piece of his hair behind his ear. “Auntie Mills just told me some really happy news.”
His eyes light up instantly. “Is it a dog? Did Uncle Gabriel finally say yes to a dog?!”
Millie lets out a laugh. “Not a dog, bud. Something even better.”
Cohen gasps dramatically, hands flying to his face. “Are you getting a pool? Wait—are you adopting a unicorn?”
“Better,” I whisper. “She’s having a baby.”
Cohen’s mouth falls open. He turns to Millie as if she’s grown a crown. “You’re having areal-life baby?! Like…an actual one that cries and poops and stuff?”
Millie grins and nods. “An actual one.”
Cohen is quiet for a second, and then he does something that makes my chest ache. He throws his arms around Millie and hugs her tightly. “That baby issolucky to have you.”
My throat tightens. It reminds me just how much heart this little boy has. What reminds me of how loved he is—and how deeply he loves in return.
He pulls back and turns to me, his voice low, almost like a secret. “Do you think Auntie Mills is nervous?”
I brush my fingers through his hair again. “Probably. But I think she’s also really, really excited. Just like I was. I knew lovingyou would be the easiest thing I’d ever do, even when I was scared.”
Cohen leans into me, his little arms wrapping around my neck. “I love you, Mom. You’re the best human.”
“You’re my favorite human, too.”
I reach over to hug her, her joy contagious. It wasn’t like I wasn’t happy for her—I was—but I couldn’t help the rush of emotions that came with it. I couldn’t quite explain why, but something about it made everything feel…different. The weight of Cole’s return, the history between us, and now, Millie’s new chapter in life—it was all hitting me at once. Maybe it was that I wasn’t sure how I fit into this picture anymore. I was still stuck in my world, unsure of where I belonged in my family's new realities.
“I assume you told Gabriel,” I say, smiling.
She nods her head excitedly. “I was telling him when you called.”
“Well, let’s invite the family to the cafe to celebrate! There’s no better time than now!” I say, grinning while wiping a tear from my eye that sneaked out of nowhere.
Millie’s smile widened. “You’re right. Let’s go to the cafe. We’ll tell everyone there.”
A couple of hours later, I am sitting at a booth at Millie’s cafe—Beanstalk—trying to focus on something other than the fluttering in my chest. Millie had told everyone about the pregnancy when we got there. Gabriel looked overjoyed as he wrapped his wife in his arms, lifting her off the floor. It was one of those moments that felt almost too perfect to be real.
