Was that too abrupt? Absolutely. Shouldn’t he be better at this stuff by now? He needed parenting classes, and he needed them yesterday.
Shane stared up at him, mouth agape. And then he shook his head. “Nah…”
“Honestly, Shane. It’s true. You’re having a sister.”
“Today?” Shane looked so earnest.
Josh forgot to be nervous as he quelled a grin. “No. It will be a while yet before your sister is born.”
“How long is a while?”
“Your sister will be born in early October. That’s about four and a half months from now.”
Shane narrowed his eyes, thinking. “October comes after September. And September is when I start kindergarten.”
“Right.”
“Dad. I’ll be in kindergarten when my sister is born.”
“Right again.”
Shane seemed to be trying out the idea out in his head. “So, Dad, if she won’t be born until October, is she in Mommy’s tummy now?”
Should he have seen that coming? Probably. He scrambled to clarify. “Uh, no. She is not in your mommy’s tummy. But just as you were before you were born, your sister is still very small, too small to be out in the world. So for a while, she is safe and growing bigger.”
“Where?”
Could he be any worse at this? “Ahem. Well, in the same way that you grew in your mom’s tummy when you were tiny, your sister is growing in Riley’s tummy.”Tummystill didn’t sound right. Should he have saidwomb? Somehow,wombseemed a bit advanced for a five-year-old to process.
And Shane was looking more than a little confused. “Dad. I don’t remember being in Mommy’s tummy. I really don’t.”
“That’s okay. Nobody remembers that.”
“Oh—and you said Riley hasmysister inhertummy…” Shane wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. “Nah…”
Josh had a sudden urge to punch his own face. He was making a complete hash of this. But that was fatherhood. You messed stuff up, and then you soldiered on. “That’s right. Riley is your sister’s mommy, and I am your sister’s dad.”
For a moment, Shane seemed completely flummoxed, but then his eyes went wide again. “Are you and Riley gettingmarried?”
Josh had wondered if that question would come up—and yet somehow he remained unprepared for it. “No. Riley and I are not…getting married, but we will be taking good care of your sister together. Just like your mom and I take care of you…” He hoped he looked calm and happy and confident.
Because he sure as hell didn’t feel that way. It hurt that Riley wouldn’t marry him.
In the Bravo family, they might get it wrong the first time around. But his parents, his brother, his aunts and uncles and cousins… They’d all found the real thing eventually. Would he end up the only single parent in the bunch?
Roger still had his head in Shane’s lap. Shane rubbed the dog’s floppy ear as he slanted Josh a narrow-eyed glance. “Does Dillon know that his mom is having my sister?”
At least he was ready for that one. “If Dillon doesn’t know about the new baby right now, he will very soon. Riley is telling him today, same as I’m telling you. The baby will be Dillon’s sister, too.”
Shane frowned. “Me and Dillon will have the same sister?”
“That’s right.” Josh waited for Shane to ask if that might make Dillon his brother—but apparently, the possible connection was too big a leap for a five-year-old.
Shane’s next question was, “Is the baby going to live with us?”
“At first, she will mostly live at Riley and Dillon’s house. But when she gets bigger, she will be living here with us half the time. Just like you live with your mom part of the time, and then you come and live with me, too.”
Shane was silent. He stared off toward the kitchenarea—thinking or daydreaming, Josh had no idea which. Maybe for a five-year-old, they were both the same thing. Finally, Shane asked, “What will my sister’s name be?”
