“What was that?” he asks immediately.
Matty blinks.
Then she looks down at her chair.
“Oh no.”
“What?” Caison repeats.
She slowly lifts her gaze. “I think my water just broke.”
Silence. Complete. Total. Absolute silence.
Then chaos explodes.
“Oh my God,” Shelby yells. “Are you sure?”
“Unless I just peed myself, I’m pretty sure,” Matty replies.
Charli drops her cup and looks at Caison, who has turned white as a ghost. “What do we do?”
He just stares at her.
“Hello?” Charli says, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Earth to Caison.”
Grandma Evelyn is already standing.
“Well, don’t just stand there like a fence post,” she snaps. “Someone, get the hospital bag. It’s sitting on the bench in the mudroom.”
“I’ll get it!” Shelby shouts, sprinting toward the house.
“I’ll grab Case’s truck,” Waylon says.
Charli runs to the porch and snatches a roll of paper towels from the dessert table and hurries back.
“Why do I have paper towels?” she asks no one.
Guests start scattering like startled chickens.
Daddy appears. “What the hell is happening?”
“Baby,” Charli yells. “Baby is coming. And I have paper towels.”
“Oh!”
Matty suddenly bursts into tears. “I’m sorry!” she sobs.
I drop to my knees beside her chair. “What? Why are you sorry?”
“Your party!” she cries. “I ruined your party!”
My jaw drops. “Matty.”
“I’m always ruining things!” she wails.
“You are literally having a baby.”
“Your graduation!” she continues, crying harder. “I missed it, and now I ruined your homecoming!”
