“I say…fuck it.He can’t make my life any worse, can he?Operation Goodbye Earlis a-go! When do we get started?”
We hash out a few details, discussing supplies we’ll need and timelines for our recon and action. A loud snore followed by an even louder fart echos from the baby monitor on the nightstand, and Delilah covers her face to stifle her laughter.
“Oh god, the baby monitor is excessive, isn’t it?”
I scrunch up my nose and give a slight nod. I don’t think either of us needs to hear what Sadie gets up to in her sleep. Though the snore-fart combo heard through the baby monitor will make a great story for the toast I give at her wedding someday.
“Sadie is a big girl. She knows that you and I are both here if she needs us. Maybe we should think about putting the baby monitor away until Little Bean is here, huh? Hopefully, he or she will be less gassy than their big sister.” Delilah reaches behind her and fiddles with the monitor, turning it off in the middle of another of Sadie’s earth-shattering snores. Ipinch her chin between my thumb and forefinger, stroking the pad of my finger over her smooth skin.
“Sadie knows that you and I are both here,” she repeats with a contented sigh, and I watch as she seems to melt further into the mattress.
“Alright,” I whisper when Delilah’s eyes drift shut. “I’m going out to the couch. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Don’t,” Delilah murmurs, reaching out to wrap a hand around my wrist.
“Why not?” We never talked about it, but when the movers brought in the new mattress over the weekend, I quietly decided to sleep on the pull-out couch and let Delilah have the bed. It’s a room-y King, and we’ve shared a bed countless times over the years, but since she’s pregnant, I want her to have all the comfort and rest she can get.
“It’s stupid. Stay here. Don’t sleep in the living room.”
“Lilah,” I say softly, but she just shakes her head.
“I don’t want to be alone, Vee. Please stay with me?”
The tenderness in her voice nearly melts me from the inside, turning me to goo in the way only Delilah can. Something about this arrangement feels dangerous in a way I don’t have the words to describe, so very different from the countless timeswe’ve fallen asleep next to each other before. My head is screaming at me not to stay, not to get too close and start wanting things I know I can’t have, but in the end, my heart wins out. I’m powerless against my need to give this woman everything.
“Then I’ll stay,” I concede, the two of us fidgeting around until we’re both under the blanket. “But if you or Little Bean kick me in your sleep, I’m out of here.”
Delilah laughs and turns off the light. She’s asleep in minutes, but I’m awake for hours, memorizing the way her eyelashes flutter against her cheeks as she dreams.
8
GENERAL CRAPPINESS AND MEDIOCRITY
DELILAH
A few weeks pass between Ivy’s presentation of Operation Goodbye Earl and the day we can finally put it into action, but each day feels like a goddamn lifetime. School is out for summer, which means I’m officially the mother of a third grader. I’m in my second trimester and no longer puking five times a day, which is a plus, though I can’t button my jeans anymore, which is a big old minus.
But the sun is out after nineteen straight days of rain, and that means I can break out my summer dresses, which should theoretically fit for at least a few more months. My belly didn’t really pop out until the end of my first pregnancy, but I’m oldernow. I have a feeling this whole geriatric thing will not be easy on me.
Raising my arms overhead, I give in to a deep, full-body stretch before I force myself out of bed. I scrunch and release my toes, arch my back and breathe deep into my ribcage, feeling the flex of every muscle that is already accommodating the new life growing in my belly. Everything is a little bit tighter, a little bit sore, and a whole lot more aware.
My arms graze the sheets like I’m making a snow angel on the mattress. The spot next to me might be empty now, but it’s still warm from Ivy’s body curled up next to mine all night. It’s been years since Earl and I slept in the same room at the same time, and I’d forgotten how nice it felt to sleep next to another person. Well, another adult, at least. Sadie and I have been pro-nap buddies her whole life.
But there is a certain comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. Even if Grandma Millie’s bedroom is severely outdated and a little creepy, I’m sleeping better than I have in years. I’m glad that Ivy never tried to sleep on the couch again after that first night.
Out in the kitchen, Ivy and Sadie are sitting side by side at the kitchen table, two forgotten bowls of cereal pushed to the side to make room for the handheld video game devices.
“It’s not fair. The turnips are worth way more on your island today.”
“Sadie, your island can’t always be the better one. And you can sell your turnips to my store, remember? You’ll go back to Sadieville with so many bells to spend, you won’t know what to do with yourself.”
“I swear, it’s like you two are speaking a different language,” I say as I cross the kitchen. Thank god Ivy got the video game gene, because I can never keep up when Sadie tries to tell me about her cozy island and all the weird animals that live there.
I pour a splash of hazelnut creamer into a mug and then top it off with coffee from the pot. Ivy raises a brow in my direction. I give her an identical look back, the two of us having the same conversation we have every morning without words.
You’re not supposed to have caffeine when you’re pregnant, Delilah. Do you want Little Bean to come out with five legs and a tail?
Ican have one cup of coffee, Ivy. And if Little Bean comes out with five legs and a tail, well, that’s just more of them to love.
