“And the sunflowers?” I ask
“Just wanted to see that smile,” he says.
Butterflies erupt in my belly, reminding me that I have a surprise of my own I have yet to unveil. I reach into my pocket and pull out the pregnancy test I took this morning. I blamed our lateness on Jessie’s blowout, but the truth is, I was busy with my head in the toilet.
“I have something for you, too, Daddy.” I hold out the stick so he can see the word pregnant written on the screen.
“I knew you had a—oh my god, is that—you’re?—”
“Are you gonna finish one of those sentences?”
He shakes his head and lets out a boisterous laugh before he wraps me up in his arms, spinning us in a circle. I swat at his back, nausea churning in my gut. “Oh my god, put me down. You’re gonna make me puke.”
“Have I told you how much I love you?”
“Only every day.”
“Make that twice a day. I love you, Angel.”
“I love you, too.”
Epilogue
? Everywhere, Everything - Noah Kahan
Emmy
Ten Years Later
“Gracie,did you steal my bracelet again?” I call down the hallway to my middle sister.
“Nope.” She pops out of her bedroom and holds out her empty wrists. “See?”
I head back into the kitchen in search of my youngest sister next. “Elsie! You better not have stolen my bracelet, you little sh—tinker.”
“For a kid who ran around this house with a swear jar for the better part of five years and bought her first car with the funds, I find this very amusing.”
I hold up my middle finger at my Uncle Jax as he brings a cup of coffee to his lips. “Have you seen Elsie?”
His eyes dart to the screen door leading to our backpatio.
I pop onto my toes and hug him. “You’re my favorite.”
He pats my back twice. “Still my best girl, Emmy.”
“I heard that Uncle Jaxy!” Gracie says, trailing into the kitchen with her eyes locked on her Nintendo Switch, her dark curly hair cascading around her face.
She’s the polar opposite of my younger sister. Ten-year-old Elsie is all sunshine and rainbows, while twelve-year-old Gracie is more like storm clouds and thunder.
He shrugs. “She came first. You know I can’t mess with the timeline, Gracie Mae.”
It’s a running joke in our family that every girl who came after me, including Uncle Jaxy’s own kids, couldn’t live up to mybest girlreputation. It’s not true in the slightest, of course, but it’s fun to mess with them.
“What are you doing here anyway?” Gracie asks. “Where’s Mom?”
“She’s finishing the cake, and your dad is on the grill. They sent me to get you guys.”
“Why can’t Emmy drive us?” Gracie asks.
