As we step into the house, Buckle and me laden down with bags, my heart races with excitement. The air is thick with anticipation, and I can barely contain my grin.
“Just act natural,” Buckle whispers close.
I nod, trying to suppress my giddy nerves.
The moment Buckle flips the light switch, the room bursts into brightness, revealing a sea of colorful decorations and our friends. “Surprise!”
Perry’s eyes widen, and his mouth drops open in disbelief. “What!?” His voice is a mix of shock and joy, and he stands frozen for a moment before he spins, taking in the room. He finds Elsbeth. “How did you beat us back without us seeing you?”
She just winks.
Our friends transformed our place into the sweetest haven. There are purple streamers, balloons, and a huge banner that reads “Time To Nest!”
I chuckle, because to me it’salwaystime to nest.
Elsbeth, Carol, Lisa, and Bette stand by the gift table, like aunties. Pax and Aaron offer cheerful smiles from a pair of chairs. Molly and Ryan sit on the couch together. Even Riley and his partner made it and give us a little wave.
“Oh, my gosh! You guys!” Perry squeals, wrapping Elsbeth in a tight embrace, then hitting everyone up with their own hug.
Buckle and I drop our bags off in the spare bedroom and when we get back to the living room, Perry rushes to the gift table, his fingers dancing over the decorations scattered about at the wrapped presents. There are a few things not wrapped, and he fingers a tiny onesie with adorable animal prints. His eyes sparkle. “This is adorable. I can’t thank everyone enough for doing this.”
“Just wait until you see what else we have planned,” I say, glancing at Buckle, who helps Aaron load the snack table with trays of treats.
“I’m touched.” Perry fans his face. Tears well in his eyes. “Thank you for this.”
I rush to his side and hug him. “You deserve a celebration. You’re carrying our babies.”
He nods and drops his head to my shoulder. He’s warm in my arms. We stand there until he’s ready to face our guests again. Maybe shopping and surprising him wasn’t a good idea. He’s probably tired and overwhelmed.
His stomach growls, and he places a hand on it as he laughs. “Maybe I’m a little bit hangry.”
I take his hand and guide him to the snacks where we have all his favorites. Everyone chats, but thankfully the room doesn’t get too loud. We get parenting advice from almost everyone. Isoak it all in and wish I had one of my notebooks with me to take notes, but I promised Buckle I wouldn’t do that so I can engage with conversation. He knows me so well.
Aaron bounces to his feet and announces games. First up? “Guess the Baby Food.” Everyone takes turns tasting a variety of pureed foods and making ridiculous faces, trying to guess each flavor. I’m not a fan of the consistency of any of it and hope our babies don’t mind until they can have solid food. Bette nearly spits out the carrot puree, causing everyone to erupt into fits of giggles. Riley wins the prize of a golden spoon.
Next up is The Price is Right: Baby Edition. We take turns guessing prices on baby essentials displayed on the table. Perry is ridiculously good at it, surprising no one since he’s been pricing baby items with Buckle and me for months.
The dirty diaper game has everyone making faces as we squish melted candy in newborn diapers trying to guess which candy it is.
“This game is a little messed up.” Pax laughs as he licks chocolate off his fingers.
“That’s what makes it so fun.” Buckle picks up one of the diapers and scoops out the candy. Perry gags because it really does look like poop.
Elsbeth claps to grab everyone’s attention. “I think everyone should go wash their hands so we can do gifts.” Her eyes sparkle and I have to wonder what she brought.
Perry sucks in a breath and he’s the first to the kitchen to clean up the mess on his hands.
We set him in the middle of the couch and surround him in gifts. Adorable outfits, new stuffies, a boatload of diapers in various sizes, cute little books, car seats, blankets, bottles, the list goes on and on. Each gift Perry coos over how cute it is. Okay, to be fair, we’re both making comments on the cuteness. Buckle watches us with a sweet grin on his face. Gah, I love these men.
“Okay, last one!” Elsbeth declares as Aaron pushes up a huge box. Buckle helps Perry open it. Inside sits the beautifully crafted wooden rocking chair Buckle and I had custom made.
Perry’s hands fly to his mouth, emotion fills his eyes. “Oh, wow. This is perfect.” He runs his hands over the back of the rocking chair.
Buckle steps forward, wrapping his arms around Perry from behind. Perry had told us how the one thing he missed most about not being home is the rocking chair and reading to his siblings. Now he can do that with our kids if he wants.
Tears brim in Perry’s eyes, and he turns to hug Buckle tightly. “Thank you, both of you. This means so much.” I nuzzle into them both.
The party winds down and Perry looks beat, but he’s keeping a smile on his face.
Elsbeth asks for a group photo and we all oblige. I slip my arm around Perry’s waist, grateful for the warmth and love surrounding us. This moment, this celebration, reminds me we’re all family. A family filled with laughter, support, and a whole lot of love.
The sun starts to set, and we beg people to take snacks if they want so we don’t have to deal with too many leftovers. Of course, everyone takes some cupcakes, which is fine by me.
The room fills with cheerful chatter and laughter. Slowly, one by one, everyone leaves, and it’s just the three of us. This is just the beginning, and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for us.
