Chapter 37 Miller - The Blueberry Festival
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Margot has texted me no less than five times ensuring we’re not going to be late. I don’t know what her problem is, but I’m ready to smack her,” Gwen grumbles while slipping into her sandals. She bends over, and her sundress rises up to the point where her thighs meet her ass.
“Mhm, yeah,” I answer distractedly, thoroughly enjoying the view.
“I mean, we’re not late for everything. Just like—” She stands back up to her full height after getting the buckle on her shoe secured and turns around to face me. “Were you checking me out?”
“Mhm, yeah,” I repeat, slowly nodding. I’m still doing a full intake of Gwen standing in front of me.
Her dress is one of those strappy tank top ones, with a low neckline to show off her perfect breasts.
It hugs her tightly until it flows out at the waist, and when she does a spin, letting it dance around her, I grab her and pull her into me.
I can’t help myself, there’s no such thing as too much of her.
“I happen to like that,” she says while peppering light kisses up my neck.
Her lips follow my jawline until they connect with my own.
She palms my already hardening dick through my shorts, and I do the math in my head to see if we have time to dive into the laundry room so I can properly hike that dress up and bury myself inside her.
She’s been off birth control, and I haven’t touched a condom in months. We’re filling that nursery up as soon as possible.
I grab a handful of her ass and press myself into her. She moans in response. “Come on, baby. We have a few minutes.”
Gwen grips me harder and just when I think she’ll follow along with my little side quest, I feel the loss of her hand immediately. “No, we don’t. Penelope Grace, pack it up!” she calls up the stairs.
“Evil woman,” I mutter.
“That you love so much!” Another kiss to placate me.
“Always, baby. Always.” It’s not like she’s not going to wind up naked in our bed later.
I make quick work of readjusting myself in my shorts while Gwen grabs her purse.
We hear Penelope clomp down the stairs in her plastic princess heels.
The argument of the week has been trying to get her to understand that leaving the house in those things risks a broken ankle or two.
She assures us daily she’s fine. Her clumsiness disagrees.
Gwen wordlessly holds out a matching pair of sandals of her own in a smaller size to Penelope who sighs so deeply for a six-year-old with not a worry in the world on summer vacation. She kicks off the dress-up heels and puts on the ones Gwen offered. Smart girl.
“You look beautiful, tiny human,” Gwen compliments her.
And like always, Penelope’s face lights up. She’s still Gwen’s number one fan. “Thanks, Mom.” She does a twirl that mirrors the one Gwen just did moments before and grabs her hand.
My girls.
“I’m just gonna make sure LB has food and water before we head out,” I tell them before kissing Penelope on the top of her head as I pass by down the hall to the kitchen.
“Meet you at the car, Daddy!” Gwen calls.
I’m never going to get sick of this life.
Margot’s being weird, and we haven’t seen Sawyer or Gus since we showed up on Main Street for the festival over two hours ago.
Penelope has dragged us all–myself, Gwen, Margot, Beth, Melanie, and Daisy–to every booth to try every free sample available and has eaten her weight in popcorn and cotton candy.
It’s been a great time, don’t get me wrong. But there’s a part in the back of my brain that’s telling me something is up. Call it a hunch.
Gwen thought I was overreacting for a little bit, but as time passes on and Margot continues to wave us off when we ask where the hell her fiancé and his best friend are, her suspicions have begun to rise.
She leans into me while we all watch Melanie and Beth hop into the wagon filled with hay attached to the tractor that’s giving free rides around the block.
“I think they’re up to something,” Gwen whispers.
“Yeah, no shit. Look at her.”
We both try to inconspicuously tilt our heads in Margot’s direction.
She’s standing off to the side chatting with Daisy, but she’s looking every which way and keeps fidgeting with the sweater she’s been carrying in her hands.
That’s another thing, it’s almost ninety degrees.
What the hell does she need the sweater for?
“First she pesters me to the point of annoyance to get here on time, and now she’s acting like she’s being followed, in the witness protection program or something.
And where the hell are Sawyer and Gus? Why are they MIA?
Do you think she’s mad at us? What could we have done?
Is this about the camping trip? Margot doesn’t even fucking like camping! ”
Oh, my girl’s spiraling now. We gotta figure this out fast.
“Marge!” I yell across the way.
Margot jumps, swiveling her head. She points to herself, acting like she’s unsure if I was addressing her. I roll my eyes. “Get over here!”
I watch her gulp down a swallow and she tentatively starts the short journey that takes a hell of a lot longer than ten steps in this direction should take. “What is up, my dudes?”
“Tell me what the hell is going on, or I’m uninviting you from the bonfire later,” Gwen snaps.
Margot scoffs and readjusts the sweater to hang from one arm to the other. “You wouldn’t dare. Besides, Penelope wouldn’t let you. Everything’s fine. More than fine actually.” She tucks one side of her hair behind an ear, and I see the skin underneath her freckles darken.
Gwen’s hand darts out to grab my wrist in a vice grip and realization washes over me.
“You’re pregnant,” I say.
Margot opens her mouth and closes it. Tears start spilling out of her eyes and she starts nodding her head with the biggest smile on her face. Gwen crashes into her in an instant.
“You are! You’re pregnant! Holy fucking shit, you’re pregnant!” Gwen squeals. The two women are fused together and jumping up and down, both crying. They look deranged. It’s incredible.
“Wait, shut up!” Margot yells, abruptly halting their celebration. “I need Sawyer here! We’re supposed to tell all of you together! I had a plan, and you just ruined it!” She’s still yelling and crying, but there’s no bite in her voice.
When the two finally separate, I pull Margot in for a hug. “Congrats, Margot. This is huge.”
Sawyer jogs over to us holding a brown paper bag. “Shit, I’m so late.”
Margot’s eyes narrow on Sawyer, and he holds his hands up, bag still swinging in one, in surrender.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”
Boy, do I feel bad for him the next however many months.
“They know, Sawyer. I tried to hide it as long as I could, but they sniffed me out, damn it.”
Sawyer turns to me and Gwen. “Sorry, guys. I had to go tell my parents first. It was important to me. It took a little longer than I planned.” Margot’s face softens instantly at the mention of Sawyer’s parents. We all get exactly what he’s talking about.
“So, you guys hear I’m gonna be an uncle? Dude, you too!” Gus claps me on the back, and I lurch forward at the contact.
Margot holds her hand up. “Enough! We haven’t told you everything yet and I’m not letting another bit of this surprise get ruined by you impatient bitches.”
She journeys over to where the tractor is dropping everyone off, and she herds our gang to the cafe. Once we’re all situated in our seats, Margot stands in front of all of us and whips out that brown bag Sawyer carried over. Sawyer wraps his arm around her waist.
She clears her throat. “A year ago we all gathered here for the first time as one giant makeshift family. The Blueberry Festival feels like a really special kind of day.” Margot looks up at Sawyer, and he kisses her temple, urging her to keep going.
“Actually, everything about Merrymount feels really special. It’s this little town bursting with hopes and dreams, and I swear it feels like magic.
I feel so lucky to get to experience it every day.
I feel even luckier to say our babies will get to experience it, too. ”
Margot pulls out the smallest, white onesie with an American flag that has tiny blueberries making out the stripes. She turns it around to show us that it reads “Baby Hale” on the back.
The collective gasp fills the room, and Melanie is darting towards Margot in an instant, basically tackling her daughter. Beth, for once, is speechless when she pulls Sawyer in, sobs wracking her body.
But since Gwen’s initial shock has worn off, with Penelope bouncing on her lap truly just happy to be here with everyone, she’s the first to speak up. “Margot…”
Margot peaks her head over Melanie’s shoulder. She still has her daughter in a bone-crushing embrace. There’s a smirk on her face. “Yes?”
“What else is in that bag?” Gwen passes Penelope to me and stands, walking over to snatch the bag out of Sawyer’s hand. She pulls out a second onesie that matches the first.
“Oh, Sawyer, you dirty dog,” Daisy laughs.
“Twins?” I ask in disbelief.
Sawyer pulls Margot into him again, beaming from ear to ear. “Twins!” they shout simultaneously.
After another round of hugs and cries of celebration, Margot settles us all down again. “Okay, okay, we have some important things to go over.” The room falls silent.
“Jesus, it’s nothing bad,” Sawyer assures us.
“Are you okay? Are the babies healthy?” Melanie ignores Sawyer, jumping into mom—now grandma—mode.
“I’m great. I mean, I don’t know where the fuck they’re going to fit in a couple months.
” Margot laughs and swipes a hand over her stomach.
“But all three of us are perfectly healthy. They’re baking just fine in there.
Grandmas.” Melanie and Beth grab each other's hand. “You have, give or take, eight months to figure out what you want to be called. P, buckle up, because your new cousins need to learn how to be your carbon copies. Red, Mills,” Margot faces us, “Will you be Baby A’s Godparents?”
Gwen is swiping makeup from under her eye with her other hand that’s not intertwined with mine. I answer for the both of us, “We’re honored, Margot.”
“August, Daisy,” Margot turns to the two people who have the ability to clear out a room with their battles. “Baby B needs you. Both of you. On the one condition you get your everloving shit together to be there for them.”
A beat and a moment pass between the two enemies. For once, they seem to come to a silent understanding. It’s Gus who speaks up. “We can manage.”
Holy shit, the family is growing again.
A year ago, to the day, Penelope and I were apprehensively walking into what felt like a tight knit group as outsiders. We didn’t really feel like we had a place besides with each other. Family felt like an untouchable fairytale we happily read about at bedtime.
Now, I share my life with the most beautiful woman in the world. I’m gonna marry her by the end of the year, mark my words. My daughter is no longer just mine, but ours. We spend our days laughing and singing and experiencing new things together.
I don’t think about the darkness of the past, it doesn’t matter now that I’m standing tall in the daylight on the other side.