Chapter 29
Isla
2011
I sla tried to avoid working late as much as possible, especially since Ellie and Brayden had been born. They were almost five and starting kindergarten in the fall. It seemed like yesterday they had just brought them home, and both Isla and Vera were struggling with the babies growing up so fast.
For Isla, raising their babies the last five years had been bittersweet. She missed Blake every time she watched Brayden or Ellie smile. They both had the same smile as Blake and Mason. Brayden also had Blake’s icy blue eyes. Isla wished more than anything that all her babies could finally be under the same roof again.
Pulling the Jeep into the driveway, Isla looked at the house in the moonlight. There were toys in the front yard and on the porch, making Isla regret missing another after-dinner playtime with her family. Mason’s car was also parked in the driveway which meant she was still home. At twenty, she had her own dorm on the local college campus as part of her scholarship. But she rarely stayed there.
Not that Isla complained. She’d let Mason live there forever if she wanted to.
Opening the Jeep door, Isla headed inside the house. She quietly unlocked the backdoor into the kitchen as she sat her bag on the table. The TV was playing softly in the living room, and Isla went to investigate who was still awake well after midnight on a school night.
She found a blanket fort in the middle of the living room with four little sock-covered feet sticking out of one side. Her smile widened as she peeked into the tent and saw Ellie and Brayden sound asleep snuggled next to each other. On the nearby recliner, Vera was asleep as well. Isla walked over to her and gently kissed her forehead.
Vera stirred awake and smiled up as Isla. “Hey. You’re home.”
“I am.”
Kneeling beside the recliner, Isla propped her head up with her elbow as she looked at Vera. Even in the darkened room, she was stunning. Isla could look into her blue eyes for hours and never get tired. Vera smiled, warming Isla’s heart more.
“Are you hungry? I made spaghetti.”
Without waiting for an answer, Vera stood and walked into the kitchen. Isla followed behind her, watching as she took a covered plate out of the refrigerator. She carefully unwrapped it and put it into the microwave. Walking over to her, Isla wrapped her arms around Vera’s waist as she kissed her.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you, too.”
As they kissed, Isla gently pinned Vera against the counter. Vera hummed happily as Isla’s tongue pushed farther into her mouth. Her hands slowly moved up Isla’s back and into her hair. Somehow, Vera knew exactly when the microwave was about to go off and quickly opened it before the timer could wake the kids.
“You better eat so you can have your strength.”
“Yeah,” Isla arched an eyebrow at her, “for what?”
“I think you know what.”
“Does the water bottle in the cooler need to be changed?”
“Bingo,” Vera chuckled. “I swear I’m not being lazy. I just get water everywhere if I do it.”
“It’s okay.” Isla kissed her once more as she took the spaghetti out of the microwave. “I got you.”
“Thanks, babe.”
Sitting down at the table, Vera handed Isla a small cup of freshly shredded cheese along with a glass of wine. Isla didn’t know how she ever got so lucky to have Vera Mackenzie as a wife. She knew Isla and could anticipate her wants and needs better than Isla could. Reaching out, Isla put a hand on Vera’s arm.
“Remember our first dinner together?”
“The infamous spaghetti dinner.” Sighing contentedly, Vera leaned onto the table and smiled at Isla. “I fell hard for both of you then.”
“It was mutual all the way around.” She took a bite of the spaghetti and smiled. “You know, I fell more in love with you each time I saw you and Mason together. I just knew you were the one. Nothing else mattered. No one else mattered. It was just you, me, and Mason against the world.”
Vera’s eyes were dreamy as she spoke. “It still is. We’ve just added two tagalongs.”
“I think we should add another.”
Isla watched as her words slowly registered with Vera. Her already wide smile grew wider as her eyes narrowed, as they often did when she was at her happiest. She covered Isla’s hand with hers and laughed.
“Are you serious?”
“I am. I want to carry your baby.”
“Isla,” Vera closed the space between them and kissed her. “I’ve been thinking about it too, and it feels right. The timing is just…”
“Perfect,” she finished. “Ellie and Brayden are older, Mason’s doing her own thing. I think a baby would be perfect right now. I’m ready to start the process whenever you are.”
“I’ll schedule an appointment tomorrow for us.”
And that’s just what they did.
By the fall, Isla was five months pregnant with their baby. Ellie and Brayden had started kindergarten while Mason began her last year in college. Or, well, her last for now, she claimed. Isla’s sister, Eden Mackenzie, had moved into their guest room after the Broadway show she was in ended. She claimed she was just spending the summer with them, but the summer had quickly faded into fall.
Not that Isla minded. Having her little sister around was fun and she was a great help with Ellie and Brayden. Eden was eleven years younger than Isla, so she was closer to Mason’s age than Isla’s. But that never stopped their bond. While they didn't get to see each other much, Isla was thankful for the time they had together now.
“Are you sure you’re not carrying twins?”
Well.
Most of the time Isla was thankful for her time with Eden.
Eden was leaned up against the kitchen counter with a bowl of Fruit Loops in her hands. Her curly brown hair was up in a ponytail and she was dressed as if she’d just got back from a workout. There was no denying the two were sisters; they were spitting images of Mackenzie women.
“I love you, too, sis.” Isla playfully patted Eden’s cheek as she walked over to the refrigerator. She took out her beloved Diet Coke and twisted the top off.
“Isla,” Vera scolded as Isla held the bottle in the air and looked at her sheepishly. She had her doctor face on, which meant business. Isla almost commented on how hot she looked in the green top and blazer she was wearing, but she knew Vera would see through the compliment. Not that Isla didn’t mean it, she did. “We agreed. No more Diet Cokes.”
“But Vera,” she whined. “I need it. I was up late last night.”
“Sex?” Eden interjected with a smirk.
“Work.” Isla rolled her eyes. “Some of us do that, you know.”
“Hey, I got your kids off to school today and got you this.”
Reaching behind her, Eden handed her what appeared to be a strawberry banana smoothie. Suddenly, the Diet Coke took a back seat. The smoothies had been Isla’s biggest craving since getting pregnant. Which was much better than with Blake or Mason’s pregnancies when all she wanted was hot peppers.
Although it never ended well for her.
“Oh, give me.”
Taking the smoothie, Isla took a long sip as she rubbed her belly. She hated to admit it, but Eden had a point. Isla was already bigger at five months than she had been either time before. Isla was already finding it hard to see her shoes, but she didn’t care. Carrying Vera’s baby had been one of the best experiences in the world to Isla.
Isla walked over to Vera and sat beside her at the table. She placed a hand softly on Isla’s stomach as the baby almost instantly kicked. The baby had been more active than her last two pregnancies, which Isla enjoyed. While Blake moved occasionally, Mason had been the chillest baby ever and only seemed to move when she had the hiccups.
But the tiny human growing inside of her was clearly getting ready for soccer tryouts.
Covering Vera’s hand with hers on her stomach, Isla smiled at her wife. Their connection had always been strong, but something about being pregnant had only brought them closer.
“What are you thinking?”
“That you’re over halfway through your pregnancy and we still don’t have a name for her.”
“I know, I know.”
Isla couldn’t help but smile at Vera using the word her . While Vera had opted to know the sex this time, Isla had chosen to remain surprised. Not that it was much of a surprise. She knew exactly which she was carrying.
Vera seemed to realize what she’d said and quickly shook her head. “Wait. No. That wasn’t me confirming it’s a girl.” She covered her mouth with her hand as her eyes went wide. “Dammit.”
They both started laughing as Isla placed a hand on her knee.
“Honey, it’s okay. I know it’s a girl.”
“Did Mason tell you?”
“You told Mason ?”
Vera shrugged as she continued laughing. “I had to tell someone. ”
“She told me, too,” Eden chimed in.
“Okay, so,” Vera focused back on Isla, “how do you know it’s a girl?”
“Because I am carrying this one the exact way I carried Blake and Mason.”
“Did someone say my name?” Mason breezed into the kitchen, giving Isla and Vera a kiss before putting her hand on Isla’s stomach. “How are you doing, Mom?”
“She knows it’s a girl,” Vera answered as she dramatically threw up her hands and stood. Mason took her seat, keeping her hand on Isla’s belly.
“Not because I told her!”
“So, you knew and kept it a secret?” Isla chuckled. “I’m impressed.”
“Mom, please. Even if Mama hadn’t told me I’d know. You look just like that picture in the hallway when you were pregnant with me.” The baby kicked under Mason’s hand as she giggled. “Good morning, baby sis. How are you today?”
Isla put her hand on Mason’s shoulder as she watched her talk to her stomach. It was a memory Isla wanted to remember forever. Mason had surprised her with how involved she had wanted to be with the pregnancy. She'd gone to every appointment with her and talked to her stomach regularly. And the baby seemed to love it as she often responded more to Mason’s voice than anyone else’s.
“Mace,” Vera leaned up against the counter beside Eden. “What do you think we should name her?”
Mason shook her head as she grinned at her mama. “Oh no. You’re not putting that decision on me.”
“Well, we’re apparently not putting it on ourselves either.” Isla winked at Mason. “We’ll figure it out though. We have time.”
“You say that now,” Vera said in a singsong voice as her eyes sparkled. “But your due date will be here before you know it.”
Later that night, Isla found herself alone in the living room watching TV. Isla had tucked Ellie and Brayden into bed and kissed Mason and Eden goodnight before they went to their rooms. Vera had been paged to the hospital for a laboring mom, which meant Isla had to entertain herself. She much preferred to be hanging out with her kids or Vera instead of having a night alone. But she told herself to enjoy it as she’d be wishing for some alone time when the baby was born.
It had been twenty years since Isla had been pregnant, and she was determined to savor every moment of being pregnant with what she could safely assume was her last child. After all, she was forty-three, and her two oldest kids were twenty and twenty-three. Isla lifted her shirt and rubbed lotion into her rounded belly. No, this was the last baby.
As her mind started to wander back to days gone by, she heard the backdoor open. Without looking, she knew either Eden had left or Mason was coming in. To her delight, it was the latter. Mason sat down carefully on the couch beside her, propping her head up with her elbow on the back of the couch, and looked at Isla.
“Hey, pumpkin. I thought you went to bed.”
“I saw the light was still on.”
Always observant, just like her mama.
“I wanted to see if you’re okay.”
“I’m okay, Mason.” Isla smiled at her, but Mason’s narrowed eyes told her she didn’t believe her.
“It’s late, you’re still up, and Mama’s working,” she shrugged. “I had a feeling something was on your mind, so I came over.”
Isla swallowed the lump in her throat as she held her arm out to Mason. She snuggled up with her willingly as Isla fixed her shirt back. Kissing the top of her head, Isla couldn’t help but be thankful for her precious daughter.
“I’m okay, baby.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah,” Isla sighed. “I was just thinking.”
“Wanna talk about it?
Picking up Mason’s hand, she placed it on her stomach where she could feel the baby kicking. She’s been active all day, not that Isla minded. Mason giggled.
“What does that feel like?”
“Amazing.” Isla thought for a moment. “You know when you’re on a roller coaster and your stomach does that drop feeling? Like that. But also like an alien is inside me.”
Mason giggled again.
“You know,” Isla played with Mason's hair with one hand while she covered Mason’s hand on her belly with the other, “it’s been twenty years since I was pregnant.”
“Are you gonna tell me a story about baby me?” Mason snuggled closer to Isla. “Cause you know they’re my favorite.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know that,” Isla teased. “You, my sweet Mason, were the most chill of my three babies I’ve carried. You would just find a spot and not move until you had the hiccups—which, by the way, you always had at the most inopportune time for me.”
“My bad,” Mason laughed.
“I will say, though, that your birth was much easier than Blake’s.”
“You’re welcome.”
Isla chuckled, pulling Mason closer to her. “When you were born, Blake called you an alien.”
When Blake’s name was mentioned, Isla felt Mason move her hand off her belly and around her waist instead. Isla held her close, knowing they were both missing Blake without having to say it out loud.
“So, I guess you could say I’ve just got a lot of emotions surrounding this pregnancy. Especially since it’ll be my last.”
Mason pulled back, looking at Isla. “You and Mama are done having kids?”
“After this one, I think so.” Isla shrugged. “We’d always talked about having two more, but then we got blessed with three more. The universe has been pretty damn good to me and your mama. All things considered.”
Isla had struggled for years to be happy in Blake’s absence. She felt by living her life she was forgetting Blake, but that was never the case. Blake was always on her mind. Especially as the baby inside her kicked her in the ribs.
“Ow,” Isla gasped, putting her hand where the kick was. “Now see, that was what Blake would do. She loved kicking my ribs.”
“I would never have done that, Mom.”
“No, you’re my perfect angel.” Isla kissed the top of her head. “I love you so much, Mason.”
“I love you more.”
“Oh, no, little Vera. We’re not starting that tonight.” Isla laughed, which made her need to pee. But there was no way she was interrupting her precious time with Mason.
Mason reached into the pocket of her sweatpants and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Isla, who unfolded it. The list contained six names, and Isla read over them a few times to figure out what they were for.
“They’re baby names that I like,” Mason said with a smile. “I thought it might help you and Mama.”
“Thank you, honey.”
As Isla pulled Mason back into her embrace, she looked over the list again. She said the names in her head as she rested her hand on her stomach. When she got to one name, the baby kicked her ribs again.
Everleigh , Isla repeated again to herself. And the baby kicked again.
“Hmm,” Isla tried not to smile too widely, “I think I have a favorite on this list.”