Chapter 38
“Where are we going?” I ask Kai as we walk through lush green grass that smells crispy and earthy—like it’s been freshly cut.
Kai told me to dress up so he could take me somewhere special, hinting at a surprise.
I chose a flowy maxi dress in the color yellow; its soft fabric drapes around me.
It’s comfy since it’s not a skintight dress.
I can’t even imagine wearing something snug when I’m this pregnant.
“You’ll see.”
“We better get where we’re going soon or I’m going to die of heatstroke.
” The June sun is beating down on us as we walk through the park.
There is only one month left until my due date.
It can’t come soon enough. Summer is here, and the heat is hotter than usual, and it’s so exhausting.
I used to love Summer; I’d be outside all day.
I can’t believe how much hotter it feels now that I’m pregnant.
It makes me wonder how I used to do it before.
As we get closer to the pavilion, my mouth drops open. I see pink balloons tied to chairs, and they are all bumping up against each other. A towering castle made of diapers catches my eye. Next to it sits a pink cake with a tiny figurine of a baby in a diaper sitting on top of it.
Kai looks over his shoulder as he speeds up his pace to stand by everyone who is here. Glancing around the small crowd, I spot friends, family, and some people I don’t know; I'm assuming they are Kai’s family.
I stand frozen in disbelief.
“Is all this for me?” I ask, trying to catch my breath.
“Of course.” Paige comes over and pulls me into a hug.
As she’s about to let go, I hold on to her a little tighter. “Who did this?”
“Me, Kai, and Kevin.”
I let her go and wipe away the tears that are already falling.
I didn’t think I would get a baby shower. The only person I thought would throw me one was my mom. After not talking to her for eight months, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“It’s not much, but I know you don’t have everything you need, so I wanted to do something small to help you guys a little.”
Everything we have is used, and it’s all from thrift stores or yard sales. Kai kept telling me to hold off on the bigger purchases, and I wonder if this is why.
Everyone comes over, introduces themselves, and wraps me up in a hug. I can’t help but cry from the overwhelming emotions…
And probably from the hormones.
“Blakely, this is my Uncle Dave,” Kai says, pointing to the man next to him. “Uncle Dave, this is Blakely.”
I lift my hand to give him a handshake, but he pulls me into a hug. That’s when I notice he’s about two heads taller than me. My head hits a little above his chest. Tall men must run in the family. Kai is five-eleven and I’m only five-two. This man has to be at least six-feet tall.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you,” he says.
“Same here. I’m happy you could make it.”
“Well, I know my boy here needs some family support, given what they’ve been through. And their mom is going through a hard time, so I try to be there for them whenever I can.”
“I appreciate it and thank you for giving Kai a job. I don’t know where we would be if he didn’t have one,” I say.
Kai graduated from high school last month. He can now work full-time. He decided against college and wants to save money and start his own business.
A few hours later, everyone sings “Happy Birthday”. Paige is holding a cupcake with a lit candle as she sings.
My brows raise as I wonder what’s going on. Suddenly, it hits me that my birthday is at the end of this month. I’ve been so caught up with the baby that I didn’t realize I was going to be turning seventeen soon.
“Make a wish,” Paige says.
I close my eyes, make a silent wish, and blow out my candle.
For being a teenager, Paige is so thoughtful. More than I ever could imagine she would be in this situation. Not because she’s never been thoughtful. But what teenager would throw a baby shower? I’m sure it’s not at the top of her priority list.
“Where’s yours?” I ask as she hands me my cupcake. “We always celebrate together.”
“We will. But today is all about you.”
A strawberry flavor swirls around my taste buds as I take a bite of my cupcake. It’s so good, and I can’t help but finish it fast. I regret it, because now I want another one.
“Hey, B.” My cousin, Kylee, comes toward me. “I can’t believe you’re pregnant,” she says with a big smile. “You’re so cute.” She rubs my belly.
“Thanks. I don’t feel so cute.” Kylee is my aunt’s daughter and a couple of years older than me. She’s already out of high school and going to college. I haven’t spoken to anyone in my family since I found out I was pregnant. “When did you find out I was pregnant?”
“Not too long ago. My mom told me after your mom called her.”
My mom must have kept it to herself for a while, then. “My mom is pretty upset. She stopped talking to me.”
“We heard. My mom has been trying to talk to your mom about it. Your mom is pretty stubborn and isn’t listening.”
We both chuckle. “Tell me about it. I know I upset her, but I didn’t think she would go this long without speaking to me.”
“Give her some time. Hopefully, she’ll come around soon.” She pulls me into a hug. “I’m going to head out. Call me when the baby gets here. I want to meet her.”
“I will. Thanks for coming.”
“All we need is a crib,” I say as Kai and I drive back home. We have a lot of essentials the baby is going to need, like diapers, wipes, and clothes. We also got two of the biggest things we needed: Uncle Dave got us a car seat, and my aunt bought us a highchair.
“What’s Kevin doing?” I ask. He’s standing outside our apartment as we pull in and park.
“He dropped some gifts off.”
“Oh.” I didn’t realize we didn’t have everything with us.
Kai and I go around the back of the car and grab bags out of the trunk.
"Here, let me take those.” Kevin comes over and takes the bags out of my hands.
“Can you open the door for us?”
I nod.
I take a seat on the couch as they bring in all the presents. Exhaustion has taken over, and I haven’t had my afternoon nap yet.
“That’s all of them.” Kevin places the last of the bags down. “Do you want me to help you take them to your room?”
“No. I’m not sure where to put them yet.
I’m going to make room for them somewhere.
” Our tiny closet doesn’t have much room for our clothes, let alone the baby’s.
We have one dresser with five draws, and that is already overflowing.
Since this is only a one-bedroom apartment, we have to share the bedroom with the baby.
I haven’t thought about where to put the baby clothes yet.
If we get a bigger dresser, that would take up the space for the crib.
I tilt my head, looking at Kevin as he stands in place with both hands in his pocket. He’s rocking back and forth on his feet and looks like he has something to say.
I narrow my eyes at Kai as he stands there, looking between Kevin and me.
“What is going on?”
“Could you just go to your room?” Kevin says.
“There is one last gift, B. It’s in the room,” Kai says.
“Okay.” I scoot to the edge of the couch until my butt is about to hang off before I stand up.
After making my way into the bedroom, I let out a gasp as my eyes flash between our bed and the crib nestled right next to the bed. “Who did this?”
“This is our present to you,” Kai says, gesturing between himself and Kevin.
I turn around and wrap my arms around both of them. “Thank you.”
“It’s brand new, too,” Kai says.
“What? You guys didn’t have to do that. They’re expensive,” I say as I rub my hand on top of the crib, feeling the soft, white paint beneath my fingers.
“I couldn’t have my niece sleeping in a used one.”
“Wait, who put this together?”
“Kevin put it together while we were at breakfast this morning.”
Kevin is still such a wildcard to me. Sometimes he’s overly nice, and sometimes he’s just a jerk. All I can say right now, though, is thank you—so I do just that.