22. Katy
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
katy
JUST… NO
Ella and Rebecca insisted we needed a girls’ morning after all the baby shower drama from yesterday. They picked me up at ten sharp, relentlessly cheerful despite how tired I am. Stupid non-pregnant people.
We grab coffees and head straight to the nail salon. My feet are soaking in lavender-scented water, but my brain is still stuck at the baby shower.
Ella sighs dramatically from the chair next to me. “Okay, but objectively? The diaper drills were amazing.”
Rebecca hums, inspecting her nails. “Iconic.”
I close my eyes. “So many football players. Five. Why did I let that happen?”
“Because,” Rebecca says calmly, “you’re apparently football player catnip.”
Ella giggles. “They were all kind of adorable.”
I snort. “Only you would think six-foot-tall men are adorable.”
She shrugs. “Leo is my brother. I’m an expert at spotting secret softies.”
“And Logan’s mom? I loved her,” Rebecca adds.
“She was lovely,” I admit.
Ella nods. “She was so nice. And apparently, she’s Ali’s new bestie. They bonded over being single moms.”
The pedicurist gestures for me to lift my foot. I do, watching the water ripple.
“But Declan absolutely losing his mind.” Ella sighs. “That was rough. I worked on him all night, but he’s still upset.”
“Gross, Ella. I do not need to hear that.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” she protests.
Rebecca smirks. “But it was like that.”
Ella turns beet red.
I press my palm into my eyes. “Moving on.”
She glances at me. “He overheard Logan talking to Ben, right?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Logan was just trying to be nice. Explaining how it’d be awesome if Ben were the dad but that if he wasn’t, he wouldn’t get between us. Declan did not take the possibility of Ben being the dad very calmly.”
“Seriously. I almost had to body-check him to prevent a felony.”
“Yeah.” I swallow. “He left furious. At all of us.”
“No, just at Ben, Katy. And he’ll cool off,” Ella says. “Eventually.”
I glance at her. “Thanks for not telling him about Ben before. I know you’re a terrible liar.”
She gives me a small smile. “Girl code is girl code. Also, I love Ben. I didn’t want him to die.”
Rebecca leans forward. “So. Tell us everything about you two.”
I choke. “Rebecca!”
Ella recoils. “Ew, no. Please spare me.”
“I’m not giving details. I don’t want Ella to retaliate,” I protest.
“Emotional context,” Rebecca says sweetly.
That I can do. “He’s such a lovable idiot.” I sigh, sinking back. “He’s really sweet. And earnest. He keeps looking at me like he can’t believe I’m real. I’m so screwed.”
Rebecca smiles knowingly. “You really are.”
“I already agreed to spend the day with him again tomorrow. He says he has a surprise for me,” I add. “I don’t know why he’d even want to hang out with me.”
Ella blinks. “You do know why.”
“I don’t,” I insist. “I’m pregnant. I’m gross. I cry constantly.”
Rebecca taps my knee. “You’re hot. And growing a human.”
Ella nods. “And Ben has always been soft for you.”
“I just don’t get why he still likes me like this,” I say. “With all the complications.”
Ella’s voice softens. “Because he always did. And you know nothing fazes him. He likes to laugh at even the most complicated situations.”
The pedicurist starts painting my nails, and my shoulders finally relax.
Ella grins. “Plus, if he messes up again, I get to mace him again. My self-defense instructor says I have a special talent for it.”
“Please don’t.”
“No promises. I do need to practice.”
When Ben told me he had a surprise for me, I did not expect it to be a birthing class. This cannot be fun for him. But he’s still squeezing my hand as we sit on folding chairs arranged in a semicircle, like we’re about to learn all the weird secrets of birthing a human.
There’s a plastic pelvis on a table. A laminated poster of a cervix. I already hate it here.
The instructor has two long braids and is wearing a long green skirt. She’s smiling a little too brightly, like she’s thrilled we’re all about to discover new forms of pain.
“And when the contraction peaks,” she says calmly, “you’ll want to breathe low and open your mouth. The sound should come from deep within your body.”
She demonstrates.
It’s… awful. A low, animal sound that feels like it belongs in a documentary I did not consent to watch.
My eyes burn instantly. Traitor tears.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “No.”
Ben leans in. “No?”
“I am not making that sound,” I hiss. “That is horrifying. I don’t want to sound like that. I don’t want you to hear me sound like that. Aren’t there other classes with other sounds? I don’t like her methods.”
Ben doesn’t laugh. He doesn’t panic. He just looks at me like I’ve said something important.
“Does that mean,” he asks quietly, “that you want me there?”
I blink at him.
“Well.” I sniff. “Obviously. But I don’t want to scare you. Or, like, gross you out.”
A slow smile spreads across his face. “Katy,” he says, “Nothing can scare me. I swear I am literally the best person for this job.”
I let out a loud laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”
“I’m serious,” he says. “I won’t get tired of holding your knees. I’m great at encouragement. I can hype you up for hours. Have you seen me at practice?” He ticks off points on his fingers. “I’m strong. I don’t faint. I’m excellent under pressure. And I am very committed to this team.”
I huff a quiet laugh, something in me easing.
“I’ll train,” he adds solemnly. “We’ll practice. We’ll be ready. We can come up with another game plan.”
I laugh through my tears, pressing my forehead into his shoulder.
The instructor starts talking about breathing again.
I squeeze Ben’s hand. “Promise me something?” I murmur.
“Anything.”
“If I do make that sound,” I whisper, “you don’t flinch.”
He smiles, warm and certain. “Not even for a second.”
And somehow, the idea of labor feels a little less terrifying.
Because I’ll have him.
BEN
Katy slams the car door a little harder than necessary and immediately presses her forehead to the cool metal.
“I really hated that,” she says.
I click my seatbelt, biting my lip. “I know.”
She turns to me, eyes wild. “The sounds. Ben. The sounds. Why was everyone okay with that?”
I start the car, still smiling. “You mean the…”
“Do not,” she warns.
I fail immediately. “The mooing?”
She groans. “Why did it sound like a National Geographic special? Why was she encouraging it? Why did she say embrace your inner animal?”
“Honestly? Respect to everyone who’s done that.”
“I will not be mooing,” Katy declares firmly. “I will not be roaring. I will not be… whatever that woman did with her jaw.”
It was definitely horrifying.
I wipe at my eyes. “Okay, okay. No animal sounds. Noted.”
She slumps back in her seat, crossing her arms. “I just…I really don’t want to gross you out.”
That shuts me up quickly.
“I promise I wouldn’t be. But if it makes you uncomfortable, we won’t.”
She frowns. “We won’t what?”
I turn the engine off, refusing to leave before we resolve this. “We won’t do it like that. We’ll do it our way. The Katy and Ben way.”
“Our way how?”
I think for a second. Then my mouth twitches. “Okay,” I say. “Hear me out.”
She sighs. “This feels dangerous.”
“Instead of animal sounds,” I continue, completely serious, “I’ll coach you. Like a hype man. Like… playoff game energy.”
She turns to me. “You think childbirth needs a hype man.”
“I think you deserve one.”
She blinks.
I keep going, warming to it. “I talk you through it. Remind you you’re doing great. That you’re strong. That this is temporary. That you’re not alone.”
Her beautiful smile appears.
“And,” I add quickly, “you get to swear at me, yell at me, throw stuff at me. I’ll duck. We can practice.”
Her brows knit. “Practice… labor hyping? Or throwing stuff at you?”
“Just the coaching part,” I explain. “Come up with our own game plan.”
She hesitates. “Right now?”
“Right now.”
She still looks at me like I’m crazy, but nods.
“Okay,” I say, clearing my throat. “You’re having a contraction.”
She rolls her eyes, squeezes them shut. “Ow.”
I lean toward her, voice steady, warm. “Okay. Breathe. You’re doing exactly what you’re supposed to be doing. Let your body do its thing.”
She opens one eye. “That was actually good.”
“Told you,” I say. “Stay with me. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
She smiles brighter.
I keep going. “That’s it, Katy,” I continue softly. “Just like that. You’re strong. You’re incredible. And this will end. Every contraction ends.”
Her breath catches for real this time. She half laughs, half sobs. “Stop. You’re making it worse.”
“Worse how?”
She shakes her head, pressing her face into her hands. “I’m going to cry.”
“That’s okay,” I say immediately. “I’ll still be here.” I reach over and lace my fingers with hers. “See? No mooing.”
She squeezes my hand. Hard. “Promise me,” she whispers. “When it’s real. When I forget everything, you’ll do that.”
“I promise,” I say without hesitation. “The whole time.”
She nods, blinking fast. “Thank you.”
It’s a strange feeling, watching her relax. Knowing she trusted me enough to hand me that fear.
There’s always been something about Katy. The way she looks at me when I make her laugh or help her with something. Like I could do anything.
And for her, I would.