Chapter 22
A v a was so cute.
She had fussed with her hair and outfit all morning until it was time to leave, finally settling on a lavender maternity dress and her hair in a single braid over her shoulder. She wrung her hands nervously, so Micah and I laced our fingers with hers as we walked into the restaurant.
Micah’s mom was on her feet in an instant, dressed in a crisp green skirt suit, her hair in tidy box braids that ran from black at the roots to purple at the tips. I’d known her since Micah and I met in high school and she was basically a second mom to me.
“There’s my boys.” She pulled Micah into a hug, then me, then Luke, before turning her attention to Ava and Bryce, dragging them into their own hugs. “You two must be my new daughter- and son-in-law.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. McKenzie,” said Ava.
Micah’s mom barked a laugh. “No need to be so polite. You can call me that at work, but in private you can call me Mary. Micah told me so much about you. Come, sit.”
Mary immediately began to grill both of them on their lives. They both took it in stride. I remembered the exact same treatment when Micah had brought me over the first time. Mary thrived on knowing anything and everything about people, and she made certain she knew plenty about Ava and Bryce while we worked our way through breakfast.
“I’d like to offer both of you positions at my nonprofit,” Mary said. “Ava, obviously that would be when you decide to return to work, if you do. Bryce, that would be whenever you feel like starting.”
Ava choked. “That’s so generous.”
“I promise you it’s not. I’ve already done background checks on both of you, including learning all about the wonderful work you did with the community housing project in California. Bryce has done an exceptional job in his career choice as well, though I wouldn’t blame him for choosing to take a significant break from the workforce with a pregnant omega. The point is, the jobs are there if you would like them. We’re always looking for dedicated people who have the skills and attitude to make a difference.”
“I’ll definitely keep that in mind,” Ava promised.
“I wouldn’t mind helping out with a project or two until the baby is born, but I wouldn’t want to take on full-time hours until after parental leave.”
Mary nodded. “Completely understandable. Now that that’s out of the way, we should talk about the baby shower. This will be my first grandbaby. My other children are woefully slow in that regard.”
“It’ll be the first for all our parents, I think,” I said.
“We’ll have a proper event, then,” Mary replied. “Is that all right with you, Ava?”
My omega nodded. “I’m fine with whatever you plan.”
“Dangerous words,” I said with a laugh.
“It has to at least be equal to the party we threw when you finished your paramedic training,” Mary told me. “I assume you’ll want it to be held at home so Ava can retreat to the nest as necessary. All the catering will of course be pregnancy-friendly so Ava can indulge in anything she wants. I’ll make sure there’s a full selection of mocktails as well.”
Mary looked like a kid at Christmas. She loved being able to celebrate her family, and thankfully Ava was pretty chill about it. Mary was definitely the most involved of all our parents so far as I knew. My family was a close second, but Micah’s clan was tight-knit. I couldn’t wait for Ava to meet everyone.
By the time breakfast was finished, Ava looked mildly overwhelmed.
“Ready to go home for a rest?” I asked her.
“Yes, please.”
My phone dinged, a notification popping up that the delivery of Ava’s remaining nursery purchases were on their way to us.
“Perfect timing. The rest of the nursery supplies should be getting home almost at the same time as us.”
Ava perked up at that. “I can’t wait to see everything.”
The packages arrived a few minutes after we did. Once Bryce had given her the go-ahead, she’d gone wild on ordering. I knew she’d get a boatload of supplies from the baby shower, but she’d already started nesting almost as soon as we moved into the new pack house. I didn’t blame her. Most omegas started that process as soon as they realized they were pregnant, but Ava’d had the opposite experience with having to pack up her apartment in her second trimester and then being thrust into chaos.
Ava was happy as a little clam tearing into the packages while the rest of us hovered to see her bounty. The first thing she opened was rolls of wallpaper. The image showed rocky cliffs, orange and yellow flowers, and bright blue ocean.
“Is that somewhere specific or were you just going for ocean vibes?” I asked.
“It’s Monterey!” She beamed at me. “We went at least once a summer when I was little and since we’re so far from the ocean now, I wanted the baby to have a piece of it.”
“That’s beautiful.” Luke rotated the roll to see the full image. “We can put this up tonight if you want.”
“I’d love that. I’m so excited to see everything come together.”
“Should I tell everyone the color themes for the baby shower are blue, green, yellow, and orange?” Micah asked. “Assuming you want to stick to the colors in the wallpaper.”
Ava nodded. “Gorgeous and neutral since I don’t know what I’m having yet. The ocean suits everyone.”
Bryce kissed her hair. “What else did you get?”
The next package was bottles, a warmer and sterilizer in the next. Car seat, feeding pillow, baby monitors, baby-proofing supplies, a pack of onesies. We carted everything to the nursery or kitchen depending on what it was, getting it all tucked away for the eventual arrival of the baby. Going through her new supplies rejuvenated our omega after she’d gotten peopled out meeting Micah’s mom. I’d have to make sure she got plenty of rest prior to the baby shower so she didn’t get too exhausted and overwhelmed.
“I still need to order a bunch of clothes and supplies,” Ava said. “Babies need so many things. It’s bordering on ridiculous.”
“You’ll get a ton more at the baby shower too,” Micah pointed out. “Pretty likely my family alone will have the baby’s closet overflowing so you can wait until after the shower to order more and see what you still need.”
“Unless you’re feeling nesty,” I amended. “Follow the instincts, but know you’re going to end up with everything you need.”
“I can do that,” Ava agreed. “Can we go up to the nest for a while?”
“Absolutely,” said Bryce.
The four of us piled into the nest with her while she happily folded the multitude of onesies she’d purchased. They’d still need to be washed before the baby put them on, but I kept quiet about it since it was instinct driving her actions, not logic. Anything that was tucked into drawers would need a refresh wash after collecting dust for two months anyway.
She snuggled in for a nap and I stayed with her while the others got to work on the wallpaper. I could watch them through the open doors, and thank god Micah knew what to do because Luke didn’t have a creative bone in his body and Bryce didn’t look like he’d ever even attempted home decor before. Their quiet cursing filtered over to us and I nudged Ava to watch them, wallpaper hanging over Bryce’s head and back while he held it up against the wall, Luke and Micah trying to make sure it was centered and aligned.
Ava giggled in my arms. “Should we help them?”
“And ruin the entertainment? Absolutely not. It’ll be a good bonding experience for them.”
“Do you think they’ll be okay?” she asked quietly.
“Hard to say. There might always be friction between them, but I think it’ll go down in time.”
“I don’t like friction,” she grumbled.
“No one does. I do think they have great motivation to resolve things, though. We’ll be a team to take care of the baby and you, and even if Bryce and Luke aren’t each other’s favorite person, they’re going to put that aside for you. If they don’t, well, maybe we’ll have to handcuff them together for a while.”
“Or get them a giant get-along shirt.”
I snorted at the mental image of the two alphas shoved into an oversized T-shirt. “I would pay good money to see that. We both know that Luke can be stubborn, but he’s not usually too hardheaded about things that really matter.”
“I really want this family to work.”
“Me too, sweetness. I’m going to do everything I can to help that along. I’m hoping by the time there’s a little human in the house, they’ll have figured it out.”
Ava nodded decisively. “No bad mojo around the baby.”
“Good vibes only,” I replied with a smile.
She was quiet for a short while, just staring at the others across the hall, before asking, “Do you think Andrew would have loved the baby?”
“I don’t know him well enough to answer that.”
“I wonder sometimes what would have happened if I’d never found out about his wife. I don’t know how he planned to manage two families, but maybe he didn’t plan anything at all. Maybe I’d have moved there and he’d have drifted away. I can never quite make it make sense. Like…why would he have wanted me to move to New York if he could have just left me in California? That would have been easier for him. Heartbreaking for me, but…”
“I get it. I don’t have the answers you’re looking for and we may never know what was actually going on in his head. If I’m being generous, I’d hope he’d have at least taken care of you and the baby financially, though that’s a poor substitute for an emotionally committed and present parent.”
Ava sighed, closing her eyes. “I try not to think about it at all because it makes me really fucking mad. And sad. I hate thinking about how easily he did things knowing it would hurt all of us. I guess I should be grateful that he didn’t dump me on my ass the second he found out I was pregnant.”
“No.” I almost snapped it, but restrained myself. “You never have to be grateful that his behavior wasn’t worse. You and his baby and his wife and kids all deserve better from him. Be as mad and sad as you need to be, but don’t ever turn it around to be grateful he didn’t hurt you more. He was wrong and he knew it. Taking some modicum of responsibility for his choices doesn’t change that.”
A tear slipped over her cheek and she burrowed closer to me. “Everything feels so weird. I’m heartbroken and furious over him, but I’m also so happy for this second chance and getting to know all of you. I didn’t think I could feel all of those things at once.”
“I don’t envy you one bit in that regard,” I said softly, holding her closer. “It’s a complicated situation, but you don’t have to go through it alone. Every single person in this house will do anything we can to support you however you need.”
“What if I want to go to a rage room?”
I chuckled. “Sweetness, if imagining Andrew’s face on a plate before you smash it is part of what you need to heal, I’ll hand you the bat myself.”