Chapter 39 – “Mess Is Mine” - Vance Joy
VIOLET
“MESS IS MINE” - VANCE JOY
“I’ll be down in just a moment!” Darby’s melodic voice chimes from the upper level of her home as I shut the front door behind me.
Elena drops her purse onto the entryway table, glancing through the dining room and kitchen before heading toward the living room. “Are we the first ones here? We’re normally late.”
“Not sure,” I say, but by the looks of it, nobody else is around, and only Darby and Leo’s cars are parked out front.
We didn’t have dinner together last Sunday, since it was just a couple of days after Willow was born.
Monica and Dahlia have been around often, helping Darby and Leo ease into parenthood while ensuring they’re both fed, showered, and somewhat rested.
The rest of us have given them a bit more space and privacy to adjust to their new life.
Everett has been working more to cover Leo at Heathen’s, and Elena has picked up extra shifts at The Wicked Wildflower so Dahlia can be here to help her sister.
Outside of a few brief run-ins with Everett around the boardwalk, neither of us has spoken to him much, each interaction we do have fraught with tension.
Tonight’s dinner will be met with inevitable confrontation, and maybe that’s why Elena and I arrived so early. It felt as if we were both sitting around the house all afternoon, just waiting to face the family, and grew antsy. Or at least, I was feeling that way.
Elena ended up obtaining representation from the top agent she reached out to, and she recently received her manuscript back from the freelance editor she hired.
She finalized it today before sending it off to her agent to be pitched to publishers.
On top of that, Leo asked her to create an official proposal for a boardwalk bookstore, and we’ve been working on that together.
We’ve all been incredibly busy, which is how the past two weeks flew by without any of us seeing each other for more than a few passing minutes. But Darby and Leo mentioned to Monica that they felt comfortable having the family over for dinner tonight, and she demanded everyone attend.
Dahlia reluctantly confirmed she was, in fact, pregnant after Lou’s slip-up in the birthing center the day Willow was born, but they quickly stated that they weren’t ready to announce it yet and needed time before sharing any additional details.
I think Monica has been itching for more information from them and hopes they’ll finally spill the beans tonight.
I check the clock on my phone and realize that while we are a little early, I’m pretty sure Monica told us all to come over at five o’clock, and it’s four forty right now, so I’m still surprised we’re the first ones here.
“I don’t know where your parents are,” Darby calls as her footsteps creak against the stairs. “But Dahlia and Everett are going to be late because they had to pick up Lulu from a birthday party.”
She rounds the corner a moment later, holding Willow against her chest. Wrapped in a yellow onesie with a matching knit bow on top of her head, she begins to wail as Darby sinks into the recliner beside the couch where Elena and I sit.
“Baby girl.” Elena pouts, leaning over the armrest to get a peek at her.
“I think she’s just hungry.” Darby sighs.
While she looks tired, she’s still beautiful, with her blond hair pulled back into a low bun, her skin still glowing and hazel eyes still radiant, even if exhaustion peeks through.
Tilting Willow in her arms, she looks around the room before her eyes fix on a blanket basket beside the television stand.
“Can one of you grab me that donut pillow thing?” she asks, nodding toward it.
I lift off the couch and step across the room, swiping the pink, U-shaped pillow from the basket before handing it to her and returning to my seat. Darby positions Willow atop it before undoing the two buttons at the center of her floral-printed shirt.
“How’s everything at work?” Darby asks as she positions Willow at her chest, watching with pure adoration as she latches on and begins to nurse.
“It’s been fine,” Elena says, settling back onto the couch cushions to get comfortable.
“Good.” I nod.
“Are you two ready to finally address your shit with Everett and Leo today?”
Elena side-eyes me, and I shrug.
“I’ve always thought it was a little insane that I spent three months here one summer ten years ago and could see the chemistry your brothers have been so willingly blind to all this time.
” Darby laughs. “They’re acting so shocked that this relationship between you two isn’t as new as they thought it was, when if they’d paid any attention at all, they would’ve seen it way back then. ”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Whatever weird tension was happening between you and Everett at the hospital?” She nods toward Elena.
“Leo’s been bringing it up, telling me neither of you will talk to him about it, and he doesn’t know what happened.
” Darby looks at me. “And I read you like a book, August. I could tell for a while that there was more to your story than what you were telling me. And you don’t have to, but I just want to make sure you can work it out with Everett and Leo and get everyone on the same page. ”
I smile at her reassuringly. “We’ll do our best.”
“Motherhood has made you very intuitive,” Elena says from beside me.
“I’ve always been intuitive.” Darby smiles. “Someone gifted me a bunch of selenite when I was younger, and I absorbed its energy.”
Elena snorts, raising a hand to flip her off.
“Better have a damn good reason for making that gesture at the mother of my child, Lena,” Leo drawls as he slides through the French doors that lead inside from the back patio.
“She can redirect it at you for dripping water all over my floors,” Darby murmurs.
“Baby, I can’t very well strip outside when we have guests, can I?”
“I could close my eyes,” Elena says at the same time I mutter, “I’ve seen your dick a million times.”
“Augustus,” Leo gasps. “That was supposed to be our secret.”
I chuff, rolling my eyes as he tiptoes down the hall and into his and Darby’s bedroom, surely enough, leaving a trail of puddles in his wake.
He returns a few moments later in a pair of shorts and a tee, sliding down the hall with a towel beneath one foot, wiping up the water.
After tossing it into the laundry room off the kitchen, he makes his way to his wife.
“That’s the hungriest kid I’ve ever seen,” he says, kissing the top of Darby’s head.
“You’re telling me,” she murmurs. “How was your lesson?”
“Kids were great.” He smiles, holding his hands out and flexing his fingers. “Is it daddy time?”
Darby glances down to check if Willow is still nursing before she nods, gently lifting their daughter and handing her off to Leo, then reclasps her blouse and tosses her pillow to the floor.
Leo grabs a folded cloth from the coffee table and drapes it over his shoulder before placing Willow against it and slowly pacing the room while rubbing soft circles into her back.
“Do you think you two can stay for a little while after dinner tonight?” Leo asks Elena and me, though we already knew it was coming.
She glances at me, but we both nod as the front door creaks open. I hear it close before the sound of footsteps echoes, and a clattering sounds from the kitchen, as if something made of glass or metal is being placed on the counter.
Monica peeks her head around the corner from the kitchen a moment later, whispering, “I made lasagna. I’m going to warm it in the oven while Dad makes a salad, and we can sit down to eat as soon as Everett and Dahlia get here.”
“Thanks, Mama,” Leo says. “Sugar should be zonking out any minute here, so I’ll get her to bed before we eat.”
Monica smiles before her gaze drifts to Darby. “When is your mom flying in again, love?”
“Not until Thursday.”
Monica nods. “You’ll have to help me come up with a dinner idea for next week so I can make something she likes.”
Darby’s brows knit together, eyes withdrawn as she contemplates before answering, “You know, I’m not actually sure what she likes.
I’m not even sure she knows what she likes.
I can ask her.” She chews on her cheek. “Or maybe I can tell her some of the things you make best, and she can choose one. Try something new.”
“That would be beautiful.” Monica beams before dipping her head back into the kitchen.
From what Darby has told me, her relationship with her mother was strained growing up due to the neglect and emotional abuse her father inflicted on their family.
When he was finally taken down last year for a slew of white-collar crimes involving his business back in Kansas, Darby and Dahlia’s mom got out of the marriage, but it’s been a slow build toward a relationship with her daughters.
Dahlia is more hesitant to connect with their mother, according to Darby.
Darby has grown closer to her over the last couple of years and ended up inviting her out to meet Willow not long after she was born.
Dahlia and Leo are less enthused about the decision, but after the hard time Darby had getting pregnant, including a miscarriage last summer that devastated her, I think she wants to share the joy of her daughter with everyone she loves, including her mother.
A short while later, Everett, Dahlia, and Lou finally arrive.
Leo puts Willow down for a nap in their bedroom while the rest of us prepare dinner and set the table, and we’re mere seconds into our meal before Monica pipes up from the end of the table.
“So, does anyone have anything they want to share?” Her eyes dart to Everett and Dahlia, who sit beside her.
“Mamá, tienes que relajarte. Estás siendo muy entrometida.” Everett drops his fork onto his plate before massaging his temples.
Dahlia pats his shoulder reassuringly. “We didn’t keep it a secret for any nefarious reasons. We just wanted to confirm a few things before we made any big announcement. Plus, we didn’t want to take any of the heat off Darby and Leo’s moment.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want you to feel inferior, brother.” Everett smirks at Leo.
Leo scoffs from the head of the table opposite Monica, leaning back in his chair. “Take one look at my baby and tell me what could possibly make me feel inferior. I made the most perfect child on the planet.”
Darby grumbles, shoving his shoulder.
“Sorry. We made the most perfect child on the planet.” He waves a finger between himself and his wife.
Dahlia sighs, glancing at Everett, who’s flashing a shit-eating grin at his brother.
“Oh, my God, just spit it out,” Elena mutters. “Does the kid have superpowers or something? Four legs? Human-vampire hybrid like Twilight?”
“It’s twins!” Lou exclaims from her seat beside her mom.
“Twins!” Monica squeals, nearly falling out of her chair.
The rest of us follow with similar sentiments, getting up from our seats or reaching across the table to offer hugs and congratulations.
“Boys.” Everett grins.
“Boys!” his mom exclaims. “Oh, my God. This is the best news.”
Dahlia looks radiant, glancing at Everett, whose hand slips beneath the table, no doubt placing it over her stomach. He leans into her, whispering something against her ear that makes her blush, smiling wider.
“When are you due?” Darby asks, sounding less surprised than the rest of us, though it’s not unlikely she’s already up to date.
“November twenty-third.”
“So you’re about three months along, then?”
Dahlia nods. “Fourteen weeks.”
I catch Everett’s eyes across the table. “I’m really happy for you all.”
And for the first time in fucking weeks, the smile he offers me is genuine. “Thanks, Auggie.”
Elena grasps my thigh beneath the table, and when I glance at her, she’s watching all of our interactions with misty eyes and a soft smile.
I know there is nothing that means more to her than watching her brothers live out their hard-earned happily-ever-afters, and fuck if it doesn’t make me more determined to ensure she gets hers too.