Chapter 15
FIFTEEN
ANNIE
“No fucking way!” Annie exclaimed, bringing her hand to her mouth in astonishment after her brother revealed his surprise to the group standing in front of him and his wife in the Dillinger kitchen.
“Annie,” her mother scolded.
Austin ran a hand through his messy red hair, grinning as Noémie beamed beside him, a hand resting on his upper arm. “Yeah, so that’s the news,” he said, clapping his hands together. “Baby girl Dillinger-LaClaire will be here in October.”
“Congrats,” Annie squealed, jumping up and down, as the other family members shared their congratulations with Austin and Noémie one by one. “How’s it been so far?”
“Terrible,” Noémie said dryly. “The morning sickness is the worst, but I’m hoping that goes away now that I’m in my second trimester.” She rested a hand gently on the curve of her belly.
“Oh, that’ll be the Dillinger genes,” her mom called, voice carrying across the kitchen. “Each of my darling children gave me morning sickness… Annie was the worst. With her it lasted well into the second trimester. The only thing that would settle my stomach was ginger tea.”
“Yeah, I had horrendous morning sickness with Charlotte and Isla; take a wild guess which side of the gene pool they take after. I bet you that baby pops out with red hair,” Avery added, excited as always to have any excuse to talk about babies and pregnancy and raising kids.
“You know what, I think I agree with you, Avery.”
The congratulations continued, Noémie politely excusing herself to head upstairs, needing a little time to rest. Annie and her siblings remained fanned out around the kitchen, prepared to help their mother get the house ready to sparkle for the famed Fourth of July party happening tomorrow.
“Andrew and Junior,” Colleen said, her eyes fixed on the binder splayed open on the counter before her, “you two are on tent duty as per usual. The rental company should be here sometime in the next twenty minutes to start setting up. The box of lights is in the garage and needs to be tested.”
“Sure thing, Mom.” Drew drained the last sip from the takeaway coffee cup in his hand as he and their dad ducked out into the garage.
“Avery,” her mother continued, “I’ll need your help here with decorations and finalizing a few of the last-minute details.
Annie and Austin, you two are going to run some errands for me.
” She held up a piece of paper, handing it to Annie who took it, eyes scanning the list of stops they needed to make.
“I’m driving,” Austin said with a mischievous smile.
“Ugh, fine,” she conceded, following him down the front hall and out to his car.
Annie fiddled with the radio of the rental car, settling on a station. “Dude, you made a whole-ass baby.”
Austin laughed, his boyish smile slipping in place. “Well, I mean, we have one in the oven, but she’s not fully cooked yet.” He adjusted his grip on the steering wheel, leaning forward to look both ways at the intersection at the end of the road. “How do I get to the bakery again?”
“Turn left and then right by the elementary school,” Annie instructed, rolling the window down, letting the warm July air flow over her hand hanging out the window.
“You’re going to make a great dad, you know that?” She looked fondly at her little brother. For as much of a pain in her ass he had always been when they were younger, he was the one member of their family she never felt like she had to explain herself to.
“You think so?” Austin’s voice cracked nervously, reminding her of all the times he used to climb into bed with her when they were younger, whenever there was a thunderstorm.
“Oh, I know you will be. But I swear to God, Austin, if I find out from Noémie that right after the baby arrives you feel compelled to suddenly develop a hobby that requires you to be gone for large chunks of time, I will fly to whatever corner of the world you reside in and set you straight,” she threatened sternly.
Austin turned on the blinker as they passed the elementary school.
“That corner will be France. Lyon more specifically. Noémie and I decided to raise the baby near her family. We’ve both accepted research positions at the university, and when the baby comes, I’m thinking of stepping back to be a stay-at-home dad for a little while. ”
Annie’s face contorted in confusion. “But what about your residency? Don’t you kind of need to finish that?”
A grimace spread across Austin’s face. “Yeah. I don’t think that’s going to happen.” He sighed, pulling into the parking lot of the bakery.
“What do you mean?”
“I quit being a doctor.” He shrugged, unbuckling his seatbelt nonchalantly as if he hadn’t dumped a huge piece of news on her.
“Hold on.” She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, stopping him from ducking out of the car. “Explain,” she demanded.
Austin inhaled deeply, dark blue eyes meeting hers.
“I hated it, Annie. I hated every minute of my intern year. I couldn’t figure out why I was there.
I never wanted to be a doctor, I did it because I had the grades and it’s what everyone told me I should do.
You know how Dad always wanted all of us to become doctors.
” He sighed. “I panicked at the end of my intern year thinking about what the rest of my life was going to look like and decided to take that clinic position in Brazil.”
“You needed space to think. I get that, trust me.” She leaned against the leather seat. “You could have talked to me about it. You never said anything to me when we FaceTimed during your intern year.”
“And admit to my cool older sister that I fucked up and had no idea what I was doing?”
“Shut up, you don’t think I’m cool,” she joked, skirting around the familiar thought pattern that was seemingly woven into the Dillinger DNA—an inescapable need to be perfect. Or at least look perfect on the outside.
“I might be starting to think you’re cool.”
They sat in the car, watching a woman juggle opening the door to the bakery, balancing a sheet cake in one hand and a squirming toddler clutched in her other arm.
“Maybe I’m feeling reflective because I’m starting to feel like a dad,” Austin said, a slight laugh in his voice. “But if the last few years have taught me anything, it’s to take the pivot windows when life hands them to you.”
Annie chewed on Austin’s words, unbuckling her seatbelt, the two of them getting out of the car. Blanket acceptance without questioning was challenging for her, but not impossible—look at how she had handled this past almost year since her life plan got thrown out the window.
“I’m done talking about me. Let’s talk about how hot Max is. Excellent pull by the way. Huge upgrade in my opinion.”
Annie grinned, reassured by the return of Austin’s borderline inappropriate teasing. “I think I’ve done pretty well for myself. A big step up all around.”
Austin held the door for her, a bell ringing overhead as she stepped into the chill of the air-conditioned bakery.
“I’m proud of you,” he said as they stepped into the line leading to the register.
“I know this last year sucked ass, but you nutted up and dealt with it, and I think that’s pretty cool. ”
Annie rolled her eyes as they were called forward by the woman working behind the register. Austin immediately turned on his charm as he gave the woman their mom’s name and order.
A girl appeared a few moments later, carrying a stack of boxes. “Dillinger. Four dozen Fourth of July cupcakes in assorted flavors and a half dozen of our vegan gluten-free cupcakes.”
Austin reached for the stack of boxes. “Thank you so much.”
Annie took the smallest box before turning to hold the door for her brother.
“Where to next?” Austin asked once they were back in the car, cupcakes safely tucked away.
“Home probably. The cupcakes are going to melt in this heat. It’s been so swampy this week.”
“Yeah, probably should have picked these up last, huh. I definitely don’t miss the humidity.” Austin flicked on the blinker, making a right hand turn out of the parking lot, heading back toward home.
They drove in silence, Annie still stewing on Austin’s point about pivot moments. When had her little brother, the same little brother who thought farts were the funniest thing known to mankind, gotten so wise?
“Did you and Noémie consider moving back to the States to raise the baby? You know, to be closer to our family?” she asked, feeling like she already knew his answer.
Austin laughed, short and humorless. “Not even for a second. You couldn’t pay me enough money to live in Wellington Point again. I’m honestly surprised you’re still here.”
“Yeah, me too.” Annie sighed, turning her head to look out the window, watching the way life zoomed by as Austin navigated the back roads leading away from town.
Her eyes followed the line of an old stone wall running parallel to the road that had to be older than the town itself.
“Who knows, I might not be here much longer. Time will tell,” she followed quietly, the image of Max and her land in Michigan popping into her mind.
* * *
The Fourth of July brought record-breaking heat and thunderstorms on the forecast, making for one incredibly on-edge Colleen Dillinger.
But as always, the show would go on, and if her mother had the final say, it would be perfect…
even if the impending storms meant accelerating the evening’s timeline.
The party was in full swing by the time Max arrived with Jack.
Annie spotted them across the backyard, taking a moment to hang back and observe before being seen.
Max, for her part, had tried to stay on theme for the party at least, looking adorable in a crisp white shirt and black high-waisted pleated shorts that made her lean legs look longer than usual.
But it was the way she tied the whole look together with a satin scarf Annie had given her as a gift for her birthday.
The ornate red, white, black, and gold pattern—the perfect element to complete her look.