21. CALLUM – THE SQUEAL
CALLUM – THE SQUEAL
The pen in my hand taps on my crossword absentmindedly. I’m trying to remain calm. Trying to keep a straight face, but I can’t concentrate. Just before I came down this morning, I heard Everlee squeal.
Squeal.
In her bathroom.
Squeal!!
And not like an orgasm squeal, but like an excited squeal.
It’s been almost two weeks since Lizzy’s bridal shower and since we had a fuck fest when she got back. We all had that entire day off and kept her on her back…or knees… or stomach. All. Day. Long.
We massaged her, fed her, fucked her, on repeat. She had breakfast, lunch, and dinner in bed. We didn’t spend the entire day fucking her because her pussy wouldn’t be able to handle it, but we did love and dote on her. We missed her when she was gone and just wanted to be near her. She told us about the drag show, even though Beckett had already told us he was taking her to one. We all wished him good luck. Taking Everlee, Betty, and Lizzy to a drag show is like giving toddlers ten shots of espresso, then setting them free in a toy store.
Emmett is at the stove working on his quiche and Knox is playing with the pups, while Jax is squeezing oranges to make fresh orange juice.
No one is talking because we’ve all read hundreds of articles at this point and know we’re in the window of finding out if we’re adding a little one to the bunch, but only I know about the squeal.
Turning my wrist over, I glance at my watch.
It’s been fifteen minutes.
What is she doing?
Simple answer, killing me.
She’s probably taking another test. That’s what she’s doing.
She wants to be certain.
DAMMMMMMN it.
A door closes upstairs, and the pen falls from my hand.
Never in a million years did I think I would be so excited and happy to be a dad. That was never an option for us, so I didn’t allow myself to want, but now that I do… I want. I want very much. I want more than anything I have ever wanted in my entire life.
When her first step echoes through the stairway, everyone freezes. It’s like we’re all connected and they know. Even Woodford and Blanton freeze, which never happens.
She comes down on the last stair, and I watch her, looking for any sign.
“Good morning?” She smiles, letting her words linger in the air, watching us cautiously.
“Morning. I just put the quiche in the oven, so it should be ready in about twenty minutes.”
“Thanks. I’m starving.”
She plants a kiss on my forehead, then takes a seat at the end of the bar.
There's a palpable charge in the air, and I'm certain she can feel it too.
“How did everyone sleep?” A smile spreads across her lips, and my heart thrashes inside of my chest.
Jax looks at me, then at her.
“Great, Everlee. How did you sleep?” Jax asks, his words staccatoed.
“I slept great.”
“Great.” Jax’s tone is short.
Her fingers make circles on the counter as her smile continues to spread across her lips. “So… you may want to get all the sleep you can now.” She doesn’t look up.
My body tenses as I lean forward in my seat.
“Why is that?” I ask.
She looks up and her eyes are glassy.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“Yeah?” Emmett and Jax say in unison.
“Fucking yeah!?” Knox screams out, thrusting his fist in the air.
“Yeah.” She starts crying and laughing. “I’m pregnant.”
A loud crash pulls our attention. Knox is sliding across the floor on his stomach and two of the pen walls have snapped and clattered to the ground.
“Are you ok?” Ev asks, standing up with her hand still over her mouth.
Knox pops up and lifts her into his arms, spinning.
“We’re having a baby! We’re having a baby.” He stops moving as realizations sets in. “We’re having a baby.” He stands Ev back up. “There’s so much that needs to be done. We need to get the nursery ready, make a short list of names, find a car seat, stroller. Books! We need to read her or him books, but not your smutty ones.”
“What’s wrong with my smutty books?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. Just need to keep it age appropriate.” His hands rake through his hair. “I need to make a list.” He runs to the office and starts pulling out drawers, calling out something about not finding paper, then runs back into the kitchen. “Digital. Digital list is good and I will share it with everyone so we can add stuff to it and mark it off when complete.” He throws his hands into the air. “We’re having a baby.” He drops to his knees, lifts her shirt, and gives it a kiss. “I’ll order some books, so I can start reading up on it now.”
“Can you snap the pen walls back in place before you do that?” Jax asks, flicking water at him.
Knox doesn’t even bat an eye as he walks over and puts it back together, like his mind is running a thousand miles a minute and he doesn’t have time to taunt Jax like he usually would.
With Knox working on the pen, I walk over and wrap my arms around her, bringing her to my chest. We’re having a baby. I’m going to be a dad.
Jax and Emmett walk up, so I step back and they both hug her. She wraps her arms around both their backs and squeezes. Knox walks up behind them and hugs, then looks at me, nodding his head, so I walk over again.
We’re all hugging one another and just being in the moment. No one talking… just being.
The timer goes off on the oven some time later, breaking through the silence.
Emmett pulls the quiche out of the oven and sits it on the stove while Jax pours everyone a glass of orange juice.
“I don’t want to tell anyone yet. It’s still so early. I took three tests, and they all came back positive, but I just want a couple of weeks.”
“You tell us, babe.” I rub her shoulders.
“Ten dollars says Lizzy sniffs it out.” Jax chuckles and slides the drinks across the bar.
“Probably. But her wedding is just over a month away. I want this time to be about her.”
“She’ll know something’s up when you aren’t drinking.”
“That’s why I have four delicious baby daddies that are going to keep me plied with non-alcoholic drinks. Plus, when I get happy, I naturally act like I’m drunk, so I’ve got nothing to worry about there.”
It’s really happening.
The news keeps hitting me in waves. Like I know what’s happening and I’m excited, but then it’s like I forget for a second, then remember again.
Emmett chimes in, “Yes, but we won’t be at the bachelorette party.” He walks to the pantry and brings back a cookbook, positioning it on the counter in his cookbook holder that Knox bought him for Christmas.
“What is that?” Ev laughs, ignoring his first comment.
“It’s a pregnancy cookbook.”
“A pregnancy cookbook?” She laughs, walking over to flip through it.
Emmett wraps his arms around her and sits her on the counter and brushes the hair out of her face. “Emmett Jr. is a wonderful name.”
She laughs and leans forward, pressing her lips to his.
She is glowing. God, she is beautiful. The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
“There’s so much to do!” Knox exclaims, sitting on a barstool, foot bouncing rapidly.
Jax puts his hand on Knox’s shoulder with a firm hold and looks at him. “Brother, I’m going to need you to calm down. You’re getting antsy and it’s putting that energy out in this room and making me antsy. I don’t like it. We have nine months. We will get everything figured out.”
“Ok. Ok.” He’s nodding while he speaks, but clearly hasn’t calmed down.
Everlee walks over and wraps her arms around him and squeezes tight. After a few seconds, he wraps his arms around her and buries his face in her chest and starts crying. His back is shaking. Everlee’s wide eyes shoot to mine and I shrug.
After a minute, Knox pulls back and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m so happy, Ev. You’ve given me, us, something that I never thought we’d have. We’ve gone through some shit, you know that... but we have a chance… to do it right. To be better than all our parents. To be present and loving. For so long… I was terrified I wouldn’t know how to be a father because I didn’t have that growing up. Like I wouldn’t know how to act, or what to do. But already… already there is this overwhelming desire inside of me to love and protect and be there for this baby.” He places his hand on her stomach. “It’s like a switch has been flipped, and I would give anything for this baby.”
She runs her fingers through his hair and grabs at the root. “You’re going to be a terrific father, and don’t let anyone or anything make you believe differently.”
Knox nods, then takes a seat at the bar.
Emmett waits a second before he slides the sliced pieces of quiche over the counter.
Silence fills the air again, before dings set off across all the phones in near unison. We all check our phones to see a small list of doctors, their addresses, phone numbers and reviews.
“What is this?” Everlee asks, after taking a sip of orange juice.
“It’s a short list of OBGYNs in the area that are the best. I’ve already held interviews with each of them. If you would rather use your current one that’s fine, or if you want to look at others, that’s ok too. I can send you the full list of the other twenty I’ve interviewed, with notes on pros and cons.”
“Thank you, Knox. This is great.” Everlee’s hand squeezes his.
“These are also ones that are more… open… to our situation. They will also do house calls if we want.”
“This is great. Thank you so much.”
“So this is where you’ve been going over the last two months. Interviewing OBGYNs?” Jax asks, stabbing the last bite of quiche on his plate.
“Yes. I needed to do something and thought it would help Ev out.”
“Well, I feel like a jackass,” I mumble and everyone looks at me.
“Why?” Everlee asks, walking around to get another slice of quiche.
“Because you have Emmett with his cookbook, Knox with all his research, Jax, I’m sure has done stuff behind the scenes. I mean, all I’ve done is fucked you.”
“Fucked me good, you did, daddy.” She winks, making me chuckle.
After several minutes, Emmett says, “I have to go into Bo’s today to meet with Colby.”
“How’s he doing?”
“Good. He’s great actually. He’s been at Bo’s since the beginning and loves the place almost as much as me.”
“Doubt anyone could love it that much.” Everlee smiles.
“Close.” Emmett winks. “But he’s the natural choice to take over as management. He and his girlfriend are expecting their first child in a couple of months, so I was a little concerned it would be too much, but he assures me he can handle it. Plus, it’s a nice pay raise for him, so the money will help.”
“Can you walk away from it?” Jax asks.
“Not that I didn’t before, but now I have an even greater reason to. And I’m not walking away from it. I will always be around, but more of an ownership role and less hands on in the day to day. I will still curate the menus and the cocktails, but I won’t have to be there daily, managing all the books and such.” His eyes meet mine with a knowing glance.
After Easter, we talked about what it would be like, look like, if we moved. Moved away from the busy city and the clubs and Bo’s and moved further south, closer to Ev’s family and Mama Mary. Over Easter, Ev was so happy to be there with her family, and we had a wonderful time. It would be an enormous step. We have four businesses up here, but we all want to own them instead of manage them now. We want to be present for Ev and our child. Emmett and I haven’t brought it up to Jax or Knox yet, because we’re still trying to figure out what this all means, but… I don’t know. As Ev’s parents continue to get older, they won’t be able to make as many trips up here, so we’ll be making more down there. Plus, it’s where we all grew up.
I give my head a slight nod, acknowledging I understand his unspoken message. Honestly, he was the one I was most concerned about not wanting to move.
“So… what are we going to do today?” Ev asks, then adds, “After we have lunch at Bo’s.”
“Maybe a pleasant walk with the pups. It’s a beautiful day out,” I offer.
“’Tis a beautiful day out,” Knox chimes, walking to the sink to wash his dish.
“I’m going to head to Bo’s in a little so I can work with Colby before you all get there, so we can leave after lunch.”
“I can drop you off,” Knox offers. “I need to run out for a bit this morning as well.”
“Care to share?” Jax teases.
“Share, Ev? Always. Share where I’m going this morning? Nope.”
“So elusive,” Ev says, snaking her arms around his neck.
He twists and pulls her around to sit on his lap, then whispers something in her ear, making her laugh.
Knox pats her hip, signaling for her to stand, then darts up the stairs.
“Where is he going?” Jax asks.
She laughs. “He said… when Jax asks after I leave, tell him I’m going to take a shit. When he sighs and rolls his eyes and mumbles something about me being an idiot, then you can tell him we’re out of dog food, so I’m running to the pet store to get more and that he shouldn’t be so nosy.”
Jax rolls his eyes with a grin tugging at his lips. “Ass wipe.”
Ev throws her head back, laughing, like she’s just heard the funniest joke. “He also said when you tell him all that and he calls me some name to say, love you too, pookie and I’m not really in the bathroom, I’m working on a new art piece.”
“Art piece?” Emmett and I ask at the same time.
“That little shit!” Jax bolts from the counter and races up the stairs.
A loud crash echoes from upstairs, followed by cussing from Jax and laughter from Knox.
“You teamed up with Knox?” I ask, laughing.
“How can you say no to him?”
Emmett chimes in. “I think Jax secretly likes Knox’s pictures. If not, he would remove the frame from his bedroom.”
“Knox’s dumbass would just hang another.” I laugh.
Emmett dries his hands and gives Ev a kiss on the forehead before he walks upstairs. “I’m going to see if I need to intervene before I get ready to head out.”