Chapter 11 #2
“I agree,” Calliope pipes up beside me. “Babies are miracles no matter how they become part of a family.”
Parker picks up the thread of discussion. “Been thinking it might be nice to get a tattoo of the birthdate.”
“That’s a cool idea.” Wait. Does he mean I’d get the tattoo, or is he really this psyched for the new family members?
“How sweet.” Callie cozies closer to her fiancé. “I’ve got a cousin in Anchorage who owns a tattoo studio. I’m sure she’d cut us a deal if we both did it.”
Oooh-kay. Guess I’m not used to being part of such a huge family. But it’s great that they’re all so supportive, right?
As Hazel heads back to the kitchen, I glance over at Lucy.
This can’t be easy for her and Peter, given their struggle to conceive.
But she aims a warm, sincere smile at our end of the table.
“I had way too many people in the delivery room with Harper. That’s something you guys will want to suss out in advance—who’s helping, who’s cutting the cord, who’s staying put in the waiting area so Mom doesn’t get overwhelmed. ”
“We plan to be in the delivery room,” Calliope says. “She said it’s okay, and her doctor agreed.”
“Oh.” I’m kinda surprised Hazel’s up for an audience. “Well, the more the merrier, right?”
To be honest, I hadn’t pictured the birth of our daughters as a spectator sport. But hey, it’s up to Hazel. Whatever makes her happy, right?
“I’m not sure I can watch,” Jake grumbles on the other side of his wife. “With my luck, I’d faint and be a pain in the ass for the doctors.”
“Jake—” Lucy warns, chiding her brother for cursing.
But Harper’s already off and rolling. “Swearing makes me want to run through the hospital stealing stuffed animals from kids with cancer.”
“Harper Ann.” Lucy throws down her napkin.
Cassidy laughs and touches Jake’s arm. “We’ll need to childproof more than just Jake’s vocabulary, I suppose.”
“That’s really cool of you.” So great that everyone’s pitching in to prepare for our babies. Even Jake seems to soften with his wife’s palm stroking his arm.
“Guess I do want to be there in the delivery room,” he mutters. “I gut fish for a living. How gross can it be?”
Hazel strides through again, looking a little bit pale. As I pick up my beer, an urge to protect her sweeps through me. “Probably shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves here. Seems like it should be up to the person giving birth who gets to be there watching.”
“Amen,” says Cassidy, bumping my can with her glass. “Good point, Luke.”
“Sure thing.” I may as well lay my cards on the table. “I’m open to being there. In the delivery room, I mean? I want to be supportive however I can.”
“Um, thanks.” Cass cocks her head. “That’s…something to consider.”
“No sweat.” Is it really so unusual for a father to witness the birth of his daughters? “I’m not squeamish at all, so I could cut the cord, catch the placenta—whatever needs doing, I’m glad to be a part of it.”
Jake tunes in at that moment. “Huh?”
He’s looking at me like the thought of a dad being there for the birth never crossed his mind. I know I should clear this with Hazel, but come on.
“My sister said skin-to-skin contact is really vital in those first hours after birth.” Ignoring the glare Jake shoots me, I keep going.
“She had Cooper take off his shirt and hold their newborn against his chest as part of the bonding process. Maybe that sounds weird to some people—” like Jake Spencer-King, given the way his eyes narrow, “but I want to experience it all. I’ll gladly strip down to my skivvies in the delivery room to help welcome new little souls to the world. ”
Jake sets down his glass with a thunk. “What the actual fucking fuck?”
“Jake—” Lucy starts, but she’s shifting uncomfortably.
Everyone is, come to think of it. Even Harper takes longer than normal to chime in.
“Swearing makes me want to do weird things in public,” she mumbles. “Like taking off my clothes in other people’s hospital rooms.”
Why are they being so uptight about this? “It’s not like I haven’t seen her naked. I mean—”
“Oh my God, Luke.” Hazel sucks in a breath at the door from the kitchen. She’s staring in horror, and I get the strange sense this is one of those times I’ve misread the moment completely. “Please,” she hisses. “Shut the fuck up.”
Lucy’s eyes widen. She’s so stunned by her buttoned-up cousin’s curse that she doesn’t seem to know what to say. Harper lets out a squeak of bewilderment.
“Hearing Hazel say bad words has me really confused.” Harper wrinkles her nose and scans the table. “It gives me the urge to smash plates.”
Noah’s beside her, silent up until now. Staring me down, he picks up his dinner plate.
“Be my guest, kid.” He hands her the plate, then points at my chest. “You,” he says, frowning. “Did you knock up my cousin?
Swallowing hard, I glance over at Hazel. Her complexion has gone from pale white to green. Her helpless shrug leaves me no choice, so I turn back to Noah and utter the words I last spoke in a courtroom.
“Guilty as charged, your honor,” I say to a symphony of audible gasps. “Guilty as charged.”
“Goodnight, you two.” Lucy laughs as she files toward the door. “Thanks for the most memorable family dinner we’ve had in a long time.”
“Uh, you’re welcome.” I’m conscious of Hazel beside me, doing her best to keep her chin held high.
Erika swoops in and puts a stop to that. “You bitch,” she hisses, laughing as she yanks Hazel in for a hug. “I knew it. I fucking knew you had the hots for him.”
Lucy looks at me and smiles. “To be fair, we thought it was a crush. The pregnancy was a huge surprise.”
“A good surprise,” Peter puts in.
“Absolutely.” Lucy gives me a hug, stretching on tiptoe to whisper in my ear. “Take care of her, okay? She’ll act like she doesn’t need it, but she does.”
“I will.” I swallow a lump in my throat. “And I’ll email you that slaw recipe.”
“Please do.” She lets go and guides her daughter toward the door. “It would go great with my alder-planked salmon.”
Harper moves past me, darting a quick look at Hazel. “You’re really having twin babies?”
“I am.” She touches her belly, blushing a little. “Your mom says you took a babysitting class at the Red Cross?”
“Yeah, I know infant CPR and everything.” She flashes an impish grin. “Are you guys gonna get married?”
“No!” Hazel clenches her hands, not looking at me as she answers. “We aren’t together like that. I mean—we’re not together at all.”
“That’s right,” I agree, knowing I need to have her back here. “Not together even a little.”
Harper’s gaze bounces between us. “I mean, you must’ve been together at least once, right?” She snickers as her mom grabs her arm.
“Harper!” Lucy tugs her toward the door.
“What? I’m just saying.” Harper grins at me as her mother drags her away. “Good job, Luke. Hazel’s pretty and really nice.”
“She certainly is.” Proving I might have a death wish, I reach over and pat Hazel’s butt. “She’s going to be a great mom, too.”
She swats me away with a glare as she wraps up goodbyes with her cousins. There’s a lot of hugging and shouts of “see you next Sunday.” I get several of each myself, and I don’t bother telling them I’m not part of the family. Not like they seem to assume.
As soon as they’re gone, Hazel leans back on the door with a sigh. “That didn’t go like I planned.”
“Sorry again about spilling the story.”
“Not your fault.” She shoves off the door and heads for the dining room to start clearing plates. “I told you I was going to break the news. I can see why you assumed I already had.”
“Still.” Moving behind her, I grab a big stack of plates from her hand. “I apologize for making that the most awkward pregnancy announcement ever.”
“I mean, so far I’ve broken the news to my father in prison, to my mother on the phone while standing outside Weirdoughs in the rain, and to you in a boardroom with a bunch of women you didn’t know.”
“You told your mom?”
“Yeah.” She sighs. “It didn’t go great. But at least it’s done.”
I want to hear more, but I’m sensing she doesn’t feel like sharing. “Maybe a non-traditional pregnancy calls for non-traditional announcements.”
“I suppose.” She struggles to snatch back the plates. “You really did save the day with dinner.”
“Enough to make up for botching the announcement?”
Hazel laughs. “It was so delicious I’d forgive you if you’d stood on the table and slid all my napkin rings on your penis.”
I burst out laughing, turning away to carry the plates to the kitchen. “God, Hazel. You’re one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.”
“You are literally the only person in my life who has ever said that to me.” She takes another swipe at the plates, then gives up and goes back to the table. “You’re not cleaning up, Luke. This wasn’t even your party. You just came to my rescue with dinner and banter that made everyone laugh.”
“Not intentionally.” I carry the plates to the sink, keeping one eye on Hazel behind me. “The laughter, I mean. And Hazel, if you pick up that serving platter, so help me God I’m throwing these plates at the wall.”
With a huff, she releases the platter and follows me into the kitchen. “I can’t just stand around while you clean.”
“You’re right, you can’t. You can sit your sweet ass on that barstool while I do it.”
“But—”
“Now.”
Grumbling, she trudges to the other side of the bar and obeys. “You’re bossy.”
“You like it.”
“Hmph.” She grumbles some more but sits on the stool with a dish towel in hand. After scrubbing the platter, I hand it over for drying.
“So.” She starts drying the platter. “You seem to know Noah pretty well.”
The back of my neck starts to tingle. “Met him when I was still new to town. I think he was here for Jake’s birthday or something.” I conveniently leave out the rest of the details. “We’ve hung out whenever he rolls through town.”
“That’s not very often.” She takes the next wineglass I hand her. “Didn’t know you guys were so chummy.”
“Is there a question here, Hazel?”