33. Chapter 33
Aspen
The sun shines through the diner window as my mom, Ava, and Willow sit down for brunch and baby shower planning.
“Did you know that themed baby showers are really in right now? They’re all over Pinterest and those cute baby websites,” Willow says as she sits down.
Willow was a consultant while she lived in New York.
With that, she became kind of a guru at anything businesses could possibly need.
A jack of all trades, if you will. This comes in handy for more things than you’d think.
She completely updated how the ranch runs its back office, she got a whole new side business of airbnbs going, and now, she’s doubling as an event planner.
“Do you have any themes that you would want?” Ava asks.
“Uh, no. I didn’t realize that was a thing,” I say as I relax back into the padded booth.
This diner has been around for ages; in fact, I think this is the very diner my parents had their first date at. It’s cute and even though they’ve updated it in little bits throughout the years, the classic diner charm has never left it.
“In my day, you had three friends and a few old ladies for church rally things together and drop them off.”
“Okay, well, good news, whatever theme that is, I don’t want it. Make it a little more razzle dazzle than that,” I offer jokingly, nudging my mom’s shoulder.
“We can do cowboy themed, there’s some sunshine themes, though. My favorite one is ‘Ahoy, here comes a boy,’” Willow says as she turns her phone around for all of us to look at.
“People are so creative,” I say, scrolling through the endless ideas that keep popping up.
Sandra, the waitress, makes her appearance back at our table. “Hello girls, happy to see this smiling bunch all together. What can I get you to drink?”
“Iced tea,” I chirp.
“Oh, that sounds really good. Can I do that, too?” Ava asks.
“Of course,” she looks over to my mom and Willow, “and you ladies?”
“I’d like a Diet Coke,” Willow says.
“And I’ll take a coffee. I need more energy to keep up with these spring chickens.”
“Will you guys be eating with us today or just hanging out?” she asks. In a larger city, I could see them getting mad about hogging a table for hours with no plans to eat. But not here, they’re just happy to have you.
“We will absolutely be eating.” My stomach rumbles as if on cue.
“Alright, well, I’ll get those drinks and give you ladies some time to figure out what you want.”
“Thanks, Sandy,” my mom says with a grin.
“Okay, back to themes.”
“How about we skip the themes, and go for more of a monochromatic blue moment?” I request.
“Oh, yeah. That could be really cute. I know this lady who does balloon arches and stuff,” Ava says, pulling her own phone out.
She pulls up the girls’ group page and shows us the work she has done. We all ooh and ahh.
This is such a special moment. There isn’t a lot about the pregnancy that has broken my way.
The top half was tough with Rhett, and once that got figured out, I started swelling up like a balloon.
Add in Rhett and Weston still being on the rocks, it almost feels like I can’t catch a break.
But these little moments remind me of how much is still going right.
Ava scrolls over one too far and we are blasted with a picture of a Gracie girl blow-out.
“Ew,” Willow says, playfully gagging.
“Oops, sorry. Nothing like that to add to your appetite.” She winces with a bit of regret.
“I’d judge you, but I know that I’m about to be living that life, so it’s all good. Baby shit green isn’t really her color though,” I joke.
“You nurse types are gross,” Willow says, her face displaying how little she is enjoying this.
“Listen, that’s actually at the bottom of the gross list for things we see.
I mean, I only work like eight hours a day a couple times a week right now, so I’m probably missing some cool stuff,” I say, only half joking.
It’s hard working less, but my body does feel so much better for it.
It’s only for a short time, too. My whole team has been really kind about easing my guilt for them having to pick up my slack.
“How is that whole pre-eclampsia stuff going?” my mom asks.
I nod my head side to side, trying to give an answer that makes sense. “It’s okay. I have to check my blood pressure a lot. The only time it’s high is after work from being on my feet all day.”
“That’s good. You guys have sure been through the wringer. You deserve a baby that sleeps through the night by week three as a reward,” Ava chimes in.
“I agree; that would be a nice treat. Speaking of treats, what’re we ordering? Baby is starving.” I run my hands over my bump and rest them there.
We all converse over what we’re going to order.
Brunch is my favorite and it takes me about two seconds to decide what I want when I get a whiff of syrup from the kitchen.
French toast, with strawberries on top. Two strips of bacon and one sausage link.
It’s a bit specific, but what baby wants, baby gets.
Our food comes out, and for the first time since we got here, there is more than two seconds of silence as we scarf down our food. It appears I wasn’t the only one who was bordering on starving.
Once we’ve cleared our plates of all crumbs of food, we get back to business. When you have all of us here together, it’s like herding cats when it comes to keeping us on topic. We’ve taken more detours than a highway under construction.
“For food, do you want a meal or finger foods?”
“Finger foods, but I better not see a single vegetable.”
“Did you suddenly develop an aversion to veggies?” my mom asks, a bit sarcastically.
“I’ve eaten more vegetables during this pregnancy than I have in my entire adult life. I think I've earned one day of cupcakes, cookies, maybe some popcorn for a salty balance.” I hold my hands up and shrug, waiting for them to take the suggestion.
“Alright, so for foods, act like it’s a ten-year-old’s birthday?” Willow asks, poking fun.
I nod. “Exactly.”
“Who do you want there?” Ava asks.
“That’s a good question. You guys are my favorite people and the most important. My work friends would be nice. You guys know who matters to me; if you can get them there, that’d be great, but even if it's smaller and more toned down, that would be great with me, too."
Life has been incredibly heavy lately, and a day like today was needed. Even though I am incredibly excited for my shower, this group of girls right here is what has been getting me through. We spend the next hour laughing and pulling up ideas. I leave with my heart and belly full.