December 12th #3
Lori nods in agreement. “You’ll probably have more help than you need.”
“I think I’m okay with that,” I say with a smile.
“And of course, we’ll be commuting back and forth between there and Lincoln,” Damon adds.
“During the offseason and while the baby is younger, I’ll be coming home a lot.
It’s only for a couple of years though. As you all know, I plan to graduate in December of my junior year and will hopefully get drafted the following spring.
The baby will be two then, and based on what her uncle said, at that point, Ainsley will be able to work from anywhere. ”
“And we’ll all move together when Damon gets drafted,” I say. “And kinda like your family tree, we know it’s a little unconventional to live apart, but we plan to make it work and hope to have your support.”
“Selfishly, I’m thrilled my grandbaby will be here,” Damon’s mom says with a twinkle in her eye.
I nudge Damon. “Maybe you should show them the ultrasound photo.”
The sound of yes fills the air, and I can’t help but smile. Actually, I kind of feel like crying.
It’s been such an emotional day. My mom bringing me a new dress to wear to graduation, graduating from college, Damon showing up, and all that has transpired since.
I feel like I’ve been holding my breath since that night when I decided not to tell him, and now I’m finally able to exhale.
Damon hands his mom the photo. Jennifer leaps up and rushes to stand behind his mom, her eyes shimmering with tears.
“Do you know the sex?” Jennifer asks.
“We do,” Damon replies with a wide grin.
“Do we get to know before the baby is born?” his dad asks.
“You do,” Damon says. “It’s a—”
“Wait!” Jennifer yells. “You can’t just blurt it out, Damon, for goodness’ sake. We all have to at least guess first.”
“Uh, okay,” he says.
I stifle a smile, then grab a cracker and a couple of the prosciutto-wrapped cantaloupe bites. I’m pretty sure Damon and I are the only ones eating anything.
“All right, Ainsley,” Jennifer says, “please, stand up. Let us get a look at you.”
“What for?” Damon asks.
“So we can see how she’s carrying the baby, of course,” Jennifer replies.
“Ah,” Damon says, but I don’t really have a clue.
I finish chewing my food, then do as she asked and stand up.
“Side view, please,” she says, studying me. “Hmm, usually, girls are carried higher and boys lower. You’re kind of in between.”
“What have you been craving?” Damon’s dad asks. “Sweet or savory?”
“Um, both,” I answer.
“Biggest things you’ve craved,” Van clarifies.
“I’d say comfort foods. Chinese with sweet sauce, enchiladas, pizza, hot wings. Caramel.”
Damon grins at me when I say that, and I know he’s now thinking back to all the things I ate in the Ozarks and when I visited him.
“I’m not asking what you weigh, but how much weight you’ve gained so far,” Jennifer says.
“Twenty-two pounds,” I reply.
“Anyone else have any questions?” Everyone shakes their head, so she says, “Okay, let’s go around the table. Van, what’s your guess?”
“Boy,” he says.
“Danny?”
“Boy,” he says.
“How about you, Lori?” Jennifer asks.
“Well, the comfort food made me think boy, but I’ve been watching her charcuterie choices, and she’s chosen sweet dates, chocolate, and fruits. So, I’m going to have to go with girl. What about you, Jenn?”
“She’s positively radiant. I looked that way with my girls.
I literally rolled out of bed and looked in the mirror and was happy with what I saw.
My hair was rich and thick. Skin was perfection.
I, too, craved sweet things. So, I’m all in on girl, except that she’s carrying lower than I did.
Oh! Wait! What’s the baby’s heart rate, and how bad was your morning sickness? ”
“No. No,” Uncle Van says, “you can’t ask more questions—or if you do, we have the right to change our guesses as well.”
“Okay, you can change,” Jennifer quickly agrees.
“I was nauseous some, but really wasn’t sick.”
“Well, shoot,” Jennifer says, “that’s a big one.” She lets out a sigh. “I’m going to have to agree with the boys and guess that it’s a boy.”
Damon looks at me and smiles. “Tell them.”
“It’s a little girl,” I say, beaming.
“Oh,” Jennifer says. “I shouldn’t have asked for more information and gone with my gut instinct. But the good news is, I have so many girl clothes! And we got so many amazing gifts that a lot of them have never even been worn. If you’d like to take a look at them.”
Damon’s mom gives Jennifer a glance.
“Oh, you want to shop, don’t you?” she says to Damon’s mom.
“Most definitely,” she replies then turns to me. “We’d love to host a baby shower for you and if you’d like help with the nursery, we’re here.”
“I haven’t planned anything,” I admit. “Or bought anything. I wanted to wait until Damon knew so we could do it together.”
“And it will have to wait a little longer,” Damon says. “We both have finals this week, she’s got to get settled in her new place, and I’ve got to prepare for our next game.”
“Sounds like with how busy you both are, you should let us help,” Jennifer offers with a big grin. “Lori and I are good shoppers. Actually, that’s not true. Lori and Jadyn are the experts when it comes to that, but I do like to tag along.”
“I’d love the help,” I tell them.
“Are we the first to know?” Jennifer asks.
“My roommate, Sammy, guessed about a month ago. And I had to tell my mom yesterday. I was planning to drive to Lincoln after graduation to tell Damon, but then he surprised me by showing up.”
“And got a bit of a surprise himself!” Jennifer hoots.
“Yes, I did,” Damon says. “An amazing one. You all know how much I love kids.”
“I would have been pissed,” his dad says.
“I was initially,” Damon replies. “But we talked through everything, and all is good.”
The chef comes out and says, “If you’re ready for dinner.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” Damon’s mom says, like she forgot all about it.
And she might have.
She and Jennifer are very excited.
We move to a round table off the kitchen and sit down. Food is already on the table, served family-style.
“Tonight, we have a fresh green salad with pears and candied pecans, pork roast, buttered fingerling potatoes, maple-glazed roasted sweet potatoes, French onions, and a savory reduction sauce, paired with a sparkling water and a decadent Cabernet Franc. Bon appétit.”
And then they do something my uncle Van’s family has always done—hold hands while Van says a thankful grace.
There’s a toast to my graduation, and then it’s a blur of passing plates and eating.
After a bit, Uncle Van says to me, “What did you think of the land Damon purchased?”
“It’s stunning. The view of the lake, all the trees. And I love that no matter where he ends up getting drafted, we’ll have a home base here.”
“When are you planning to break ground?” Jennifer asks.
I turn to look at Damon in question because we didn’t discuss that part.
“Right away,” he says. “The builder would love to get the basement in before the ground freezes.”
“Right away?” I ask.
“Yeah, if he can do that, the house will be ready about this time next year.”
“And he’ll get it done,” Van says. “This is the only construction project I’ve had that was done on time.”
After dinner, the guys go out to have a cigar in Damon’s honor, and once they are all outside on the covered porch with a fire roaring, Damon’s mom leads Jennifer and me into a cozy study and says, “Of course they are in a celebratory mood, but I’m sure Danny will be asking Damon a whole lot of questions. ”
“Like why I didn’t tell him?” I ask, taking a seat across from Jennifer and Damon’s mom, who both sit down on a love seat.
“I’d bet it’s more about how he’s going to juggle things,” Jennifer suggests.
“I’m sure he’ll tell them what I told him.
That it makes sense for me and the baby to be in Kansas City while he finishes school.
In my mind, Daddy’s, you know, away for work for the week.
Or something like that. Trust me, I understand completely how important it is that he focus right now on his career.
I told him it will be a blip in our life. ”
“Have you talked about getting married?” Jennifer asks, but then she adds, “Not that I think you need to.”
“We did discuss it.”
“And?” Damon’s mom wonders.
“He asked me to marry him. Actually, he’s been asking me to marry him—make that telling me we’re getting married—since Chase and Dani’s wedding. I just don’t think we need to rush all that right now.” I pat my belly. “We have more pressing matters.”
“We can talk about your dream wedding though,” Jennifer says, doing a little happy clap while a delighted smile spreads across her face.
“Well, I’ve always wanted to get married on New Year’s Eve,” I admit. “All the sparkle and glamour, mixed with the start of something new.”
“Oh,” Damon’s mom says.
“Right?” I say with a shrug. “It would be tough, if not impossible, to do that with playoff games that time of year. Certainly not going to happen this year. He’s got games to prep for, and I only have a few months to get ready for the baby.”
“You really haven’t gotten anything so far?” Jennifer asks. “Not even, like, a stuffed animal or a cute, frilly little dress.”
“Nothing,” I say pathetically.
“Oh, we need to fix that, Lori,” Jennifer says.
Lori grins. “Are you looking forward to designing the nursery, Ainsley?”
“Of course, but as Damon mentioned, finals start on Monday. I have projects to turn in, need to study, take my final test, then get moved back here. And I really need to talk to Uncle Tripp about my job—see if he’ll still want to hire me, knowing that I’m pregnant.
I’m supposed to start next week. I know I should’ve told him before I took the job, but I was stuck. ”
“And we’re going straight into the holidays,” Jennifer says.
“Yeah, it’s a little overwhelming.”
“Would you allow us to help you?” Damon’s mom asks. “There’s a boutique I’ve been to with your cousin Alexa a few times, and I will admit to dreaming of grandchildren when I’m in there. Maybe we could take you?”