Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
Mindy
Now that I’m in the second trimester, the morning sickness that has plagued me has eased off significantly.
We told our family about the baby, and outside of those who know the truth, everyone else immediately presumed that I was pregnant by Cruz before we got married.
We haven’t disabused them of that notion, even though my therapist feels that all of my family should know the truth.
But I’m scared to death of Brock’s reaction, because Jolie told me that when she shared what happened with Dex, he punched a hole in the wall.
Knowing how he reacted, I feel like Brock will be ten times worse.
Still, I hate keeping this secret from him, especially since he’s started finding gender neutral things for his ‘favorite oldest niece’ since he feels it’s going to be a girl as well.
Today’s the gender reveal, which Jolie, along with Nonna and Abuela, have overseen. Only the doctor and Jolie know the sex, but the women who treat me like I’m their granddaughter as well, took care of all the food.
“Are you ready for this?” Cruz asks as he comes into the bedroom where I’ve been getting ready.
“Yeah, do you think Jolie will be mad at me?” I reply. “I mean, it only makes sense to do theirs as well since we’re due around the same time.”
“Dex gave the go-ahead, so if you need to, throw him under the bus,” he says, chuckling.
“I just hope… well, regardless of our baby’s gender, I hope that our kids will be best friends like we are,” I muse as I slip on a pair of sandals.
Because my balance has been a little bit off kilter, I put my heels to the side and now have slides, crocs, flip-flops, and sandals. If I wasn’t wearing a cute dress that shows off the hint of my baby bump, I’d have my flip-flops on, but I’m trying to look presentable.
“How did you pull this off?” Jolie asks as she enters our backyard and sees the signs.
“I had a little help from your hubby,” I tease as she walks toward the two baby wardrobes that are in the middle of the yard, surrounded by a huge balloon arch in pink, blue, green, yellow, and white.
“We’re going to be moms together, Min,” she says, bursting into tears.
Because I’m on the same hormone bus as her, I join in and soon, we’re clinging to each other crying our eyes out. We can’t get as close as usual since our respective bumps prevent it, but still, we do our best.
“What the hell is going on?” Dex asks after having crossed the lawn to reach his wife.
“We’re just both so happy that we’re doing this at the same time,” Jolie replies, still blubbering.
Dex sighs and shakes his head, used to the two of us and the way we sometimes get dramatic.
Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he starts wiping her face off, which is covered in tears, as well as the makeup she had on.
“You’re going to have to either go without the goop you insist on applying or fix your face, sweetheart. ”
She turns and looks at me and says, “What are you gonna do?”
“You know I’m an ugly crier, so I probably need to fix my face. Come on, we’ll go get it done before the festivities start.”
“They can’t start without us,” she teases, looping her arm through mine and tugging me toward the back doors. “We’ll be right back! Just some pregnancy hormones that needed releasing!”
Outside of Cruz’s parents and sisters, who don’t live here, everyone else has gotten used to how we fall apart at the drop of a hat.
Pregnancy hormones add the Y and capitalize it to our already out of whack, crazy demeanors.
It’s why both men now have either handkerchiefs or tissues in their pockets at all times when the two of us are together.
Granted, I’m not much better when I’m by myself.
Cruz caught me in hysterics the other night when I saw one of those ASPCA commercials.
I wanted to adopt every single one of them to ensure they’re never euthanized or go hungry again.
Somehow, he convinced me that we could help an animal better by giving it a home than by donating money that likely covers the big wig’s pockets.
So, we’re going to go to an adoption event next weekend to see if any of the animals call to us.
I want a cat but was worried about the whole possibility of toxoplasmosis, and Cruz said we’d get an automatic litter box and he’d take care of emptying it while I was pregnant.
“We’ve got good men,” I whisper to Jolie as we work to fix our faces.
“Normally, I wouldn’t ask, but you’re my best friend, so I’m just gonna do it,” she replies. “Have y’all… you know?”
I shake my head, almost poking my eye out with my mascara wand. “No, not yet, but I wake up every morning wrapped in his arms and my first thought isn’t to scream bloody murder or freeze up.”
“Just take your time,” she advises, knowing this topic is a hard one for me to talk about or even ponder. Despite the fact that we talk about any and everything, even sex, that stopped when I was raped.
“That’s the plan, but dang, these hormones are making it so that it feels like they’re overriding my fear,” I retort. “Not like I had a lot of boyfriends like that before, but none of them have ever made me feel the way he does.”
“He’s your one, Mindy. I hate how things happened so he would be in your life, but he genuinely cares for you. Hell, at this point, I think he loves you.”
I’m already shaking my head as I fix my hair since Jolie’s still putting on makeup. “It’s too soon for that,” I whisper. “But I know I love him, Jolie. I’m just scared of having sex with him.”
“I think you should discuss it with your therapist and see what advice she has, Mindy. You’ve come so far already from that night, my friend. Don’t let what that bastard do keep you from experiencing the best thing ever.”
“What’s that?” I ask as we make our way outside once again.
“Why, sex with your hubby, of course,” she teases. Looking around, she calls out, “Is everyone ready to see what we’re having?” When everyone yells that they are, she points me toward Cruz and then she gets Dex’s attention. “Come on, you two, we wanna see what we’re gonna be raising.”
“I’m nervous,” I whisper to Cruz. We’re waiting for everyone to get their cameras and videos ready to snap pictures of the moment so we can have it as a memory keepsake.
“I’m not. Whatever we’re going to have, we’re going to do the best job we can of raising them. Together,” he replies, kissing my cheek.
“Okay, Abuela and I are going to call out and when you four hear ‘one’, go ahead and open the wardrobes,” Nonna says.
I take a deep breath as Cruz now faces me, both of us with our hands on the handles. One side will have a hanging rack, the other will have little shelves, and there are three drawers below the wardrobe part for other stuff.
“Three, two, one!” Nonna and Abuela yell.
Pink.
All the pink and purple things a person could imagine for a newborn stare at me as I look at Cruz.
I know it’s the hormones, but I leap into his arms, confident that he’ll catch me and as tears stream down my face, I cup his cheeks and lean in and kiss him, murmuring against his lips, “A girl, honey. We’re having a little girl. ”
He holds me close and honestly, if he smiled any wider he’d split his cheeks as he says, “She’s going to be beautiful just like her momma.” And spoiled rotten, I’m sure.
Our little moment is interrupted when Arya exclaims, “They’re both having girls! Yay! Me and Ani can help with them!”
Cruz turns me so I can see Jolie and Dex’s wardrobe and I see pink and purple in hers.
Dex nods to Cruz and suddenly, I’m on my feet again and she and I rush toward each other.
“This is going to be an awesome experience!” she screams, momentarily deafening me.
“I honestly didn’t care what we had, or even if one of us had a boy and the other a girl, because they’re still going to be the best of friends, just like we are. ”
We’re sobbing again as our husbands come up to us. “Nonna and Abuela want to pull out the cakes now that we’ve done the reveals,” Dex says. He answers my unspoken question by saying, “I think little birdies might have told them what each of you were having.”
I’m laughing as we turn toward the tables laden with food, only to stop in my tracks. The cakes are the same as far as being made to look like little bassinets, decorated with pink and purple flowers, but each has a unique onesie draped over the side which has me doubling over in laughter.
Jolie’s says, “My Daddy knows how to dive deep, what’s your superpower?”
Mine says, “Mess with my best friend and you’ll be ‘Cruz’in’ for a bruisin’”
“Nonna!” Dex exclaims.
“What? Those babies are going to be the best of friends like these two are,” she states, pointing between me and Jolie.
“Plus, even though you and Cruz are either at work or sleeping before work, I’ll have you know that they both get in their daily steps going back and forth across the road. Don’t you see their path?”
I snicker because neither of us are big on working out, but we don’t mind walking.
Not only do we go back and forth all day, we also walk about a mile up and down our road if the weather permits.
Our doctor was okay with our plan, and thanks to Nonna and Abuela, as well as Cruz’s wonderful grilling skills, I’ve regained the weight I lost after the assault and have only put on about ten pounds beyond that so far.
I know that’s going to change, but right now, my little bean is right where she’s supposed to be development-wise.
“Let’s eat!” Arya exclaims as she jumps up and down at the table where the cakes are sitting.
“Sounds like a good idea to me, too,” Cruz replies, a gleam in his eyes as he looks at ‘our’ cake.
“You and your sweet tooth,” I tease.
“I bet you’ll be sweeter,” he says, grinning down at me. When I start to blush at his implication, he bursts out laughing. “Soon, kitten, soon.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” I mutter as he reaches out and takes the first two plates of the cake and hands one to me.
He just grins in response.