Page 79 of This Wild Heart

I should’ve known something was up, though, when Sheila forced Anya and me to drive into town to pick up a grocery order after lunch. In the thirty minutes we were gone, all the women who’d conveniently missed the morning showed up, transforming the house into an explosion of blue balloons and streamers and some cake.

“Do you want more cake, Parker?” Poppy asked, watching as I set the diaper thingy aside.

“You mean the pink cake that saysCongrats on your baby girl?”

“I scooped off the girl part, you ass.”

With an arched eyebrow, I pointed at my plate. “Yeah, I know. You gave me the smeared piece.”

She sniffed haughtily. “Listen, you try to throw together a baby shower with one day’s notice. Choices had to be made, all right?” Her fork waved in the air, a piece of fluffy pink cake coated with white frosting about to fall off. “And this is delicious, so I don’t want to hear a single word about it.”

“Everything is incredible,” Anya said with a gracious smile.

Ivy was next. She walked forward and handed me an envelope with very little fanfare. “I don’t buy baby things,” she said by way of explanation. “I’m sure someday I’ll have to because your brother is obsessed with the idea of procreation, but until that day happens, I’m going with something more long-term.”

Cameron leaned back in his chair, eyeing his fiancée head to toe with a gleam in his eye. “Fucking love her,” he muttered.

Greer patted his back. “We know.”

“She did this for me too,” Poppy said as I ripped open the heavy cream envelope.

Inside was a printout. My eyebrows rose slowly. “You bought him a savings bond?”

Ivy crossed her legs, the sharp points of her stilettos bouncing rhythmically. “In twenty years, that’ll have doubled. He doesn’t need another stuffed animal, but when he gets out of college, he’ll love having that right there. You can tell him Aunt Ivy expects a wise financial investment with a good rate of return.”

It was highly likely that my blood pressure was sky high because the weight of all these expectations started to feel like they were stacking giant bricks on my shoulders.

“Thank you,” I told her.

My mom shook her head, squeezing Ivy’s shoulder with a warm smile. “Want to hold him, sweetie?”

“Oh sure, let Ivy hold him,” Greer grumbled.

Ivy’s eyes cut over to Cameron’s, and he couldn’t hide the sly smile at the sheer panic on her face. “I suppose I could try.”

My chest was tight watching Mom gently transfer Leo over to my almost-sister-in-law. She eyed Leo like he was an explosive device, her hands underneath his armpits as he stretched and groaned. Slowly, Ivy lowered him so that his butt was perched on her lap, almost like he was sitting up.

“He doesn’t talk yet, right?” she asked.

Anya coughed on her sip of water. Greer covered her mouth to hide her smile. Cameron smoothed a hand up his fiancée’s back. “Not yet,” he answered patiently.

“Try tucking him against your chest,” Sheila suggested. “Like you’re holding a football.”

Ivy cut her a dry look. “Like I’veeverdone that before. Let’s try a different reference.”

As they settled the baby in her arms, that tightness in my chest spiraled higher. Even Ivy was pushing past her discomfort and holding him. At my sides, my arms felt numb, like someone had disconnected them from the rest of my body. Made me think again about what Anya said about dead limbs flooding with feeling.

It happened like that, didn’t it? A sudden rush of blood and the prickling sensation overtook any sense of relief you might feel at knowing you can still feel something.

Greer came in front of Ivy and snapped a picture. “Awww, that’s so cute!” She flipped the phone around to show Cameron.

“Can we please have a baby soon?” he asked, loudly enough that we could all hear. Ivy’s face flushed pink, but she gave him a bewildered look.

Poppy groaned. “Stop, I beg of you. I’ve already seen you guys having sex. I don’t need to witness the discussion about it too.”

“You’re pregnant. With my best friend’s baby,” Cameron said incredulously. “I don’t think you get to tell me to do anything.”

Poppy shrugged, a happy grin spreading over her face.

---