Page 46 of Together

“Okay, that’s actually kind of sweet.”

I offer up a toothy grin. “That’s me. Sweet.”

Ashley rolls her dark brown eyes. They’re darker than mine, and so expressive. She has a few freckles on the bridge of her nose. When she smiles a certain smile, there’s a little dimple in her left cheek.

She reaches into her coat pocket and pulls out a hair tie, wrapping her long brown hair in one of those messy buns. She makes it look quick and easy and for some reason the short process fascinates me. It looks so complicated, but she just threw it up in twenty seconds.

She forks up the last of her muffin and asks, “Does your sister know what gender the baby is?”

“If she does, she hasn’t told me. She said she wanted to find out but the baby was in a weird position during the ultrasound.”

Her eyes get wide and she slides the fork out of her mouth, chewing rapidly and swallowing. “There’s a chance of that happening? I figured they just keep looking until they know for sure!”

“Apparently not. I guess that’s something we’ll figure out eventually, right?”

“Along with about a million other things.”

“We’re so underqualified. Thank goodness we’re underqualified together.” I joke but there’s a lot of truth to it. What first time parents are actually qualified, though? “So, you’re on board with finding out the gender for sure, huh?”

“Like you said earlier, we’ve had enough surprises. Let’s minimize those that we can.”

“Good plan,” I say, wishing she’d left her hair down so I could twirl my finger in it. The desire hits me hard and swift, and an uncomfortable itch right along with it. Fortunately, my phone rings, breaking into my thoughts.

I pull it out and see Dean’s contact lighting up my screen.

“It’s Dean.”

She bounces and jumps onto her knees on the couch. “You need to get it! Maybe there’s a baby being born right this second!”

I grin at her eagerness for someone she’s never met. “Relax, relax. I’m answering.” I lift the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“It’s time! Get your ass over here now!”

Quickly shifting, I plant my feet on the floor, my eyes trained on Ashley. “Holy shit. For real?”

“Of course it’s for real. Did you really think your sister would have let the doctor induce her? She had a plan and you know how stubborn your sister is.”

Ashley’s watching me closely, leaning in to see if she can hear anything. “It’s time,” I tell her and she squeals.

“Who are you talking to?” Dean demands to know.

“Ashley.”

“Bring her along. Your sister will want her here.”

“Uhh,” I hedge. “I don’t know. I’ll call you when I get there, okay?”

“Yeah. Just… hurry. We got here and she’s already at eight centimeters dilated which means it could happen soon.”

“Okay, well, why don’t I just come over after the baby’s here? I don’t really want to see my sister in labor.”

Ashley grabs my arm. “No! Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”

I give her a weird look. “Are you drunk? You want to go to the hospital where you’ll meet my sister for the first time while she’s in labor?”

“It’ll be a good learning experience for us! What better way to understand what we’re about to get into than watching it firsthand?”

“You’re drunk. You’re pregnant and you’re drunk. This isn’t a good thing.”

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