Page 83 of Always Been You

He grins. “I spent much of my day distracted. Ended up spending some time looking at baby stuff. You know, I can’t wait to go shopping with you and build the nursery.”

A smile spreads across my face at his excitement. It makes me happy that he’s not only happy about the baby but also excited about all the little things that go into preparing for a baby. This has me running my hand over my stomach.

“This afternoon, I made a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow at noon if you want to come with me. I made it aroundyour lunch time hoping that would be easier for you to fit in,” I say hopefully.

“Yeah, I can make that. Just let me know the address and I’ll be there.”

I turn and cuddle into him as we sit on the couch in comfortable silence. Contentment consumes me. I listen to Josh’s breathing as he runs his fingers through my hair that fell out of the ponytail.

Breaking the silence, I tell him about all the plans I came up with for the barbecue this weekend and all the food items I came up with, asking if he would like me to include anything else. As we finish discussing the menu for the barbecue, I hear Josh’s stomach growl and I laugh.

“Guess we should get you fed,” I say, tapping his stomach before getting up and heading into the kitchen. I open the fridge and don’t see anything I want, so I dig in the freezer and find a frozen lasagna I bought for lazy nights.

“You good with frozen lasagna, babe?” I call out to him.

“Yeah.”

I get everything ready, preheating the oven, putting the container on a cookie sheet, and opening a slit in the film on top. My phone buzzes on the counter and I go to check it. I have several missed texts and a missed call from Mom.

I open up the girls’ chat, seeing my last text sent and all the new ones.

Liv:You guys able to join us for a BBQ in near my parents this Saturday? We’ll meet at the park around noon.

Zo:For sure! Let me know what to bring!

Han:Sounds fun! Count me in.

Liz:????I won’t be able to get there until 1ish, I have an appointment in the morning.

Liv:I have everything planned. Just bring yourselves.

Liv:All good Liz!

I move and continue to scroll through my response texts.

Matty:I’ll be there.

Grayson:????

Caleb:Just let me know what to bring.

Gi:Totally down for food. We need to go shopping soon! Miss you.

Emily:Sounds good. Can you please remind my brother that he’s supposed to help me pick up a bookshelf on Sunday? Thanks Liv!

Mom never responded to my text, so I return her missed call.

“Hey sweetheart, how are you?” she says the moment that she answers the phone.

“I’m good. Sorry, I missed your call. I kinda passed out on thecouch earlier.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I just wanted to check on you and see if you wanted me to bring anything to this barbecue that you guys are doing?”

“No, I think we’re good. I ordered everything online to be delivered tomorrow afternoon and I’ll prep it all tomorrow and Friday so that it’s all ready.”

“Okay, well, let me know if you need anything,” Mom hesitates before she continues, “so we haven’t talked in a while. How is everything going living with Josh?”

I realize I haven’t told my mom about Josh and me yet, plus we just got engaged, and the pregnancy means I’m about to give my mom a bunch of surprises.

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