Page 32 of Interpreter

With a droll of her fingers, Anniston stands and flashes me a grin. “I’ll check with the guys and see what they have planned, but Aspen and I will go.”

I want to hug her. Crowds are not my thing. The impending darkness of the setting sun is not my thing. I don’t want to go to a festival where I will encounter new people whose lips I won’t be able to read due to the evening fog. My stomach was in knots the rest of the afternoon after Milah broke the news. Sure, Milah can interpret for me, but I don’t want that. I don’t want to feel the stares or the missed hellos. I don’t want to feel alone. And that says something about me. Dr. Parker would be proud. A few years ago, all I wanted was to be alone. Now, faced with a less-than-ideal situation, what’s the first thing I do? I gather my army.

The saying makes me swallow harshly as I remember her question to me so many years ago.“And what if I can’t fight it alone?”She hadn’t had an army. Just me and King, her security. And we let her down.

A hand to my shoulder startles me.“Let’s go ask the guys,”Anniston signs, her fingers soft and lacking the proper form for sign language. She knew my head was a long way away from this office.

“Thank you.”

“Since when are the line leaders mandated to come to recess?”

Unbuckling Aspen, I flip Theo off behind her back. I knew a comment was coming; I’m actually surprised he waited this long. After I left Anniston’s office, I went upstairs to my room to shower and change. When I came back down, everyone except for Vic was waiting to leave.

I understand why Vic didn’t want to come. A school full of children for him would be like me going to a concert. It would be excruciating. But the rest of them? I figured it would be me, Aspen, Anniston, and maybe Theo. It’s not often his two girls leave without him. Since having Aspen, he’s become more protective. I get it. So when I asked the group if they were sure, I was met with eye rolls, a “fuck you,” and “we want to see your hot boss.” I knew when walking out of the house, this night would get me a lot of shit from the guys. They came to support me, sure, but they also came to stockpile ammunition so they can rag on me later.

“It’s not recess, Theo. It’s a fall festival. Don’t give him a hard time.” Theo covers Breck’s mouth before she can say more.

“B, your husband asked if he got to move his behavior clip up yesterday. Maybe you should save some of that scolding for him.” Theo looks all smug when Breck’s eyes widen and she whips around to face Cade who only grins. He did ask me that yesterday, and I laughed. There’s a chart in the room with three colors: red, yellow, and green. Every kid has a clothespin or a clip as we call it, with their name on it. They start their day out on the color green and then as the day progresses and their behavior worsens, their clip moves up the chart. If they get to red, they visit the principal. Which, now that I think about it, it’s pretty crazy Cade knew about the process.

But regardless, Cade teasing me was all in good fun. I certainly took my turn teasing him when he pined after Breck. Giving each other shit is the norm around our house. If the guys weren’t teasing me, I would feel like they were babying me about this whole thing.

“Cade! I can’t believe you,” Breck says, her cheeks flushing.

Theo rolls his eyes and signs along with his words. “B, I don’t know why you act all shocked when Jameson does something less than noble. He’s been fooling y’all for years.”

Breck narrows her eyes. “You’re rubbing off on him,” she observes.

Theo blanches, and Cade’s smile couldn’t get any bigger when he wraps his arms around Breck and whispers something in her ear that I obviously don’t hear. Theo makes a gagging motion, and I scoop his daughter out of the seat, her feet kicking in excitement.

“Play,”she signs, her thumb and pinky poking out of her little fists, twisting and turning as she tells me she wants to go play. I hold her tight so she doesn’t wiggle free, turning around to see the towering, blow-up slides and bouncy house. No wonder she can’t wait to get down. It’s a wonderland out here. Rows and rows of tables line the back pasture that house the playgrounds with games and food carts. It’s a nightmare for parents who are going to have to take these sugared-up kids home tonight.

“Stay away from the sweets, Theo,” Cade teases as he comes to stand in front of Aspen and me. He gives Aspen’s cheeks a little pinch. “Momma can’t have Daddy and Baby hyper tonight.”

“You are fucking hilarious, Jameson.”

“Theo! You can’t drop the f-bomb at a school!” Breck looks around, making sure no one heard him, and I smother a laugh. Theo doesn’t give two shits where he is.

Theo, done with all the ribbing, turns to Breck and flashes her a smile that serves as a warning. “Fine.” He looks at me. “You two kids have fun. Have her home by midnight. Daddy is going to—” He covers Aspen’s ears, and she squirms. “—finger bang the F out of Mommy when the sun goes down. Take your own blanket. You can’t sit with us.”

Cade shakes his head, and Breck just glares at him.

“I didn’t drop an f-bomb,” he argues with her silence.

“You can’t do that at a school!” I imagine Breck’s words are more like a hiss.

“Why not? Kids do it all the time at schools.” Theo winks at Anniston who finally comes around to the side of the car with her arms full of blankets. Theo takes them from her, still bullshitting with Breck. He’s not serious. Not that he and Anniston’s sex life is discreet, but he does have sense and he would never finger Anniston in the midst of a children’s movie at the elementary school.

“I’m teasing.” He pushes into Breck’s shoulder lightly. Tears bead in the corner of her eyes. What the hell? Theo has definitely said worse. What could have possibly been said to make her cry?

“B?” Theo asks cautiously, setting the blankets down on the ground and moving toward his friend. Theo and Breck hit it off from the moment they met three years ago. Theo always takes to someone who will give Cade a hard time. So when Breck stayed at the foundation to help out when Theo and Anniston went on their honeymoon, he was more than happy to make a new friend that drove Cade crazy. Breck crying over something he said isn’t right. If anything, Breck is used to his type of comments.

Theo pulls Breck into his arms, and she starts sobbing into his shirt, shaking her head back and forth. I glance at Cade, ready to intervene to keep him from killing Theo, but he’s standing there watching his best friend soothe his wife before he signs to me, speaking the words to everyone else. “We wanted to wait to tell you, but the mood swings are becoming noticeable.”

I feel my eyes go wide. Is she…?

“We’re having a baby,” announces Cade. Theo pulls back with this new information and grins like he’s proud or about to say something really shitty, but funny. Instead, he goes for somewhere in the middle. “Pay up, Anniston. I win. I said she was pregnant.”

Anniston hangs her head and tries to smother her grin.

---