Page 62 of We're Just Neighbors
“Relax,” I replied. “I’m sure you’re pregnant. Since Richard is so much older, I’m the one who should be worried.”
“Are you kidding me? Richard might be in his forties, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him. He takes good care of himself, Annie.”
She was right. Richard had the body of a Greek god.
Addison and Caley burst through the door and came running into the cottage.
“Mommy, can Caley and I play with water guns?”
“Yes,” I said, “but only if you promise to hit Daddy.”
They both ran away, giggling. “This should be fun.”
My holistic lifestyle line was booming, too. The investor had made triple his money back, and to keep expanding, he had joined my company. Since we had been trying to get pregnant, I launched holistic food just for women who are expecting. The food had ingredients expecting mothers needed more of, and pregnant women across the country were leaving rave reviews.
The most popular protein bar flavor was pickles and ice cream, which was more common in the pregnancy craving department then I actually thought it would be. I really thought it was just a saying.
I had also started a pregnancy yoga class. It had the most significant enrollment out of all of my classes, and one woman had even gone into labor while doing yoga.
Richard and his father had taken his company across the ocean, and little by little, they had expanded into different countries. Just like Jake, he had been working from home most of the time to be with his family.
Julianna put her coffee mug down and went into the bathroom.
“We still have another few minutes,” I shouted at her.
“Sometimes, these things work fast,” she said, waving her hand at me.
I rolled my eyes and went back to the email from the interior designer. He had asked me about a blue and white pattern that I wanted on one wall and suggested that we hold off until we know the gender. I wrote back that it was a soft enough blue for either a boy or a girl, plus I wasn’t big on gender stereotypes.
I stood up and walked over to the window, and watched Caley and Addison squirt their dads with water guns. Everybody was having so much fun outside. Even though I considered Addison to be my daughter, I instinctively put my hand over my stomach. I wondered if I’d have a baby of my own in a year.
“We’re pregnant!” Julianna screamed so loud that everyone outside stopped playing. “We’re pregnant! We’re pregnant! We’re pregnant!”
She came running over to me, and we hugged each other tightly, crying into each other’s shoulders. Jake and Richard came running in.
“Annie,” he said with tears in his eyes, “is it true?”
I turned to him with emotions high, and he picked me up. Jake looked surprised as Julianna showed him the test.
“I didn’t even know we were trying,” he said, shocked, “but this is wonderful!”
All of us burst out laughing.
We spent the rest of the day outside, talking about being pregnant at the same time, boating, grilling, throwing frisbees around, and just having a good time. Addison was adorable when she helped Jude walk a few steps, gently picking him back up and having him do it again.
When it came time for the fireworks, all of us sat down on blankets to watch. Julianna, Jake, Caley, and Jude were on theirs, and Richard, Addison, and I were on ours. Suddenly Richard and Addison stood up, walked in front of us, and they each got down on one knee.
I looked over at Julianna and Jake with my eyes bugged out, but they just smiled and turned back to Richard and Addison.
Before the fireworks started, right in front of the full moon, Richard pulled a box out of his pocket and held it out to me. After opening it, Addison looked at me and said, “Annie, will you marry us?”
I jumped up and hugged both of them, nodding and choking out the word ‘yes’ through my tears. The fireworks started, and we stood there, all of us hugging, with red, white, and blue lighting up the sky. Everything had turned out better than I ever imagined. I finally got my happily ever after just like Julianna, but this was only the beginning of the Truman’s family story.
