Page 121 of His North Star
Enough of this talk. “I see there’s a gift by your chair, Gloria. Is that for us?” I asked. Normally, I’d never be so bold about asking if a present was meant for me, but the timer on Ty’s watch only had about ten minutes left, and besides seeing my friends, I had enlisted their help in sharing my news since they missed the wedding.
The three women grew grins as big as Montana. Were their dentures at risk of popping out?
Gloria lifted the silver gift bag and plopped it on the table in front of me. I slid it over to Ty. “Why don’t you open it?”
“Let’s open it together.”
Blast my wonderful, thoughtful husband. “No, it’s okay,” I insisted.
He shrugged. “All right.” He ripped the white tissue paper out, letting it flutter to the floor. The first item he pulled out was a bundle of tiny spoons. Ty’s expression showed his confusion. “Colorful sorbet spoons? Nice.”
Sorbet spoons? Not quite. I tucked my lips between my teeth to keep from smiling. “Those are nice. What else is in there?”
Ty removed another layer of tissue paper before holding up a jar of Vaseline. “Perfect for the winter months when my lips are dry and cracked. I need to keep those in prime condition so I can kiss my wife.”
Ty winked at me.
I scrunched my nose at him.
“There are a lot of other uses for that as well,” Loretta said with a grin.
Ty held up a tube of Butt Paste next. He scratched his chin. “Now you ladies will have to fill me in on this one. I’m not sure what to do with it or why we need it.”
“It goes with another part in there,” Gloria said, pointing at the bag. “Keep digging.”
Ty eyed me with a confused expression.
I shrugged in return.
More wrapping came out of the bag. Ty held up knitted baby booties in green, yellow, and red. My heart melted. Oh, what would our little one look like with those adorable coverings on his or her feet? What would our baby look like? Me? Ty? A combo of the two of us? I hoped they inherited his beautiful green eyes.
Ty’s brow furrowed. He dug back into the bag and in quick succession pulled out a pacifier, baby bottle, and a baby nail-trimming set. He eyed each one of the women. “I get that you all are dying for a baby to hold, but Maren and I just got married. Don’t you think these hints are a little strong?”
Ty and I discussed that we wanted to have children, but we never settled on an exact timeframe. When I read the wordpregnanton the test strip, it surprised me. I took another one just to be certain. Sure enough, the same result appeared. I was a little disappointed, as Ty and I had barely been married and I wanted it to be just the two of us for at least a year. Heaven had other plans though.
The memory of standing in Ty’s home office with the yellow walls, as he spoke about that room making an excellent nursery, turned my sadness to happiness. Who knew my desire to become Ty’s wife, partner, and mother to his child would actually come true?
“Just keep going,” Mrs. Sheffield prodded.
Done with this supposed wedding gift, Ty dumped the remaining contents on the table. A white onesie with the words “Hi, Daddy!” and a sonogram of our little bean growing inside me tumbled out.
Ty studied both items. His features changed from confusion to shock to understanding. “This. . .” he sputtered while pointing to all the presents he’d unveiled. “We’re—“ he pointed between us.
I nodded, a small smile on my face. “Are you happy?”
Ty took his time looking at Gloria, Loretta, Mrs. Sheffield, and then Phillip, who stood nearby filming the whole thing. Every one of them had wobbly smiles and wet eyes. “You four knew?”
“Maren asked us for a fun way to tell you,” Mrs. Sheffield admitted. “Since we missed the wedding, she wanted us to be included in this.”
“You are troublemakers.” He quickly kissed each woman on her cheek as he made his way around the table toward me. “But I’m so glad we have you in our life.” Ty’s eyes watered as he stared at my face, then my stomach, back up to my face. “This is why you’ve been so tired this month?”
I nodded. Heat bloomed in my chest. Happy tears pooled in my eyes.
Out of nowhere, Ty whooped. “I’m going to be a dad!” He picked me up, spinning me around.
“Ty,” I protested through a laugh. “I’m going to be sick. Put me down.”
Everyone in the center cheered, “Congratulations!”
