Page 64 of Pieces into Place
As Isla played with her hair, Blake could feel her eyes getting heavier. She had no idea how long she’d slept until she woke up with her arm still over Isla’s stomach. Her pregnant belly was pressed against Isla’s side, and somehow a pillow had been placed between her knees. It was comfortable, Blake had to admit that. Blake smiled as she pictured Vera doing that sometime in the night.
She could tell by the coolness on her back that Vera was no longer in bed. Isla still had her arm around Blake, but Blake’s head had moved from her chest to her shoulder sometime during the middle of the night. If it weren’t for the baby kicking her bladder, Blake would have stayed there hours longer. Shifting slightly, she waited to see if Isla was awake or not.
“I don’t know how you’ve slept so long with her kicking like that,” Isla chuckled as she kissed Blake’s head. “Reminds me of when I was pregnant with you and Evie.”
“Honestly, until the last few minutes, I didn’t feel her.” Blake sat up, yawning as she rubbed her belly. “I haven’t slept that good in forever.”
“Me either.”
“Did we kick Mama out?”
“No, she’s making breakfast. She got up not too long ago.”
“You mean you’ve been up?” Blake cocked her head at Isla. “You should have woken me up since I had you trapped.”
“I wasn’t trapped,” Isla firmly stated. “If I’d wanted to get up, I would have. But I wanted to cuddle my baby girl. And feel my granddaughter kicking my hip for the last hour.”
“She’s feisty in the morning.” Putting her hand on her belly, Blake felt the baby move. It would have been sweeter if the feeling wasn’t quickly followed by an urgency to pee. She removed the pillow from between her knees as she took off the sheet. “Sorry, I gotta potty.”
“Let me help you up.” Sliding out of bed, Isla helped Blake to her feet as she headed for the bathroom.
It was an odd realization Blake had sitting there that she’d never been in her parents’ bathroom before. She’d never had a reason to since there were so many other bathrooms at the beach house. But that realization brought with it another one. One that crushed Blake more than she’d expected.
She had never seen her parents’ bathroom at their home, either. It seemed so simple. Mason, Ellie, Brayden, and Everleigh probably never would have thought about that. But for Blake, it made her realize how disconnected she’d been from her family. Blake hated how she’d kept her guard up for so long and missed out on so many memories she could have been having. So many peaceful nights wrapped in her mom’s embrace she could have had.
Sighing, Blake pulled up her pants and washed her hands. She pumped some of the lotion sitting on the counter into her hands before rubbing it on her belly. Since the one contraction last night, Blake hadn’t felt anymore.Thank God.That one had been enough to take Blake’s breath away. It was a reminder that labor was going to be coming sooner rather than later, and Blake wasn’t sure she was ready for that.
Blake had been trying to gaslight herself intonotthinking about labor. At least she only had to push one baby out, though. She was still in awe that Alexis and Vera had both pushed out twins as if it were nothing. Well, she knew Alexis had. She assumed Vera had been the same way. Not that she knew.
That realization hurt, too. Having not been around for so many monumental occasions in the history of her family hurt. It hurt more than Blake ever let on. She would have been eighteen when Vera had Ellie and Brayden. Was her pregnancy hard? Did she get put on bedrest like Alexis? Would Blake have been in the room when they were born?
Her heart ached at the understanding that, yes. If she’d wanted to be there when Vera had the twins, she could have been there. Just another thing Blake has missed out on.
“Blake?” Isla gently knocked on the door. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sorry.” Hurrying to open the door, Blake pulled down her shirt in the process. “Just takes me a while now.”
“It’s okay, honey. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m good, Mom.”
“Good,” Isla smiled at her, nodding her head toward the door. “Come on. Let’s go see what Mama made for breakfast.”
“No need,” Vera’s singsong voice entered the room before she did. She had a huge smile on her face and was carrying a tray full of waffles, bacon, eggs, and a Diet Coke can. Alexis was close behind her with a similar tray, except the Diet Coke had been swapped for milk. “We made our wives breakfast in bed, so get back in bed.”
Blake’s stomach growled as she walked over to Alexis to kiss her good morning. Alexis set the tray down on the bed as she put her arms around Blake’s waist.
“Isla,” Vera sat her tray down on the bed as well, “can you help me with something in the kitchen?”
“Yep.”
It was clear to Blake that Vera didn’t need help with anything in the kitchen and instead just wanted to give Alexis and Blake a few moments alone. As they left the room, Blake and Alexis leaned in for a kiss.
“I’m sorry I snuck out of bed last night.”
“I would normally complain, but I know you needed that time with your mom.”
“I did. And Vera. I haven’t crawled into Mom’s bed since I was a kid.”
