Page 48 of Soaring Free
“You don’t do it, at least not alone. Because Vivian, this time? You aren’t alone. This is not going to be like your postpartum with Eloise. Walker will take some time off work, but also, hello? I’m right here, and when y’all move to your new house, I’ll be right there. You’ll have your friends, and I bet Walker’s family comes and helps sometimes too. You can’t do this alone, Viv, because you aren’t doing this alone, honey.” Vivian swipes away her tears as they stream down her face and nods, leaning into my hug.
“You’re right. You’re absolutely right, oh my goodness, Sav—we’re having twins!” I wrap her up in a full hug as I know this is a lot for her and it’s only amplified by her pregnancy hormones. Before her first husband was killed, they had lost a baby at sixteen weeks. It was devastating to my sister, and on their marriage, or at least the perception she had of their marriage at that point in time. If anyone deserves a redemptive happily ever after, it’s my darling sister.
“Hey, ladies! Uh oh, who died? Or do I need to get a shovel?” Stacy closes the gate behind her that connects our backyards. She has her brown hair pulled up in a loose bun on the top of her head and is wearing a T-shirt with the name of her son’s college out in California. She pulled the hem of her shirt into a knot to make it cropped, paired with her yoga pants and flip flops. Odds are, she was doing yoga before stopping over to say hey with her glass of wine.
“No seriously, did someone die? What’s with the tears?” Stacy curls up in a chair next to us.
“No, no deaths. These are happy tears! Maybe overwhelmed tears too, but definitely happy tears overall, or will be,” Vivian babbles as Stacy looks on.
“Okay, can I get a translation from a non-hormonal pregnant mama please? I’m still confused if I should hunt someone down for hurting our girl or if I’m going to get confetti poppers.” That’s one of my favorite things about Stacy. She is ride or die, and onceshe is loyal to you, she is loyal to the bone. Her comment makes Vivian laugh and I grin at my friend.
“My sweet sister discovered that there is a very good reason she’s been so sick with this pregnancy—twice the sickness for twice the babies!”
“Twins!” Stacy throws her arms up like she just won a race before she jumps up and rushes my sister with a hug, who gladly accepts and laughs as her tears still haven’t stopped. “We’re having twins!”
“Yes, twins. But just a lot to digest too!” Vivian replies.
“I was just telling Derek that I needed a new hobby other than my books and now it can be babies!” Stacy claps and bounces with excitement. “Thank God it doesn’t have to be bird watching. I don’t think I can sit still that long. But babies! I love babies!”
“See?” I point to Stacy. “Not alone. Not alone at all,” I tell my sister.
“Alone? Oh no, I’ll probably annoy you, and you’ll have to just get over that, little mama. My three kids had the audacity to grow up and leave my loving nest, I mean, yay I raised independent successful people, but damn it, I miss babies! Please say you’ll let me help you with your babies!” She holds her hands in a pleading pose to my sister.
“I’ll take all the help I can get from people I love and trust.”
“Awe, did you hear that, Savannah? Your sister loves me too. I get it, I’m very likeable. Also, you just wait, honey. I’m going to keep your fridge and freezer full of meals when those babies come. I can make a mean casserole.”
“It’s true, Stacy is a great cook. If I wasn’t friends with her, I would be jealous with how great of a mama she is,” I admit. “But we may have to fight for fridge space because I intend to keep her entire family well fed.”
“That’s so sweet. You can still be jealous, but only if it’s to make me feel good on a day when I’m a depressed, lonely bird in my sad empty nest, and also, a little healthy competition never hurt anyone.”Stacy grins.
“What if I had said someone had made me cry and these weren’t happy tears?” Vivian asks Stacy.
“Oh, then we would be plotting revenge and making hell rain down on their lives instead of talking about what type of casseroles and breakfast breads you prefer.” Stacy tilts her head with an angelic smile. “And I would have rolled with either one, although this one we can at least publicly celebrate.”
“You know, you kind of scare me a little bit,” I tell her.
“Smart girl.” She winks at me, which makes me throw my head back in laughter.
“Thank you, ladies, seriously. I need to see your joy to remind me this is worth celebrating, instead of dwelling on the risks or how much work two babies will be.” My sister understands pregnancy risk more than one would suspect. But with her history, and now twins, she will be watched closely with the best doctors money can buy—literally. Jack has already made a call.
“And while you get ready for your babies and make sure to stay off your feet too much, it will allow you plenty of time to read some books for our new book club,” Stacy tells her.
“Yes, I’m so excited! I’ve always wanted to join a book club, but they usually read such boring books,” Vivian sheepishly admits.
“Did you think the current read was … boring?” Stacy tilts her head with an eyebrow raised.
“No! It made me blush!” Vivian giggles and I throw my head back in laughter.
“It was pretty spicy, but that’s what we get for letting Stacy pick the next book. Only you would have us read a mafia why choose that should have come with a flammable warning.” I’m not lying, that book was off the charts. “I would have expected that from Lauren, but was rather impressed by your debut selection, Stacy!”
“Oh, you’re welcome. I wanted to kick off our club with a bang!” Vivian spits out the water she was drinking at Stacy’s statement.
“Mission accomplished, lots and lots of banging!” I manage to say as I dissolve in a fit of giggles.
We visit for a little longer before Stacy heads back through the gate to her house as my sister and I wait for Walker to join us. I’mgoing to miss these visits with my sister, and Walker too, when they do move out, although I don’t want to admit that to them. I think my sister is already feeling guilty enough and I don’t want to add to her worries.
“Have you heard from Theo since your weekly coffee date?” Vivian asks. When Theo asked me earlier last month to have coffee, as friends, I had such a nice time that I suggested we should do it again sometime … and that’s exactly what we have done every Friday morning since.
