Page 36 of The Wedding Planner's Manny
“That's a great sign!” My twin sounded so enthusiastic I pictured him punching the air.
“What's the other thing I need to consider?”
“How much you want to do it again.”
That... probably made sense. How muchdidI want to do it again? “Very much,” I admitted.
Nick laughed. “Maybe we can make this a triple-wedding yet,” he mused.
“Nick! Do you always have to rush into everything?”
“Life's too short to wait.”
“Even if that's so, I'm still married, and so is Ethan. And we've only kissed once.”
“All things that can change,” Nick said easily. “In any case, if you like him that much, you need to do something about it.”
Do something.I chewed the words over in my head. “Maybe you're right,” I said finally, an idea starting to develop in my mind.
“Of course I'm right. Just trust me.” There was a small pause between his words, then, “You've told him about your pregnancy, right?”
Oops.I knew I was forgetting something—in so far as it was possible to forget about the baby growing inside of you. “Um...”
“Oh, Rhys. You should definitely do that soon, even just so he can plan around it with him being your employer and all.”
“I hate how often you turn out to be right today.”
And I hated the idea of telling Ethan about my pregnancy. I knew I had to do it sooner or later, but why couldn't that time be later?
Sighing, I ended the call with my brother and sat down on my desk. I needed a distraction now and I knew just what to work on. A few days ago, I’d used Griffin’s computer to print out a copy of that paper I’d been working on during my last term at college. Thanks to Jeremiah’s interference, I’d never finished it, but maybe I could still do it? Process everything I’d learned about the Vinist community during my stay there. If only to clear my mind.
If only to keep someone else from making the same mistake I had.
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E T H A N
Christmas Eve and the atmosphere in my house was rather gloomy. Nathan had been grumpy about something all day, though he wouldn't tell me exactly what it was. And Caleb? Well, he hated me tonight because I told him it wasn't in Santa's power to bring his Mommy back.
“Santa is stupid,” he'd told me. “I hate Santa! I hate you!” And with that proclamation, he'd thrown his stuffed cow at me. Then he'd angrily stomped his foot on the ground, stomping on our dog's tail in the progress. The puppy cried and then Caleb cried and then I'd nearly cried too, feeling powerless and wishing I could change things for my son.
I was so busy trying to calm down my inconsolable son that I hardly noticed Nathan entering the living room until he held out a chocolate cookie to Caleb, who stared at it in confusion.
“I wanted to eat these by myself so I hid them in my room,” he explained. “But now I don't mind sharing. I know they're your favorites. Merry Christmas, little brother.”
Without thinking any further about it, Caleb grabbed the cookie and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth. His tears stopped as he munched on it.
“Thank you,” I said, glancing at Nathan, who gave me a shrug, before focusing on his brother again.
“You want to play some Legos?” he asked.
For a moment, both Caleb and I simply looked at him, wondering what had gotten into him. Finally, Caleb's face lit up and he nodded. “Legos!”
“That's right!” Nathan took his brother's hand and led him to the back of the room where the toy box full of Legos were stored.
And while I was still wondering if there was a UFO parked above my house and if extraterrestrial life was trying to infiltrate my family by taking over my firstborn, the doorbell rang.
Who could that be? I wasn't expecting anyone.
