Page 75 of Leave It to Us
“Good morning,” Lana replied, and grabbed the plate of ham slices too. She took them both to the island, the only counter space they had at the moment.
The marble countertops they’d finally decided on and ordered were set to be delivered next week. In the meantime, all the other counters had been taken out except the island, because Yvonne had insisted they needed some space to operate in here. And she was right. As much as Lana hated to admit it, her big sister was right about a lot of things.
“I need coffee this morning,” Yvonne said as she moved to the box where they’d started keeping items that would normally go into a cabinet. “You want some?”
“No, thanks,” Lana said. Then she added, “Caffeine,” when Yvonne gave her a quizzical look.
Yvonne’s face softened, her lightly glossed lips going up into a smile. “That’s right—my little niece or nephew doesn’t need all that caffeine,” she said, and then put the canister of coffee she’d retrieved down on the island and reached for both of Lana’s hands. “I almost forgot we still had happy news to celebrate. I’m so excited for you, Little Sis.”
Lana gave a tiny chuckle at the nickname Yvonne had used for her often. When Tami was born, Yvonne had stopped using it, but Lana had understood why.
After a few seconds, Yvonne dropped her hands and pulled Lana into a hug. “I’m so happy for you and Isaac. You’re gonna make wonderful parents.”
Wrapping her arms around her sister, Lana held on in a way she hadn’t in years. Well, it had been years since they’d felt at ease enough with each other to share an embrace, to open their hearts.
“Thanks, sis,” Lana said when they pulled apart. “I’m so nervous.” It was her first time admitting that out loud.
“Really? Why?” Yvonne asked as she moved to the coffee maker they’d run an extension cord over to the socket near the refrigerator to power. “You’ve never been nervous about doing anything.”
That’s what she’d thought. Lana knew she’d always put up a decisive and unshakable facade, but that was the furthest from what she was feeling right now or had for a long time. She found a knife in the plastic bin they were keeping the silverware they used on a daily basis in. “Girl, this is uncharted territory for me. I mean, Isaac and I have been talking about starting a family for a while, but that’s as far as the thoughts went—and now there’s actually a baby growing inside of me, and I’m still trippin’ over that.”
“I guess I can imagine that. It’s new, but it’s also exciting.” Yvonne moved over to the sink to put water in the pot.
“Exciting and scary as hell. I don’t know how to carry a baby. I drink Starbucks every day, sometimes three times a day. Those hot, gooey Cinnabons with the caramel and pecans is still my favorite dessert of all time. I like sleeping all night and taking naps whenever I can. I hated gym, so you know exercise and all that take-care-of-your-body stuff has been out the window for me.”
“And yet, of the three of us, you’re the one who’s always had the most amazing body,” Yvonne said.
She shrugged. “High metabolism, I guess.”
Yvonne chuckled. “Lucky you.”
“Well, I’m certainly feeling lucky now, with this news.” Then she thought about what she’d said as she sliced the biscuits open, placing the two sides on a plate. “No, you know what? I’m blessed. We all are.”
“Yeah, you’re definitely blessed to be having a baby with the man you love,” Yvonne said, pushing the button to start the coffeepot.
“I think we’re all blessed to have gotten to this point in our lives. Remember Janel Lang? She used to hang out at the rec center with us sometimes after school.”
Yvonne took a seat at the island and nodded. “Oh yeah. Her brother was the one who used to always say, ‘Damn, girl, your ass is phat!’ every time you walked past him on the basketball court.”
Lana nodded and grinned. “Until I dunked on his ass, and then he stopped speaking to me altogether.”
“And that right there was a blessing,” Yvonne said, and they both laughed.
“Right,” Lana said, and then put ham slices on the biscuits and walked the plate over to the microwave. “But Janel died last year of complications from lupus. And when I went to my ten-year high school reunion, two of my other classmates had passed too. So when I say we’reall blessed, I mean it. We’re still here, despite all the ups and downs we go through.”
Yvonne nodded. “You’re right.”
“And so was Sallie,” Tami said, coming into the kitchen with a box in one hand, a small stack of envelopes in the other.
The mood in the room immediately shifted. Lana felt it, and by the immediate frown that covered Yvonne’s face, she did too.
“Good morning,” Lana said. “Yvonne’s brewing coffee, and I’ve got ham biscuits in the microwave. Let’s sit down and eat.”
Tami had already set the box on the island, but when she looked up at Lana, she raised a brow. “Oookay,” she said. “And then we’re gonna talk about this new-sister thing, right? Because it’s a pretty big thing, and we can’t actually just shrug it off.”
“No, you’re right—we can’t shrug it off,” Lana said. “But I and your niece or nephew need to eat first.”
That made Tami smile. “That’s right—you do need to feed Auntie’s baby.”
