by Glazer, J B
She pulls up to the entrance and says she’ll call with an update. I’m a bit nervous about driving her car, so I’m extra cautious. Hailey is chatting away in the backseat, and for the first time, I have a glimpse into what it must be like to be a parent. With the help of the GPS, I find my way back to Kate’s house. It’s just about six o’clock when we arrive.
“Are you hungry?” I ask Hailey. I realize I don’t know whether she’s eaten or what her bedtime is.
“Yes,” she tells me.
I look in the cabinets and find a box of macaroni and cheese. “How’s this?” I ask her.
She nods her approval then draws at the table while I get dinner ready. I’m hungry too, so we share the box. Hailey seems to think this is very funny. After dinner we play a few rounds of Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. I ask her what her bedtime is, and she tells me seven thirty. That’s one thing I love about kids—they’re usually honest. Around seven fifteen, we head upstairs. Hailey helps me find her pajamas, and then I read her a few books.
We’re about to go to the bathroom to brush her teeth when the phone rings. I answer, and it’s Nancy, calling to check in. “Lexi, I’m so sorry I didn’t give you any information about Hailey’s schedule. My mind is obviously elsewhere.” I tell her not to worry; I have things under control. Then I put Hailey on so she can say good night. I ask Nancy how the labor’s going, and she says Kate is dilated to seven. She expects it’ll still be a while and asks if I mind staying.
“No problem,” I tell her. “I can stay as long as you need me.”
Once Hailey is in bed, I finish up some work and e-mail my team that I’ll be working from home tomorrow. At this rate I have no clue how long I’ll be here. Once I’m done, I turn on the TV and watch a Law & Order rerun. A little after nine, my cell phone rings. It’s Jake, and he’s landed. He’s on his way over to Kate’s. At nine thirty Nancy calls to inform me Kate had a girl, Lily Grace.
“That’s wonderful. Congratulations!”
“I can’t thank you enough for making it possible for me to be here,” she says. “I’m so happy Jake found you. We all are.”
I thank her and hang up the phone, reflecting that he has a very nice family. Jake arrives a short while later, and I give him the news.
“Wow, another girl. I’m sure Hailey will be thrilled. I’m not sure about Adam. I know he really wanted a boy.”
“I’m sure he’ll be happy to have a healthy child,” I tell him.
“I know, but every dad wants a son. Now come here. I’ve missed you.” He wraps his arms around me and kisses me hungrily. Then his hands caress my body over my clothes.
“Jake,” I say in a warning tone.
“What?”
“Here? At your sister’s house?”
“Why not?” he says, still kissing me.
“What if Hailey wakes up?”
“She’s sleeping.”
“What if your mom walks in?”
“She said she’d text me when she was leaving.”
“Where would we do it?”
“Right here, on the couch.”
“I don’t want to ruin their couch.”
“I don’t think we’ll ruin it.”
“You know what I mean.” He walks over and grabs a T-shirt from his bag and lays it on the couch. “Satisfied?” My mind says no, but my body betrays me. Jake knows I never can resist him. “That’s enough talking,” he says.
We’re snuggling on the couch when Nancy comes in around eleven fifteen. She gives each of us a big hug and shows us photos of Lily on her cell phone.
“You two must be exhausted. Do you want to stay here in the spare bedroom?”
“That’s OK,” Jake tells her. “I’m two hours behind, remember? I’ll drive Lexi home.”
I try to stay up on the ride home, but I find it hard to keep my eyes open. I feel Jake nudge me, and I see we’re in his garage. “Do you want me to carry you in?” he jokes. I shake my head. When we get upstairs, I throw on one of his T-shirts and crawl into bed. “Good night,” he says as he tucks me in bed, kissing my forehead.
“‘Night,” I say and fall asleep immediately.
The next day, Jake and I work out of his house. It’s a good thing I don’t have that busy of a schedule. It’s nice being home with him, especially since I barely get to see him during the week anymore. When it reaches noon, Jake asks if I want to go out and grab lunch. “Yes, I’d love to!” We walk to a restaurant around the corner from his place. It’s so nice to be out with him in public.
“You’re in a good mood,” he comments.
“I’m just happy to be out with you.” He nods but doesn’t say anything. “So when can we see the baby?” I ask.
“Well, I’m going to the game with the guys tomorrow, remember?”
“That’s right.”
“It starts early afternoon, and we’ll probably go out after. I think Kate gets discharged on Sunday. We can go then.”
“So soon? You think she’ll be OK with having us over right when she comes home?”
“I’ll call her to make sure, but I can’t imagine she’d have an issue if we stopped by for a little while.” He calls her, and Kate assures him it’s fine.
“Good. I can’t wait to meet the baby.”
The next day, I head out to buy a gift for Lily and a little something for Hailey. I love shopping for babies—we don’t have any in my family, so I rarely get the chance. I recruit Liv to come with me. We look at all the little clothes, and I find it hard to believe someone could fit into something so tiny. I find an adorable Splendid outfit and hold it up for Liv. “Can you believe this?” I say. “This is something I would wear.” After I make my purchase, we head out to lunch.
“What’s the latest with the wedding planning?” I ask Liv.
“I finally made an appointment to meet with the florist. Will you come with me?”
“Of course! I’d love to.”
“Good. I really value your opinion. Also, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” She pulls a wrapped gift out of her bag. “Here, read the card first.” It’s a card about friendship; at the bottom, it asks me to be her maid of honor.
“Oh, Liv, of course I will!” I give her a big hug. “You didn’t have to get me anything, though.” I unwrap the paper to find a box of really cute monogrammed note cards. “Thank you. That was very thoughtful. How many bridesmaids are you going to have?”
“Five. You, my cousin Madelyn, Jill, Melanie, and Jason’s sister.” We talk about the wedding planning over lunch. I tell her to e-mail me the dates she’s free for her bridal shower. “Already?” she asks.
“Yes, you don’t know how hard it is to coordinate schedules. Plus I’m sure you’ll have other showers, so we’ve got to get on it now.”
“I’m lucky I have you. You’re so organized.”
“I can’t believe my best friend is getting married!”
“I know,” she says smiling.
After lunch I go to a bookstore to pick up something extra for Hailey. I come home and wrap the gifts then head to the gym. Around five Jake calls to check in. “How was your day?”
“Great. I got gifts for Lily and Hailey. How’s the game?”
“Awesome! Shit, I didn’t think of getting anything for them.”
I laugh; he’s such a guy. “They can be from you too.”
“Thanks. Let me know how much I owe you.”
“Nothing,” I tell him. “You never let me pay for anything.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll get it out of you one way or another,” he says in a low voice.
“I look forward to it,” I tell him.
“We’re going out for a few drinks. Can I come by after?”
“Sure,” I say. “See you later.”
On Sunday afternoon, Jake and I head back to the burbs. When we walk into Kate and Adam’s house, Hailey runs over and gives me a big hug. “Lexi, come meet baby Lily,” she says.
“I’d love to, but first I
have something for you.” When I hand her the wrapped gift, she squeals with delight and rips off the paper. I got her a “big sister” book and a talking baby doll. “You’ll have to feed and change your doll, just like Lily,” I tell her.
“I love it!” she says. Then she looks at the book. “Will you read it to me?”
“Sure, I’d be happy to.”
As I read the book to her, Jake goes to find Kate. After I finish I say, “Let’s go find your mom.”
Kate is upstairs in the nursery. I congratulate her and tell her she looks fabulous, which she does.
“Do you want to hold Lily?” she asks.
“Yes! It’s been ages since I’ve held a newborn.” I sit in the glider, and Kate hands her to me. I stare at her tiny features. “She’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Kate says, beaming.
The phone rings, and Adam yells, “It’s the night nurse.”
“I’ve got to take that,” she says. “I’ll be right back.”
Hailey is calling for Jake, so he goes off to find her, leaving me alone with Lily. I talk softly to her, telling her what a lucky baby she is. “Your Aunt Lexi is going to spoil you,” I say. I look up and see Jake staring at me from the doorway. “She’s precious, isn’t she?” I ask him.
“Yes, she is,” he agrees.
“Do you want to hold her?”
“In a few minutes. You look pretty comfortable.”
“Good,” I say, looking at Lily. “I want more time with you.” I redo her swaddle and rock her until she falls asleep in my arms.
I look up at Jake. “How many kids do you want?” he asks.
“I don’t know…two, maybe three.”
“I can deal with that.”
He smiles at me, and I smile at him in return. A warm glow spreads inside me. I recognize the feeling even though it’s been absent for a long time. It’s contentment.
It’s getting close to Thanksgiving, and I decide it’s time for Jake to officially meet my family. I broach the topic about him joining us for dinner, and he readily agrees.
“Are you sure your family won’t mind?”
“They’ll be fine. They’ve gotten the chance to get to know you. I’d like to do the same with your family.”
“OK,” I say, smiling at him.
I can’t help wonder if he has an ulterior motive. I’ve never asked, but I have a suspicion his family gets together with Bill. I’ve just handed him a solution to what would have been a difficult situation to navigate. As frustrated as I am that he hasn’t come clean to Bill, I decide not to let it get to me. It took me a while before I was ready to deal with Ben. I did it on my own time and when I was ready, even though it did require a push from Jake. I decide I’ll let him talk to Bill on his own timeline, not mine. I owe him that at least. But since I know how cathartic it was for me, I want him to experience the same.
I thought the weeks before Thanksgiving would be slow, but in fact it’s the opposite; I feel like I’m busier than ever. I guess our clients want to cram in as much as possible before people start taking time off. When the week of Thanksgiving arrives, I feel thankful to have a few days off. Given it’s a shortened workweek, Jake isn’t traveling. We decide to make our own Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday night. That’s when I tell Jake I can’t cook a turkey.
“I wasn’t expecting you to. It was more the gesture of celebrating everything we’re thankful for, just the two of us. We’ll have turkey tomorrow.”
“OK. I can make us turkey sandwiches so we’re somewhat in the spirit.” Over dinner Jake insists we each share what we’re thankful for. “You go first,” I tell him.
“I’m thankful that I have my health and a supportive family. I’m thankful that I’m able to do what I love and that I’ve turned it into a successful career. But most of all, I’m thankful for you. I didn’t know what I was missing until we met. My life was focused on work and winning the next big account. But now that we’re together, I know there’s so much more, and I couldn’t imagine having all this without you to share it with.”
“Well, you basically covered everything I was going to say,” I tell him. “I’ll add that I’m thankful for hope. Hope is what brought me through my dark period last year—the hope that there was someone else out there for me and that my world wasn’t ending. Then I met you, and you continued to give me hope. I was able to rise above my heartache to see that my heart ached because I was with the wrong person. That ache is gone, not because I’ve gotten over Ben but because my heart is whole now that I’ve found its other half.”
“It’s definitely a good thing I went first,” Jake says. “There’s no way I can top that. That’s the best thing anyone has ever said to me.”
He pulls me in for a kiss, and our dinner is all but forgotten.
The next morning I prepare my apple cobbler. I decide to bring two to make sure there’s enough—it’s usually one of the meal’s highlights. Jake watches as I work, and I tell him he can help peel the apples. That’s my least favorite part. I show him how to do it, and he catches on quickly.
“I want to pick up something for your parents,” he says. “What kind of flowers does your mom like?”
“Her favorite is roses.”
“Easy enough. What about your dad? What does he like?”
“It’s sweet of you to want to bring him something. He’s not a smoker, but once in a while, he enjoys a good cigar.”
Jake peels as I work, and then he says, “Do you mind if I head out to get some things?”
“Trying to get out of your apple duties, huh?”
“I peeled most of them.”
“OK, you’re off the hook. Just be back here and ready to go by three.”
“Sounds good. See you in a bit.”
I finish making the cobbler then jump into the shower. I’m actually really looking forward to Jake meeting my family. It’s strange that we’ve been together so long and he’s never met them aside from at the benefit, which technically doesn’t count. I guess I’ve been hesitant about introducing him to the people who matter most and who have been so protective of me. I think Jake realizes the symbolism of the gesture.
At five to three, Jake knocks on my door. He helps me carry the cobblers down to the car. After he arranges them on the floor of the backseat, he opens my car door for me, as usual. I admire how cute he looks. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt under a charcoal-gray striped V-neck sweater and black pants.
“You look nice,” I tell him.
“Thanks. So do you.”
On the drive over, he doesn’t seem nervous and chats easily with me. I see he’s picked up a bouquet of pink roses for my mom and a box of Cuban cigars for my dad.
“Where did you get those on such short notice?”
“I keep a stash on hand for bachelor parties, when the guys are over, that sort of thing. So, remind me, who will be there?”
“My parents; Jules; Scott; Charlie; Tara and possibly some new guy of hers; Scott’s parents, Barbara and Larry; my Aunt Sandra and Uncle Barry, and their son Doug.”
“Sandra is your dad’s sister?”
“Yes, his younger sister. And then on my mom’s side, my Uncle Steve, who was married to my Aunt Lynne, and his three sons, Jonathan, Andrew and Ryan. But they’re not coming until later. They usually eat dinner with his side of the family, but they always stop by for dessert.”
“It’s really nice that you still get together with them. Are you close with your cousins?”
“Yes, Jonathan and Andrew are like the older brothers I never had. I’m the closest with Ryan because he’s my age. They’re all very protective of me.”
“I can handle them.”
“OK, you’ve been warned.”
When Jake pulls up, there are already a few cars on the driveway. We walk in, and the house is filled with the wonderful aroma of cooking. Jake shakes hands with my dad, and my mom gives him a hug. He offers her the flowers and my dad the cigars, which he gladly accepts. I int
roduce him to my aunt, uncle, and my cousin Doug, who’s a senior at Indiana University. He and Jake become engrossed in a conversation, so I go help my mom in the kitchen. Periodically I check on Jake, but he seems to be holding his own. Barbara, Larry, Jules, Scott, and Charlie arrive, and I excuse myself to make introductions. Charlie is very excited to meet Jake and tells him everything he knows about sharks. Jake listens intently then asks him if he likes sports, and Charlie enthusiastically nods.
“Lexi told me there’s a basketball net in the basement. Wanna go play?”
“Yeah!”
“You’re a gem,” jokes Jules as she helps herself to a glass of wine.
The boys go downstairs, and Jules and I help my mom put out the rest of the food. Just as we’re about done, Tara arrives.
“Nice timing,” I tell her.
“Sorry. I got a ride from Jordan, and she was late.”
“Where’s your friend?” asks Jules.
“He’s not coming,” she replies crossly. None of us go there. Tara is always having some kind of relationship drama. “Where’s Jake?” she asks me.
“Downstairs with Charlie. Come on. I’ll introduce you.” We head to the basement, and all the boys are playing a serious game of H-O-R-S-E. “Jake, I want you to meet my sister, Tara.”
“Hi,” he says, offering her a hug. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Same here. All terrible things of course,” she teases him.
“I don’t doubt it. Wow, you guys have such a strong resemblance.”
“You think so?” Tara says.
“Aside from the hair, yes.”
Tara’s hair is lighter than mine, with rich caramel highlights. Whereas mine is long, she wears hers in a stylish bob.
“I’m the older and wiser one,” I tell him.
“You’ve definitely got the older thing going for you,” Tara replies. Then she turns her attention back to Jake. “So you and Lexi work together. How’s that going?”
“We actually don’t see each other that much at work. I travel a lot to our office in California.”
“So it’s working out well,” I say jokingly.
“What about you?” Jake asks her. “How do you like working with your mom?”