Unbelievable

by Callie Harper

  “It is.” He scanned the room, not offering any more information. I figured there was a story in there, but not the kind you could discuss in the middle of a busy party. Or maybe he only gave it out on a need-to-know basis.

  “We’ll have to get together next week,” I suggested. “I’m in town until Wednesday.”

  He nodded.

  A loud noise drew our attention. Over by the bar, someone had dropped what looked like a full glass of champagne onto the floor. And when I said glass, I meant it. Gram insisted on the real deal, no plastic on her watch, and every year a few things crashed and smashed. Usually it didn’t happen until later in the party when revelers had had a few too many. There were some usual suspects in attendance. Ash used to be one of them, back in his wild partying rockstar days.

  Tonight it was my sister, Gigi. She stood looking at us. Or at Dom, actually, her mouth and eyes wide open, the glass of champagne slipped clean out of her hand. Was she all right?

  “Here you are!” Caroline appeared at my side, giving me a kiss on the cheek. The dropped glass was forgotten.

  “There’s my lovely bride.” I wound my hand around her waist, right where it belonged, pulling her to me.

  “We have to have Kara over to visit us in Paris,” she responded. “Can you believe she’s never been?”

  “She and Declan have been too busy having kids,” I guessed.

  “And, shhh, don’t tell, but she’s pregnant again, due in five months. But, I’m sorry, I’m being rude.” She turned to face Dominic, offering her hand. “I’m Caroline.”

  “This is my good friend Dominic,” I introduced them and I could tell she remembered instantly who he was. It wasn’t as if we’d talked about him all that much, but the story had left an impression.

  “Oh my goodness!” She clasped her other hand around his, too. “I’m so happy to meet you.”

  “Likewise.”

  “You should come out and visit us in Paris! Have you ever been? It’s amazing.” I smiled at Caroline’s open heart.

  “Thank you for the invitation,” he nodded. Classic Dominic, keeping his cards close to the chest, not offending, but neither revealing a thing nor making any commitment. In short order, he excused himself.

  Caroline and I stayed a while at the party, by each other’s sides, touching one another’s hand or arm or waist as we made the rounds. I enjoyed introducing her to everyone. I knew I’d enjoy hearing what she thought of them all afterwards even more.

  We chatted with my younger brothers and their wives for a while, the six of us forming a happy cluster. I could see Gram looking over at us, a content and satisfied expression on her face.

  “How are the diapers?” I had to ask Ash of the leather pants and swagger.

  “Her poop doesn’t even smell,” he answered in all seriousness.

  “That is a lie,” his wife, Ana, answered. “He’s just so in love with her he doesn’t smell it.”

  “We’d better get back and check on the baby,” Ash said to Ana and I nearly spit out my drink. I remembered the days when he’d practically just be waking up around this time of night. They weren’t that long ago. “See you tomorrow?” Ash asked us.

  “We can’t wait!” Caroline answered for us both.

  We were going to see them all again at the party the next day. The Kavanaughs were launching a new Holiday tradition this year, because now we had children in the family. Declan had two young ones and there was Ash’s baby now, too. Gram had told us she wanted to start a tradition that could involve the little ones.

  “I’m 86,” she’d declared. “It’s time to start something new.”

  In addition to the littles, tomorrow Gram was going to host another guest of honor: my mother. At my father’s mother’s house. It had been Caroline’s idea.

  “Your mother must really be looking forward to seeing you all in the same place at the same time!” Caroline had declared, taking her presence for granted.

  Somewhat sheepishly—because, she was right, I knew my mother would enjoy seeing all her children together—I’d explained she hadn’t been invited. “The holiday party was always dad’s thing.”

  “But this party is brand new,” Caroline had corrected me. “Don’t you think she’d like to see everyone?”

  She was right. I knew she was. I’d started offering more explanations and excuses, but didn’t get far before I realized how asinine I sounded. That was one of the great things about Caroline, her bullshit detector was spot on. As I tried to tell her our family was complicated, all she had to do was look at me and I knew what she was thinking. Nudist colony! She knew all about complicated families.

  So, I’d invited my mom. She’d been surprised, but even through her typical reserve I knew she felt pleased to be included. I was glad Caroline had pointed out the obvious. I didn’t know what I’d do without her.

  We followed Ash and Ana to the exit soon after. I wanted some time alone with my woman. And tomorrow, I couldn’t wait to see my rockstar brother, Ash, as a proud papa.

  “How old is your brother’s baby, now? Nine or ten months?” Caroline asked. I smiled. Sometimes it almost felt like we shared the same wiring, our thoughts were so linked.

  “You’re already closer at guessing than me,” I admitted. “I was going to say she’s baby age.” Roughly in that stage between just born and walking around. I didn’t know a lot about babies.

  “Baby age,” she nodded. “Are you, like, a baby expert?”

  “Of course,” I answered with my best cocky CEO voice. “I’m an expert at everything.”

  “Are you now?” She smiled at me, well accustomed to and well amused by my arrogance.

  “I got my doctorate in babies while I was getting my MBA.”

  “At Harvard?”

  “No, Yale.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Safety school.”

  She elbowed me in the ribs. “You are so lucky you met me.”

  “I am,” I agreed, all joking aside. And while we were at a serious moment, I stood facing her, my hands cupped at her elbows, gazing down at her. “I am interested in babies, though.”

  “You are?” Now her smile looked even fuller, the kind that radiated from deep inside and shone through every part of you.

  I nodded. “Would you like to start a family, Caroline?”

  She threw her arms around my neck, kissing me ardently. I felt a few warm tears on her cheeks. “Let’s have three!” she declared

  “Why not four?” I countered, always bargaining.

  “Make it five!” She pulled away just enough to look up into my eyes. “We’ll have to teach them wilderness skills! In case they end up marooned on a deserted island. What was the name of that camp your Gram sent you to?”

  “You’re already signing them up for camp?” I teased, happy she was so eager.

  “There might be a wait list,” she teased me right back.

  “One call from me and—” I snapped my fingers. I’d get our kids the best of everything.

  I helped Caroline into her coat, marveling over how much could change so quickly. Last year at the same party I couldn’t even remember who I’d brought with me as a date, someone in a long line of interchangeable women who simply weren’t Caroline. I recalled that Gram had given me a talking to, told me it was time for me to settle down. I’d treated her concerns with respect, of course, but at the time the chances of my settling down had seemed as good as a snow storm in July.

  Well, it had snowed. How about that for climate change? Now here Caroline and I were, an inseparable combination, ready to start our own family. And tomorrow we’d get to spend time with what was starting to actually feel like an extended family of my own, with nieces and nephews opening Christmas presents.

  Gram saw us leaving and gave us a wave and a smile. I helped Caroline into her coat, gave her a kiss and we headed off into the night and our bountiful, charmed life together.

  EPILOGUE

  Caroline

  The party Friday night had been
to die for. All glittering lights, paparazzi, caviar and ball gowns. I’d taken it all in and enjoyed it. But this afternoon’s smaller, less formal party with kids was much more my speed.

  “I’m so pleased to see you all here.” Gram called all of our attention. There were about 17 of us in her Upper East Side penthouse, Colt and his siblings plus their children, his mom and a couple of older relatives as well. “You don’t know how wonderful it is to have you all here to celebrate together.” She paused, her regal composure breaking for a moment. She wiped a tear from her eye, and I did, too. “It warms my heart,” she finally continued. “Merry Christmas, everyone!”

  Kara and I instantly gravitated toward one another, a habit we were already developing at Kavanaugh family events. I loved Kara. She was my kind of woman, down-to-earth and open-hearted. And, bonus, she liked to bake! Her two boys barely restrained their energy in their great-grandmother’s large, high-ceilinged living room. I could tell they were desperate to play chase, even if the younger one didn’t look entirely steady on his feet yet.

  “So, he’s three?” I asked, pointing to her older one.

  “Two and a half,” Kara said, “and he’s 13 months.” She ruffled the hair on the younger of the two.

  “Wow, you guys wasted no time!” I remembered Colt had told me she and Declan had gotten married three years ago.

  “Oh, we wasted a bunch of time,” Kara disagreed, with a laugh. “We met when I was a teenager. But then we didn’t see each other again for six years.”

  “Well, you’re making up for that, then,” I amended my statement.

  Colt’s brother, Heath, and his wife, Violet, came up and we greeted them warmly. Violet clearly knew how to work a room. She was in the TV industry and seemed like she could talk to anyone about anything. Heath was a different animal altogether. A big, gruff mountain man, he didn’t say much, but what he had said the couple times I’d met him I’d liked.

  “Welcome to the family,” he’d told me when we’d attended his wedding that fall. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to Colt.”

  But before long, Colt’s sister Gigi swept in and took my arm. “You looked so gorgeous at the party last night!” she declared. “You’re like Marilyn Monroe.”

  “Says the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.” I rolled my eyes.

  Gigi scrunched up her perfect little nose, with the perfect dusting of freckles along its bridge. “See, I get pretty. You’re sultry, sexy, stop traffic.”

  “We’ll just have to agree to disagree, Gigi.”

  Kara’s boys couldn’t hold out any longer and started hurtling around the room, making sounds that resembled an emergency vehicle, fire truck if I had to guess but they could have been a police car. Gram just sat in her armchair with a huge smile on her face, watching them come within striking distance of priceless decorative items without a care in the world. I had a feeling she knew what were truly the most priceless things in the room.

  Even Colt’s mom, my mother-in-law I had to remind myself, was doing a reasonably good job of enjoying herself. I couldn’t exactly say that she looked relaxed, though. Every hair in place, in a wool Channel suit with matching pumps, she looked terrifying as she had every time I’d seen her. And each time we did, she shook my hand like we were at a formal business meeting. She might be the exact opposite of my mother. If they met—which I imagined one day they would have to—I’d just have to pray that my mom wore clothes. Otherwise Colt’s mom might simply faint from shock.

  I remembered back the first time I’d met her in New York. Heath had explained to me that his mom was extremely reserved. I’d thought she just didn’t like me and he was trying to spare my feelings. Turned out he’d been telling the truth.

  But once she got her grandbaby on her lap, she nearly transformed into a different person. Bouncing the baby girl on her legs and holding onto her plump, pink hands, she grinned widely.

  Until a loud, explosively squishing sound burst forth. Then, she froze, her mouth in a surprised O.

  “Oh no!” Ana came rushing over. “I’m so sorry! I just changed her, too!” The baby chose that moment to coo and gurgle as if proud of her accomplishment. Ana picked her up and it became immediately clear it hadn’t just been a regular event. This was a poo-splosion, a poo-through, with some now distinctly on Barbara’s tailored, boiled wool skirt.

  She sat there, stiff and quiet, until something interesting happened. She started shaking. At first, it wasn’t clear why or what was happening. Until she started making sounds which bubbled up into hilarious, uncontrollable gales of laughter. Colt’s mom was covered in poop and cracking up about it!

  Looking amused as well, Gram leaned toward her in her chair. “Shit happens, Barbara.”

  The room exploded in peals and gales of laughter, everyone doubling over, unable to believe the sight of the two matriarchs of the family laughing so hard tears ran down their cheeks.

  “I might pee my own pants,” Colt’s mother laughed, taking some breaths and wiping her eyes.

  “It’s good to see you, Barbara.” Gram reached out her hand and Colt’s mother took it.

  “You, too, Margaret.” The look they shared held a thousand stories. I bet the two of them had weathered a lot in that family. I was happy they had each other to share it with.

  Colt’s mother got up to clean herself as best she could, and Gram came to join me, Colt and Gigi.

  “Well, that was enlivening!” she exclaimed, looking like the brightest spark of an 86-year-old woman I’d ever seen. She certainly took joy in life. Turning to Gigi, she focused her sparkling blue eyes, the same shade as Colt’s I realized.

  “Now it’s down to you, Gigi.” She gestured to the couples all around the room. Declan and Kara, Ash and Ana, Heath and Violet, now me and Colt. “You’re the last one left.”

  Gigi gave a nervous laugh. “I’m only 23.”

  “Pish posh,” Gram dismissed her objection. “You’ve got a great head on your shoulders. You probably knew exactly who you wanted to marry by the time you were 18.”

  Something must have gone down the wrong pipe, because Gigi started spluttering and coughing. Colt patted her on the back and she excused herself. I watched her pour a glass of water and stand to the side of the room, fanning herself, striving to regain her typical composure. Funny, last night she’d seemed unusually flustered as well, dropping that champagne glass.

  Something was going on with Gigi. Whatever it was, I hoped I could help. She was my sister-in-law, after all, and I took my sisterly duties seriously.

  Even if my own sister didn’t exactly agree. Zoe had only started talking to me again a couple of months ago, finally forgiving me for abandoning her as she’d put it. She really needed an attitude adjustment, but I still had high hopes for her. She was only 22, plenty young enough to get those horizons of hers broadened. Maybe we could fly her out to New York, set her up with a nursing job in the city? She and Gigi were close in age. Maybe they could become friends, even room together?

  I was full of ideas. Sitting together with my new family, all possibilities seemed within reach. Colt had told me that the news of his father’s infidelity and out-of-wedlock child had once rocked the family. But now, look, Declan was standing and chatting with Heath like old friends. They both had an outdoorsy, rugged look to them. And his wife, Kara, already felt like a true sister.

  A year ago, I never would have dreamed of leaving my small business even for a day. Now I was earning the pastry degree I’d always coveted, and hatching a whole bunch of exciting ideas about putting it to use. Colt had always encouraged me to dream big, and I’d discovered I quite liked doing it. My former assistant, Shelly, was now running the newly-constructed Tasty Bakes back in Redwood Bay and by all reports she was doing it wonderfully well. I didn’t know what was next for me, but I was considering a whole bunch of options. I could open a “little shop” as Colt’s non-friend had condescendingly suggested in New York or Paris, or perhaps start a small catering company,
or even an online business offering overnight delivery of pastries and tarts for special occasions. With Colt, the world felt like my oyster.

  And Colt was honestly my fantasies come true. The reality of him was so good he made my former dream man, Christian Grey, look like a one-dimensional cardboard cutout. I sat on the couch gazing at Colt dreamily and he gave me a sexy wink.

  “Would you like a turn holding her?” Ana snapped me out of my reverie, offering me her freshly changed baby girl. I was surprised but pleased at her friendly question. She’d struck me as fairly quiet, a good compliment to her extroverted husband, but not necessarily easy to get to know.

  “Oh! Yes!” I sat up straighter on the couch and took the soft, pink bundle on my lap. She looked up at me, delighted, giving me a big, toothless, drooling grin. “Hi, baby!” I welcomed her, instantly adopting the slightly dopey voice I always found myself using with babies. They were just too cute. I smiled at her, loving the little sounds she made, the feel of her little belly in my hands.

  “Are you going to poop on me?” I asked her playfully. She smiled back as if to suggest that the answer might be yes.

  “You’re next in line to have a baby, man.” Ash gave Colt a meaningful nod.

  “I hope I am,” he surprised everyone in the room but me by agreeing. He leaned down, giving my hair a light caress as he whispered in my ear, “I’m a lucky man, Caroline.”

  That man made me smile from the top of my head all the way down to the tips of my toes. That’s how it always was with Colt. Just when I didn’t think things could get any better, they did just that.

  THE END

  Thank you so much for reading Unbelievable! I hope you loved every page! It’s such fun sharing the story of Colt and Caroline with you.

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