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Tamara grinned sheepishly. “Emma’s pregnant.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Christie wondered.
“Addy doesn’t even know that I know,” Tamara explained. “Emma told me a couple of weeks ago. I think she just needed to talk. You know them. They never like to say anything until Emma’s sure things look okay.”
“I do. What does that have to do with Addison? I mean, Tam, they’ve been apart before when Emma was pregnant.”
“Not really,” Tamara said. “Not like this. Honestly, Chris, I think Addison is over it.”
“Emma being in Kansas with the kids?”
“No, Addy being in Los Angeles while Emma’s in Kansas with the kids.”
“Well, I think that’s probably been resolved,” Christie offered.
“Why?”
“I heard Jeff comment that Addison flew out this morning.”
Tamara nodded.
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“I just wonder if she’ll come back,” Tamara commented.
“She’d better come back. Sandra will kill her if she leaves King there for too long.”
Tamara laughed. King was Addison and Emma’s husky. “That’s not what I mean.”
“We both know that they’ve been looking at houses near the beach.”
“Yeah.”
“Tam, if you’re worried about Addy, talk to her.”
“I’m not worried about Addy,” Tamara said. “I’m worried about losing Addy and Em.”
“Sweetheart, they’re your best friends. Why would you think that?”
“I know they’ll always be my best friends, babe. They might be my best friends a thousand miles away soon.”
Christie finally caught Tamara’s meaning. She moved to sit beside her wife. “We lived apart from them for a few years.”
“I know. I just had this idea, you know? That we’d all be here together from now on. Like, our kids would grow up together, and we’d be out in the yard on Sundays or something.”
Christie smiled. Addison, Emma, and their daughters were Tamara’s family. Now that Tamara and Christie were married, Tamara had conjured a picture-perfect, lesbian suburb scenario for them all. Tamara’s idea amused Christie. It also touched her deeply. Underneath Tamara’s bravado and inclination to deflect emotion with humor, existed the softest and most hopeful heart Christie knew. She’d recognized Tamara’s sensitivity the night they had met. Tamara was devoted to the people she loved. She loved Addison and Emma as much as anyone could love another person. She patted Tamara’s knee gently. “No matter where any of us go, I think you can rest easy that our kids will grow up together.”
“I know. It won’t be the same.”
“Honey, you don’t even know if Addy and Emma are thinking about moving permanently. They have a plan. Last I knew, that was to spend most of the year here—at least, for the next few years.”
Tamara nodded. That was true. She knew Addison Blake better than anyone, save Emma. She smiled weakly. “Plans change.”
***
Emma looked out the window while she sipped her tea.
“Mama!”
Emma turned and smiled as Hannah toddled toward her. “Hey, Bean. What have you been doing?”
Hannah grinned and giggled. She would turn two in a few months. Emma could hardly believe how much she had grown. Where Vicki sought to mimic Addison in every way possible, Hannah tended to cling to Emma. Emma set down her mug and bent over to pick up the toddler.
“Mama,” Hannah said again. She pointed out the window.
“Yes?” Emma asked.
“Bicki goes?”
“Vicki went with Momma, love. She’ll be back in a little while.”
Hannah frowned and stuck a finger in her mouth.
“You’re stuck with me, Bean,” Emma said. She tickled her daughter’s belly. “How about we play on the piano?”
Hannah lit up and clapped.
“I thought you might agree to that.”
“I hear giggling,” Sherry said when she entered the room. “Somebody ran away from me before I could get her sweatshirt on.”
Hannah tucked her face into Emma’s neck.
“Did you run away from Grandma?” Emma asked. She heard Hannah giggle again.
“It’s her favorite game—other than playing Liberace,” Sherry said.
Emma laughed. “She does love that piano. Don’t you, Bean?”
“Mama, play!”
Emma rolled her eyes and kissed Hannah’s cheek. “Well, I guess wherever we live we need to think about a piano.”
Sherry followed Emma into the family room. “Wherever you live?”
Emma sat on the bench with Hannah on her lap. “This might be a conversation for a quieter time.” She lifted the cover, and Hannah’s hands immediately went to the keys with delight. Emma chuckled. “Do you think this is how Liberace started?”
“Probably,” Sherry said.
Emma kissed Hannah’s head. She watched as Hannah pressed the keys, one at a time.
“At least, she doesn’t bang on them,” Sherry observed.
“No. She hates loud noise. She does love music.”
“Emmie? What did you mean wherever you live?”
Emma sighed. She looked over at her mother. “Addy wants us to move here—permanently.”
Sherry was speechless.
“Yeah, that was pretty much my reaction.”
“I thought you two planned to spend summers and vacations here and stay in California for the rest of the year.”
“So, did I.”
“How do you feel about the idea?” Sherry asked cautiously.
“Honestly? I don’t know, Mom. Part of me wants to do it.”
“And the other part?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. I hate the idea of selling our house.”
Sherry smiled.
“I know we need bigger quarters. That house is—it’s—”
“Home?”
Emma nodded.
“Mama!” Hannah laughed. She hit two keys together and laughed again.
“That’s excellent, Bean,” Emma said.
“Just tell her that,” Sherry suggested.
“She knows. I don’t know what to do. It worries me.”
“Moving or staying?”
“Believe it or not, sometimes Addy can be impulsive. She’s missed us. And, she’s never been apart from me for long when we’ve been expecting.”
“And you think this is all a product of missing you?”
“Maybe. She was disappointed last night when I didn’t jump right onto her bandwagon.” Emma sighed. “It’s a big decision—for all of us. Not just me and Addy.”
Sherry smiled. “Worried about Tam?”
“Not worried. The girls are close to Tam and Christie. They’re close to Jeff and Sandra too. I miss you and Daddy. You know that. I miss Jackson. I miss home.”
“Emmie, you don’t need to explain it to me or justify it to me either. Los Angeles has been your home for years. I understand. Believe me; I do.”
“I guess I thought we’d have time to see.”
“I know. Living part-time in two places isn’t easy either, Emmie.”
“I know.”
“You’ll work it out,” Sherry said just as Hannah struck a particularly loud chord. Hannah looked up and smiled at her mother.
Emma laughed.
“Momma, play!” Hannah said.
“You can play,” Emma said.
“No. You play!”
“Why don’t you play for her, Emmie?” Sherry suggested.
Emma sat Hannah beside her on the bench. “Do you want me to play you something?”
Hannah nodded. “Play, Momma!”
Emma let her fingertips fall onto the keys and began to play one of her favorite songs. Hannah leaned against Emma and smiled.
“You should get that piano, Emmie,” Sherry said.
> “Mm. We’ll need a bigger house.”
***
“Momma?” Vicki looked at Addison.
“Hm?”
“Can we go home?”
Addison stopped walking and looked down at her daughter. “Aren’t you having fun here?”
Vicki shrugged.
“Vicki?”
“I miss King.”
Addison nodded. “King misses you too. He’s slept on your bed almost every night.”
“Momma?”
“Yes?”
“When can we go?”
Addison sighed inwardly. “I thought you loved it here.”
Vicki shrugged.
Addison squatted to meet her daughter’s eyes. “Did something happen?”
Vicki shrugged again.
“Vicki?”
Vicki looked at Addison as if she wanted to apologize.
“You can tell me,” Addison said. “I won’t get upset.”
“Mommy cried.”
Addison nodded. “You heard Mommy crying, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Addison took Vicki’s hand and led her to the car. “What do you say we go grab a cocoa at Papa’s Place?”
Vicki brightened. Papa’s Place was a roadside diner about three miles from Emma’s parents’ house.
“Yeah?” Addison asked.
Vicki nodded.
“We can talk all about it there. Sound like a plan?”
“Momma?”
“Yeah, Sprout?”
“Can we bring Mommy something?”
Addison smiled. Vicki was clearly worried about her mother. “Sure, we can. What do you want to bring her?”
“Flowers,” Vicki said. “Blue ones.”
“Cocoa and blue flowers, huh?”
Vicki nodded excitedly.
“We’d better get going then.”
“Momma?”
Addison chuckled. She swore she’d heard the word, Momma, more times in the last few minutes than she had in the last year. “Yes, Vicki?”
“Can I get a brother?”
Addison nearly tripped. “What?”
“Can I?”
I think I might need more than cocoa for this conversation. She opened the car door and lifted Vicki into her booster seat. “Uh… Why don’t we work on the flowers first?”
Vicki shrugged. “Those are for Mommy,” she pointed out.
Addison nodded. She closed the car door and laughed. Oh, boy, Em. I think it’s time we had a talk with the sprout.
***
“How was your day with the sprout?” Emma asked.
“I’m not exactly sure.”
“Okay?”
“Em, can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
“Vicki said she heard you crying.”
Emma smiled. “She might have.”
“Why were you crying?”
“I don’t know. It depends on which time she heard me.”
“Not funny, Em.”
Emma pulled Addison into her arms. “I’m not trying to be funny. My hormones are all out of whack. I cried watching Sesame Street with Hannah the other day.”
Addison sighed.
“Addy, if you’re still upset that I said we need to talk about this move—”
“I’m not. If anything, I realize you’re right. Which, you usually are.”
“Not true, but thanks.”
“Vicki asked me if we could go home today.”
“She misses King.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not just that, though,” Addison said.
“No.”
Addison shifted to look at Emma. “I don’t know what we should do.”
“That’s why I said we need to talk about things.”
“I know what I want to do,” Addison said.
“You do?”
“I know you don’t think so, but yes; I do.”
Emma held Addison’s gaze. “You want to move here.”
“I do.”
Emma nodded.
“You don’t,” Addison surmised.
“Half of me does.”
“And, the other half?”
“Wants to go home to our house.”
“You don’t want to sell the house; do you?”
“I don’t know what I want, Addy. I want it all.” Emma chuckled.
“Well, Vicki knows what she wants.”
“What’s that?”
“A brother,” Addison replied.
“What?”
“Yep. Right after she asked me if we could go home, she asked me for a brother.”
Emma laughed. “That’s because Jackson keeps telling her how ‘cool’ brothers are to have.”
“Do you think we should tell her?”
“About the baby?” Emma asked.
“Yeah.”
“Maybe we should wait until the ultrasound.”
Addison sat up. “Do you want to know? What gender the baby is?”
“I think so.”
“Really?”
Emma shrugged.
“I thought you loved the element of surprise?” Addison watched as Emma shrugged again. “It’s okay with me.”
“Yeah?”
“Sure.”
“Do you hope it’s another girl?” Emma wondered.
“Nah. I don’t care. You?”
“You know it doesn’t matter to me. A little boy would be nice.”
“You just want a Cornelius in the family,” Addison said.
Emma laughed. “Not quite, love.”
Addison laid back down. “Well, you’re probably safe. I bet it’s another girl.”
“Well, we could find out before we go home.”
“Do you think Dr. Madison can fit you in?”
“Mom has Angie on speed dial. All I have to do is make the call.” Emma felt Addison smile against her. “So, should I?” Emma asked.
“Should you what?”
“Make the call.”
Addison nodded.
Emma closed her eyes with contentment. She needed something to look forward to; something to remind them both that this latest stress was only temporary. “I’ll call her in the morning.”
“If it’s a girl, I think you should name her Bellatrix.”
“You would.”
“Hermione?”
“Go to sleep, Addy.”
“Luna?”
“Sure. As long as you agree to name our son Frodo.”
Addison snorted. “Why? Think he’ll be short like you?”
Emma kicked Addison lightly. “I’m not short.”
“Shorter than me.”
“Am not.”
“So are, Em.”
Emma giggled. She felt a small sense of relief amid constant silent questioning. We’ll figure it out.
***
THREE DAYS LATER
“Nervous?” Emma asked Addison.
“No. Curious.”
“Want to make a guess?”
“I think it’s a girl.”
“The data would support that theory,” Emma agreed as she hopped onto the table.
The door creaked open, and Dr. Angie Madison stepped inside. “Well, if it’s not our local celebrities,” she teased the pair. “How are you feeling. Emma?”
“Good. Strange. I had two days of queasiness and that was it. To tell you the truth, I wondered if I was pregnant for a while.”
“Practice makes perfect,” Addison said with a wink.
“I’ll remember you said that this summer.”
Dr. Madison laughed. “So, you want to see if I can determine the gender?”
Emma smiled. “I think so. Just in case we need to add extra bedrooms or something.”
Addison’s eyes widened. “Why? Do you think it’s twins or something?”
“Oh, God, I hope not.”
Dr. Madison laughed again. Emma and Addy always amused her when she saw them, which was infrequently. “Well, let’s get this show on the road
and see what we can see; shall we?” She started all her necessary tasks. “A little cold,” she told Emma. “Sorry.”
“Not as cold as Addy’s feet.”
“Hey!”
Emma sniggered. Addison tended to be cold. Emma often functioned as Addison’s personal furnace.
Dr. Madison focused on the screen and began pointing out the figure. She moved the wand and pressed gently on Emma’s belly, and she smiled.
“Can you tell?” Addison asked.
“There are some things that you just can’t deny.” Dr. Madison pointed to the screen. “That would be one of them.” She turned her attention to Addison and Emma. “Say hello to your son.”
Addison’s jaw nearly hit the floor. She was convinced the baby would be another girl. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, I’m sure.”
Addison noted the smile that graced Emma’s lips. Emma never shared that she hoped for a boy or a girl. And, Addison was certain that Emma would be thrilled no matter the gender of the baby. There was an unmistakable twinkle in Emma’s eyes that Addison could not deny. Emma had grown up with two brothers and shared a close relationship with her two nephews. Addison suspected that a tiny part of her wife hoped for this news. She had to admit; it was a welcome surprise. Although, she felt a pang of fear for her unborn son. She could imagine all kinds of things his oldest sibling might force him to endure. She chuckled.
“What’s funny?” Emma asked.
“I was just imagining what Vicki might do with a litter brother.”
“Oh, God,” Emma commented, recalling some of the torture her brothers inflicted upon her.
“Too bad you’re not due at Christmas,” Addison offered.
“Why?” Emma asked.
“Imagine giving Vicki the brother she requested. We’d save hundreds over the next few years with that one.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “I doubt that.”
“I have to agree with Emma on that one,” Dr. Madison chimed.
“Really?”
“Mm. My son asked for a sister when he was five. He got his wish the next year right around his birthday.”
“Cool present,” Addison said.
“Yes, it was—for the moment. The next year he asked to go to Disneyworld. He was seven. Said it was—and I quote, an upgrade.”
Emma burst out laughing.
“Shit,” Addison mumbled.
Emma laughed harder. “Unless you two want me to pee, you will stop making me laugh.”
Dr. Madison winked at Emma. “Everything looks good,” she said. “I’ll spare you the story of what he asked for on his tenth birthday.”
Addison looked fearful. It made Emma laugh even harder. “You two are no help.”