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“Well, if you think you might change your mind, you ought to let him know. He’s all sorts of busted up over losing you.”
“He is?”
“Oh yeah. The dude’s a big mess. He’s trying to hide it from Hayden, but even the kid is starting to catch on. And he misses you too.”
“I know, Langston told me.” Guilt sweeps through me. The last thing I want to do it hurt Hayden.
And I definitely don’t want Langston to hurt either. “Ronnie, I think I’ve made a big mistake. I thought I was doing him a favor, but now I’m realizing I’m not.”
“How were you doing him a favor by breaking up with him? That sounds pretty backwards to me.”
“I guess you haven’t heard.”
“No, I haven’t. I know there’s something going on with you, but no one has told me what that is. Supposedly, it’s some huge secret.”
“Not that huge. The knitting club all seems to know, so you might as well find out too.”
“What? The kitting club knows and not me? Come on, sis. I’m your brother.”
“I’m sorry, Ronnie. I should have told you. The truth is, I can’t have kids.”
Ronnie is dumbfounded. I can see it in his face.
“Wait. Really?”
“Yeah. There’s nothing the doctor can do. My eggs are all dried up.”
He makes a face. “Okay, TMI.”
I laugh. “This is really sad, Ronnie.”
“Oh.” He looks sheepish. “Sorry. I really am. I’m just trying in my dumb way to make an awkward situation funny, and it’s just… Just ignore me.”
And this is why my brother doesn’t have a girlfriend. Was that mean? It kind of was.
“But all joking aside, I hate to hear that, Jenni. You can’t even do in vitro or anything, can you?”
I shake my head. “It’s okay.”
“Man, that’s rough.”
“I’m making my peace with it. I thought I had already, but then all these things have happened to make me realize that maybe keeping it a secret wasn’t the greatest idea.”
“No. I understand the need for privacy, but no one is going to judge you for that. It’s not like you can help it. You haven’t done anything wrong. And you’re still the same Jenni we all love. Nothing will change that.”
“You sound like Mom,” I say.
“Well, she’s a pretty smart lady, so I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Ronnie?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you think Langston would ever want to marry me?”
“I think it’s a little early to propose to him, sis. Maybe just start with dating for a while.”
I laugh. “Okay. You’re probably right about that. I know Langston really well, but a dating relationship is pretty different from a friendship.”