Page 50 of Truth or More Truth (Throwback RomComs #3)
Evanston, Illinois
“ Kelli, come on! We gotta go!” I yell.
I’m waiting for her in the kitchen of our new home.
Well, it’s her new home, but my old home.
We’ve been here for almost two months now, and while it’s sometimes strange to be living here without my parents, it’s also the fulfillment of a dream I didn’t know I had six months ago.
I had assumed I’d inherit the home when my parents passed away, but I hoped that would still be a decade or three down the road.
I also hadn’t been sure I’d be able to afford to keep it, so I didn’t allow myself to think about potentially living here ever again.
My future step-daughter finally careens into the room carrying a gift wrapped in light yellow paper and skids to a stop next to me.
“I hope it’s a girl! I really, really, really hope it’s a girl!” She flings her empty arm around me and squeezes tightly.
I extricate myself from her grip and usher her out into the garage. “I know you do, but please don’t be visibly upset if it’s a boy. ”
“I won’t. I’m just so excited for Aunt Wendy and Uncle Randall!” she gushes as we load into the car, where Nanette is already waiting for us. “Are Aunt Andrea and Emily on their way?”
I start the car and back out of the garage. “Their flight from Little Rock will arrive in a couple hours. Your dad is going to pick them up from the airport and bring them straight to the hospital.”
As soon as Kelli met Wendy and Leslie, she started calling them her aunts.
And she decided that since Andrea is Wendy’s sister, she’s also an aunt.
The kid now has more aunts and uncles than she knows what to do with, and they all spoil her rotten.
Bobby and I are hoping that with the arrival of this new baby, the focus on Kelli will die down a bit, since it’s starting to go to her head.
We want her to love her new “family,” and we’re glad they immediately accepted her as one of their own, but we need some normalcy around here, and the extravagant gift giving really needs to stop.
The kid has more than she’ll ever need already.
But it’s really hard to complain about how happy she is to be here and how seamlessly she and Nanette have both fit into everyone’s lives.
While we make the short drive to the hospital, Kelli keeps up a monologue from the backseat about all the things she’s going to do with and for the baby, as she has declared herself the official babysitter of Baby Hamilton.
Nanette and I smile at each other, happy at how excited she is.
I thought Nanette and I would get along and probably be friends, but it turns out we’re kindred spirits, as Anne Shirley would say.
We share a lot of the same interests, we have a similar sense of humor, and she’s been a great resource for me when trying to figure out how to deal with all of Bobby’s various moods.
Instead of us being rivals, she’s more of a mentor to me in that area.
It’s a strange friendship, but it works for us.
“I feel bad for Tonya and Sonya,” Kelli says with a sigh. “They both have to leave for college next week, so they won’t get to spend much time with their new niece or nephew. Of course, I start school the week after that, but at least I’ll still get to see the baby every day. ”
Though Tonya and Sonya are the sisters of Kelli’s new “uncles,” she doesn’t call them her aunts, as they’re not much older than she is. They’ve also adopted her and have spent more time with her than I would imagine most older teen girls would.
“Kelli,” her mom says, “you’re not going to see the baby every day.“
“But why not? I already love her … or him …,” she reluctantly amends, “so much! I won’t be in the way, I promise. I can help change diapers and give bottles and?—”
“You’re going to be a great help,” Nanette cuts in.
“But not every day. They’ll want time together as a new family of three, and Wendy and Randall will need time to bond with their baby without other people running in and out all day every day.
You’ll get plenty of time with them and the baby, though. Don’t worry.”
When we arrive at the hospital waiting room, the place is in a state of minor chaos.
Wendy’s parents are here, along with Ruth and her new boyfriend, Tonya and Sonya, Ash, Diego, and now the three of us.
Randall and Leslie are both in the delivery room with Wendy.
She asked if I’d like to be there, too, but I declined because she doesn’t need the room cluttered with onlookers.
I’m hoping Leslie isn’t having to spend more time keeping Randall calm than supporting Wendy, but I think that might be too much to hope for.
Diego is pacing and muttering about how Wendy needs to push this baby out before he has to head to the stadium.
I’m thinking he should just be glad today’s game is at home and is a rare night game, so he can be here now, but I’m not about to state my opinion on that.
Nanette is trying her best to calm him down, but she’s only mildly successful.
Wendy’s younger brothers soon arrive from Milwaukee and add to the noise in the room. I feel bad for the other family that’s quietly awaiting the arrival of their baby, though I’m also amused by their awestruck expressions at being in the presence of the highly agitated Diego Sanchez.
We’re still waiting when Bobby arrives with Andrea and Emily a few hours later.
It’s past time for Diego to leave for his game, but none of us have been able to convince him to go.
Nanette maybe could’ve, but she and Ruth’s boyfriend headed out twenty minutes ago to grab some food for everyone, since it’s now the middle of the afternoon and nobody has eaten lunch.
I’m hoping my fiancé will have better luck than the rest of us with getting Diego to head to the stadium.
At first, Bobby doesn’t notice Diego, since he zeroed in on me the moment he stepped into the room and came directly over to kiss me hello.
But it doesn’t take long for him to spot his friend—and more importantly at the moment, his client—and read him the riot act about being late to batting practice and setting a bad example for his teammates.
Diego crosses his arms and acts as if he’s not going anywhere for all of about twenty seconds before he gives in to Bobby’s stare and begins saying goodbye to everyone, including the other waiting family, who finally got up the nerve to introduce themselves to him an hour ago.
They’re now fast friends and Diego promised them tickets to a future game along with signed jerseys for everyone, including the baby.
Bobby makes his way back over to me, tugs me down next to him onto a hard, vinyl-covered couch, and slips his arm around me. “You doing OK?”
I give him a soft smile. “Yeah. I’m so excited for them. I just hope everything goes smoothly in there and the baby is fine.”
“Hopefully we’ll know soon.” He murmurs in my ear, “They could all be waiting on us in this same room in a year or so.”
Tingles race through my body at the thought.
Last month, Bobby asked me to marry him when we were at Diego’s resort in the Dominican for a few days.
Kelli wasn’t happy she wasn’t there to witness it, but we let her announce the news to everyone else, which mollified her quite a bit.
We’re getting married in October, since Bobby turns thirty-seven next month, and we’d like to start adding to the family sooner rather than later.
“I hope they are.” I give him a quick kiss. “You know Kelli is going to want to be in the delivery room, right?”
“Not gonna happen.” His head gives a decisive shake. “I love that kid more than life itself, but I can’t let my little girl see me pass out when it’s crunch time. She needs to keep thinking I’m invincible. ”
I laugh. “Leave it to you to call giving birth ‘crunch time.’ And you’d better not pass out on me. I don’t want you to miss a second of experiencing your next child coming into the world.”
“I’ll do my best to stay on both feet the entire time.”
“What are you two talking about?”
Neither of us noticed Kelli approaching, and I hope she didn’t hear what we were discussing or we’ll never hear the end of it.
“How much we love you,” her dad says, which is partially true.
She narrows her eyes at us. “Somehow I doubt that.”
I shrug. “Your dad said, and I quote, ‘I love that kid more than life itself.’”
Kelli inspects our expressions for a few more seconds. “Yeah, I could see that.” She nods. “I’m pretty lovable.”
She shrieks when Bobby grabs her waist and pulls her down onto his lap.
“You’re a mess,” he says to her, “but you’re my mess.”
“Our mess,” I correct with a smile as I squeeze Kelli’s arm.
At that moment, Randall bursts through the waiting room door with his hair disheveled and a giant grin on his face. “It’s a girl!”
I hope you enjoyed Melissa and Bobby’s story! Stay tuned for the next book in the series, starring Andrea and Shannon. You probably already guessed that’s who’s next!