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“Auntie Jen! Come quick! I’m getting a baby sister tomorrow! Also, I have tattoos and youneedtoseethem! There’s a unicorn and a heart and two planets. Plus abutterflyon myface!”
I smile as I climb up the stairs. “A baby sister? And two planets? Wow!”
Like a lot of houses on Bald Head, Tuck’s has a reverse floor plan. The bedrooms are on the first floor, while the kitchen and living areas are on the second, where views of the water are best.
Katie, my five-year-old niece, rushes to greet me. She holds up her hands covered in sparkly tattoos. “See? Papa Joe and I did them.”
“Beautiful.” I run my thumb over the sparkles. “They look so real.”
“They’re definitely real,” Katie replies proudly. “And it didn’t even hurt.”
My brother ambles over from the sink, wiping his hands on a dish towel. “What did Maren and I tell you, Squish? No tattoos until you’re thirty.”
I cut my brother a look as I set down the food on thecounter. Tuck is covered head to toe in ink. “Says the guy who got his first one at fifteen.”
“Exactly. Now my hula girl looks like she’s a deflated hot air balloon. No tattoos until thirty, and that’s final.” Tuck leans down to wrap me in a hug. It’s a tighter hug than usual, and I can only assume it’s because he’s excited. Anxious too.
I catch a glimpse of Dad over Tuck’s shoulder. He sits at the kitchen table, surrounded by the detritus of a temporary tattoo kit. He looks relaxed enough; the arms crossed over his massive chest are glittering with Katie’s tattoos. He smiles at me, but it doesn’t touch his eyes.
Pressure, sharp and sudden, builds inside my throat. I’ve always chatted with Dad multiple times a day, so I know he’s doing okay. But seeing him try to put on a brave face for everyone?—
Whew, it gets to me. How like him, to think of everyone else before himself.
How like him to sit with his only grandchild and patiently apply butterfly tattoos to her hands and face, and smile, all the while knowing he’ll be too fragile to sit up, much less play, while recovering from surgery in the very near future.
My heart breaks for him. For all of us.
But I can’t fall apart in front of everyone right now. We agreed it was best Dad didn’t tell Tuck and Maren until after the baby came. Seeing how excited they are just drives the point home. We’ll let them have this magical time to bond with their new family member,thenwe drop the bomb.
Both bombs, really.
Until then, I do my best to keep it together.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Dad waves.
Tuck lets me go and I walk across the room to give Dad a hug. “How crazy is it that this is the last time there will only be five of us?”
Maren, who’s got her feet up on the couch, gives me atired smile. “Absolutely insane. But not gonna lie, I’m so ready.”
“Aw, Maren, how are you feeling?” I perch on the edge of the couch and grab her hand. “I’ve been thinking about you.”
She gives my hand a squeeze. “Thank you for that. I feel all right. Tired. It’s hard to get comfortable at night, so I’m not sleeping much. I’m also so ready to meet this little person.”
“We all are. Still think it’s a boy?” Tuck and Maren opted to keep the baby’s gender a surprise.
“I do, yeah. Tuck swears it’s a girl, though.”
“I vote girl,” Dad says.
I grin. “I don’t mean to pile on here, but I think it’s a girl too.”
“Tuck is the best girl dad.” Maren looks up at Tuck at the same moment he hands her a plate piled high with sweet potato fries and a sandwich. “Thank you, Superman.”
He leans down to kiss her. “Any time, Tiny.”
“Daddy, will you kiss me?” Katie says.
“Squish, I’ll kiss you as much as you want. Get over here.” I watch my brother scoop his daughter into his arms and tickle her before planting noisy kisses on her cheeks and nose.
