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Jenna reached over and felt her cheek. “She doesn’t feel as warm,” she whispered. “Her eyes are still open, but she looks tired. She might fall asleep soon.”
I resituated the rag on her head and shifted a little so the rails weren’t digging into my back, crossing my feet at the ankles.
I was getting comfortable. I’d sit here until Marley fell asleep. Until I knew she was feeling better.
Jenna stretched her legs out then too and sighed, tipping her head back. The corner of her mouth lifted. “I haven’t sat on the floor in front of a crib in so long. I kinda miss this.”
“I can see why. This is, without a doubt, the most fun I’ve had in years.”
She playfully nudged my side.
“Do you think you want more kids?” I asked.
“I absolutely want more kids.” Jenna peered over at me, and there was this glow on her face from the hallway light, but I swore she would’ve looked that way even without it. The way she spoke, how happy she sounded, it radiated from her. “What about you?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I actually never thought about it.”
“So, think about it now.”
“How about you ask me on a night when I’m not on the verge of a heart attack, caring for my sick kid.”
Jenna laughed quietly. “It’s terrifying, isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Loving someone this much.”
I peered down at the top of Marley’s head and pressed my lips there.
Jenna and I stayed quiet after that. We watched Marley, waiting for her to fall asleep. We occasionally watched each other. And when Jenna’s eyes slipped closed, I watched her until I couldn’t. Without meaning to, I passed out sometime after Marley dozed off. I realized this the next morning when something nudged my foot, and I opened my eyes to Oliver and Olivia standing over me, smiling.
Over us. Jenna was still asleep with her head on my shoulder.Chapter FifteenJENNANathan decided to stay home with Marley the next day in case she started feeling bad again, which freed up our Sunday evening, giving the kids and me the opportunity to attend family dinner at my brother’s house.
It had been more than a month since we last went. Family dinners were always a good time, in terms of company and food. You never knew who was going to show up. Attendance varied week to week, depending on everyone’s work schedules. Before I started watching Marley, my Sundays were always free, meaning the kids and I always showed up at Brian’s for dinner. So our recent absences had stood out a little more than anyone else’s.
“We were beginning to forget what you guys looked like,” Syd teased from where she stood at the oven.
“Yeah, Jenna. Way to ditch us,” Jamie added. He leaned back in his chair and smirked.
I peered around the table. Brian, Jamie, and Cole were already seated. Cole worked with my brother and Jamie at Wax.
“Okay, Cole hasn’t been to one of these in months,” I pointed out. “I don’t hear you ragging on him.”
“Throw me under the bus, why don’t you,” Cole mumbled, acting offended, but I knew him well enough to know he was joking around.
“I’m just saying,” I returned. “Tori misses. She’s missing tonight, along with Shay, Stitch, Kali, who I understand couldn’t make it last minute. Still, she isn’t here. Jamie, you miss when you have a meet.”
“When I’m kickin’ ass at a meet is what you meant to say.”
Oliver and Olivia snickered from their seats.
I glared across the table. “Language. Don’t make me stab you with my fork.”
My brother slid my utensils closer to me. Everyone, aside from Jamie, started laughing.
“We’re only kidding, Jenna.” Syd walked over to the table, carrying a large casserole dish. Steam wafted into the air. “We just missed you guys, that’s all.” She placed the dish in the center of the table. Enchiladas, by the looks of it.
“That smells amazing,” I said.
Syd grinned proudly, taking a seat beside my brother. “Thank you.”
Conversation came to a halt while everyone dished out helpings onto their plates and refilled their drinks, resuming once we began to eat.
“We should invite Nate to these,” Syd proposed. “Him and Marley. Problem solved. We’d all be together then.”
I smiled at her suggestion. I wanted them included in this too.
“Nate’s the best,” Olivia announced. “Right, Ollie?”
My son nodded through his bite. “Yeah, he’s real cool.”
“We spent the night at his house yesterday.”
Syd gasped. Coughing started in the general direction of my brother. My fork hovered in the air an inch away from my face.
“Oh, really?” Jamie asked, sounding more than pleased to be on the receiving end of this information.
Great. Here we go. “It was not…how it sounds,” I began to explain. “We fell asleep by accident.” I brought the fork to my mouth and pulled off the bite.
“Aw. I love accidental sleepovers,” Syd said.
