Veronica. I’d loved how close she’d become with my mom when we were together. Maybe not so much now. Parents should break up with exes the same time their children did.
“Drew went on a date?” Ginny interrupted. “An I’m-just-passing-the-time date or an actual, real, grown-up type of thing?”
“He called in a favor and got after-hours access to the planetarium.” Mom beamed.
Ginny turned to me. “Who is she and why haven’t we met her yet?”
Owen pulled out a chair, the feet scratching loudly against the floor.
“If we don’t eat, I’m not sure your son will save any food for you, and then you may be pregnant forever without your magic eggplant parm.”
An internal struggle took place behind Ginny’s eyes. She clearly wanted to be nosey about my personal life, but she also desperately wanted to meet her new baby and not be pregnant anymore.
“Fine,” she conceded on a burst of wind. “But don’t think you’re off the hook.”
Eric said grace at the head of the table, then we began passing plates around. Conversation turned to Eric’s job, and I was more than content to hand over the spotlight to him. With less people grilling me about Nicole, I could eat in peace. I didn’t know about the validity of the breaded and fried vegetable topped with tomato sauce to induce labor, but it sure tasted good.
Owen tilted to the side, the sound of flatulence cutting into the conversation around the table.
“Owen!” Ginny reprimanded.
The boy grinned but said, “Excuse me.”
I reached over to him under the table and tapped knuckles with him with a wink.
“Does anyone need a refill?” Ginny asked as she pushed away from the table.
“I’ll get it, sweetheart.” Eric moved to stand, but Ginny waved him off.
“I need to stretch anyway.” She picked up her glass and waddled into the kitchen.
Crash!
Shattered glass mixed with a startled cry.
“Ginny.” Eric knocked over his chair in his haste to rush to his wife’s side.
She stood still, breathing hard. “My water broke.”
“It’s time?”
Their gazes locked. “It’s time.”
As if a starting gun at a race had been shot, Eric took off. He rounded the corner and jogged up the stairs two at a time. Mom and I picked our way into the kitchen. I collected large chunks of broken glass while Mom retrieved the broom from the closet.
The ceiling reverberated under Eric’s stomping around. He came down the stairs holding a small suitcase. “Why are you still standing there?” he panted to Ginny.
Ginny looked down at herself. “I’m not going like this.”
“What are you talking about, woman?” Now Eric appeared the crazed one.
Ginny used the countertop to support her weight. “Don’t ‘woman’ me. And I mean I’m not walking out in public looking like I wet myself.”
“But…but…it’s time,” Eric stuttered.
“Owen took fourteen hours to make his appearance. I think I can take a couple of minutes to put on clean clothes and maybe a maxi pad so I don’t keep leaking on myself.”
Mom set the broom aside. “Eric, help your wife up the stairs and into something more comfortable. We’ll get the car ready for you.”
