Aspen covers her hand over her mouth.
“You weren’t supposed to tell, were you?”
She shakes her head, keeping her hand over her mouth.
“Are they like this froggy?” I ask, pointing to the one in the window.
She kicks her legs for me to set her down, and she crouches in a little ball before projecting herself forward in a little hop. “They go ribbit ribbit,” she says, jumping around the kitchen.
I sigh. Brody and Daisy are in for quite the surprise when they get home tonight.
The rest of the evening goes smoothly. I can’t take my eyes off Jenny. I’ve never seen her happier. She dances. She plays with the kids. She eats, and she laughs.
Everyone is having a great time, and so am I until the night winds down and everyone begins to leave.
I watch Jesse and Dirk working together to clean up the kitchen. Jenny is in the living room, sitting on the couch with Lily’s feet in her hands. She’s rubbing them as the two chat happily about the wedding. Aspen is curled into Lily’s side, fast asleep. The little chicken smuggler crashed out a few minutes ago, finally running out of steam.
Jackson is getting ready to leave, but I notice his goodbye with his Uncle Dirk is running long. Willow slips beside me, wrapping her arm around mine. “I have a question for you.”
I drag my eyes away from the pair and stare down at her. “What’s that?”
“Would you and Jenny like to be in the delivery room with us? I already asked Lily and Dan if they could watch Aspen, since everyone else is now currently on their honeymoon.”
“What about Jesse and Dirk? They could watch her.”
Her face softens, and she cradles my cheek. “I think they’re leaving in the morning.”
“Oh.” I glance at them and see Jackson and Dirk hug tightly. “I didn’t know that.”
“Dirk announced it a few weeks ago, remember? He jumped up on the picnic table and told everyone.”
“Oh, yeah. Now I remember.”
That fucker.
“So, do you want to be there or not? Of course, you’ll have to stand by my head,” she says, laughing lightly. “No offense, but I don’t want you seeing my lady bits.”
I rub my forehead and laugh. “Yes, I want to be there. I know Jenny will too. Thank you, Willow. That is very kind of you to let us be a part of something so special.”
“Oh, I’m doing it for me. I’m scared out of my mind. I need all the support I can get.”
Jackson walks over and places his arm around her. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah,” she says, placing her hands on her back. “I’ve had such an ache in my lower back. I think I’ve been on my feet too much today.”
Soon after they leave, it gets super quiet. When I peek out to the living room, Lily and Jenny are both asleep on the couch side by side. You couldn’t slide a piece of paper between them. Jenny’s hand rests protectively over Lily’s stomach.
Jesse walks up beside me. “They look so peaceful,” she says quietly.
“They do. I think it’s been a long time coming,” I say sadly, turning to look at her. “You’re leaving?”
Her head drops between her shoulders. “Dirk and I have a meeting in Oregon tomorrow. We need to get on the road in the morning if we’re going to make it on time.”
“So you’re not leaving on your vacation?” I ask.
“No, we are. We just have to give someone a ride home first.”
“You found Melody’s family?”
