“I think you should discuss it with your therapist and see what advice she has, Mindy. You’ve come so far already from that night, my friend. Don’t let what that bastard do keep you from experiencing the best thing ever.”
“What’s that?” I ask as we make our way outside once again.
“Why, sex with your hubby, of course,” she teases. Looking around, she calls out, “Is everyone ready to see what we’re having?” When everyone yells that they are, she points me toward Cruz and then she gets Dex’s attention. “Come on, you two, we wanna see what we’re gonna be raising.”
“I’m nervous,” I whisper to Cruz. We’re waiting for everyone to get their cameras and videos ready to snap pictures of the moment so we can have it as a memory keepsake.
“I’m not. Whatever we’re going to have, we’re going to do the best job we can of raising them. Together,” he replies, kissing my cheek.
“Okay, Abuela and I are going to call out and when you four hear ‘one’, go ahead and open the wardrobes,” Nonna says.
I take a deep breath as Cruz now faces me, both of us with our hands on the handles. One side will have a hanging rack, the other will have little shelves, and there are three drawers below the wardrobe part for other stuff.
“Three, two, one!” Nonna and Abuela yell.
Pink.
All the pink and purple things a person could imagine for a newborn stare at me as I look at Cruz. I know it’s the hormones, but I leap into his arms, confident that he’ll catch me and as tears stream down my face, I cup his cheeks and lean in and kiss him, murmuring against his lips, “A girl, honey. We’re having a little girl.”
He holds me close and honestly, if he smiled any wider he’d split his cheeks as he says, “She’s going to be beautiful just like her momma.” And spoiled rotten, I’m sure.
Our little moment is interrupted when Arya exclaims, “They’re both having girls! Yay! Me and Ani can help with them!”
Cruz turns me so I can see Jolie and Dex’s wardrobe and I see pink and purple in hers. Dex nods to Cruz and suddenly, I’m on my feet again and she and I rush toward each other. “This is going to be an awesome experience!” she screams, momentarily deafening me. “I honestly didn’t care what we had, or even if one of us had a boy and the other a girl, because they’re still going to be the best of friends, just like we are.”
We’re sobbing again as our husbands come up to us. “Nonna and Abuela want to pull out the cakes now that we’ve done the reveals,” Dex says. He answers my unspoken question by saying, “I think little birdies might have told them what each of you were having.”
I’m laughing as we turn toward the tables laden with food, only to stop in my tracks. The cakes are the same as far as being made to look like little bassinets, decorated with pink and purple flowers, but each has a unique onesie draped over the side which has me doubling over in laughter.
Jolie’s says, “My Daddy knows how to dive deep, what’s your superpower?”
Mine says, “Mess with my best friend and you’ll be ‘Cruz’in’ for a bruisin’”
“Nonna!” Dex exclaims.
“What? Those babies are going to be the best of friends like these two are,” she states, pointing between me and Jolie. “Plus, even though you and Cruz are either at work or sleeping before work, I’ll have you know that theybothget in their daily steps going back and forth across the road. Don’t you see their path?”
I snicker because neither of us are big on working out, but we don’t mind walking. Not only do we go back and forth all day, we also walk about a mile up and down our road if the weather permits. Our doctor was okay with our plan, and thanks to Nonna and Abuela, as well as Cruz’s wonderful grilling skills, I’ve regained the weight I lost after the assault and have only put on about ten pounds beyond that so far. I know that’s going to change, but right now, my little bean is right where she’s supposed to be development-wise.
“Let’s eat!” Arya exclaims as she jumps up and down at the table where the cakes are sitting.
“Sounds like a good idea to me, too,” Cruz replies, a gleam in his eyes as he looks at ‘our’ cake.
“You and your sweet tooth,” I tease.
“I bet you’ll be sweeter,” he says, grinning down at me. When I start to blush at his implication, he bursts out laughing. “Soon, kitten, soon.”
“From your mouth to God’s ears,” I mutter as he reaches out and takes the first two plates of the cake and hands one to me.
He just grins in response.
