“How about you get ready as quick as you can and I’ll take you out for breakfast. I’ll swing you back by the house after so you can get party-ready.”
My heart warms with that. She knows me so damn well. It’s very true that to be known is to be loved. “I would need final touches, you know me so well.”
“Almost like I made you myself.” Her joke causes laughter to bubble up out of both of us. “I’ll be at your house in twenty minutes. Get out of bed.” The line goes dead, and I wonder if my mom has a sixth sense when it comes to her kids. It’s the only way to explain how she would know that I’d still be in bed.
The next hour is spent laughing and filling my belly. My mom drops me back off at my front door with a promise to be back in two hours to pick me up for my party.
Though the headache hasn’t gone away, a full belly of food does make me feel immensely better.
When I step through the front door, I am greeted by my favorite man in the world holding a bouquet of blue flowers. “So, I know guys aren’t typically allowed at showers, but I couldn’t miss the chance of showering my girl with gifts.
My heart feels as if it has grown wings and has taken flight. His face is stretched in a grin. His dark hair is brushed back, giving me a perfect view of those brown eyes. I am so lost in everything that he is and I never want to find my way out.
“Well, you know I love surprises,” I say coyly.
He holds out the flowers, and I take a deep inhale. The sweet smell of the roses invading my senses. “They’re your first surprise. But I think you will like your second one better.”
“You’re something else.” I walk to the kitchen and set them down.
He follows, taking my hand and guiding me down the hall and to the door that will be our baby boy’s room, very very soon. “Go in.”
When I walk in, tears fill my eyes. Because the last thing on our must-have list was a crib. And there one sits. Painted a beautiful baby blue color, almost the color of a robin's egg. It’s draped with a white crocheted blanket over the side.
I walk up and run my hands over the smooth wood grain. Already imagining the times I’ll be picking up our baby boy. Laying him down for naps. Every piece of me is ready for that. Ready to be a mom. Ready for our boy to be here. “It’s perfect,” I whisper as a tear streaks down my cheek.
“That better be a happy tear,” Rhett says, stepping into my space and turning my body into him. He gently puts his finger under my chin, angling my face up to meet his gaze.
“The happiest. Where did you find it?” I ask, looking back to the crib.
“I made it.”
I pull back, shocked silence hanging between us. “When did you have the time to build a crib?”
“I made time.”
It hits me then. Where he’s been going all these nights. He’s been working hard, making sure he’s ready for this baby. Making sure we’re ready. “I don’t know what to say other than I love you. This baby boy is so lucky that you’re his dad. I just know he is going to love you as much as I do.”
Happiness overflows from me in the form of more tears.
“I love you and I love our family. You guys are my dream come true,” he says as he pulls me into his arms and I sink into his embrace.
My mom and I step into her house, and my jaw hits the floor. Streamers hang from every surface. Bright blue balloons hang everywhere. It looks perfect. Almost like a Pinterest board. Next to the fireplace is a balloon arch with a sign “Welcome Baby Rivers” hanging from it.
The decorations are one thing, but the people in the room are so much more important. Ava, Willow, my friends from work all stand with big smiles on their faces. But the best one of them all is Rhett in the corner, quiet and arms crossed, but I know that look. When he looks at me like that, it feels like sunshine is beaming down on me. I’m very glad he broke the no boys at baby shower rule he insisted was a thing.
“I’m glad we get to do this for you,” my mom says, pulling me in for a hug. “I heard you enjoyed your surprise this morning. You sure got one hell of a guy.” She pulls me back and looks at me, her small tear streaming down her face that doesn’t come from sadness. It’s happy. She knows her baby is safe.
“He’s…everything.” It’s the only way to describe it.
My stomach growls and my mom turns to the crowd. “The guest of honor has requested food, specifically not vegetables, though. So, let’s get her a plate.”
That specific instruction makes me laugh; guess I have been complaining about Rhett’s healthy eating protocol a bit too much.
With a baby strapped to her chest, Ava comes up to hug me. “I’m so excited to get to do the mom thing with you. And continue on a second generation of a mishmashed family.”
Pulling her in for a hug around baby Grace, I say, “I’m glad, too. Though, I am glad you got to do it first and work out some of the kinks before I jumped in.” I laugh; the pressure of it makes my dull headache throb. “I really need to get some water; I haven’t had enough and my headache is getting worse.”
“On it.” She darts through the room to the kitchen counter where Mom has jugs of iced tea, water and lemonade out.
