Page 71 of Bless My Heart

“Yeah, yeah,” Wes says. “Alright, dinner is ready. Since this is a special occasion, we’re eating in the dining room. Ozzy even cleaned it, so get on in there.” They all shuffle past me towards the dining room.

Wes kisses me before telling me to follow everyone into the dining room. I wait for everyone else to sit down before taking a seat next to Stella, leaving a spot next to me open for Wes.

He brings in a giant pan of lasagna, a big salad, and an entire plate of garlic bread. It smells freaking delicious.

“You know, Hazel, I’m a little jealous that Wes is going to keep cooking for you instead of us. I had to eat so much Taco Bell last semester when he wasn’t here.”

I laugh. “Sorry about that. He does spoil me.”

“Good,” Stella says. “You deserve to be spoiled if you have to put up with this punk.” She points her thumb at Wes, who just shrugs his shoulders and grabs some bread.

We all help ourselves to the food.

Once everyone has a full plate, Ezra says, “So how exactly did this happen? Did you not wrap it up, Wes?”

Celine’s eyes go wide next to him. I see her elbow him in the side. “Ow,” he whispers.

“I did, man, but it broke. So, here we are,” Wes explains.

Next to me, Stella says, “Gross. I do not want to think about my brother having sex.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t want to hear my sister and my best friend having sex, but I can’t seem to get away from it.”

Ozzy chokes on his food, and Stella quietly says, “I didn’t know you could hear us.”

Ezra laughs. “I’m pretty sure the neighbors can hear y’all going at it.”

“Oh my God.” Stella covers her face in embarrassment.

“So, anyway… ” Celine says, trying to change the subject. “Have y’all thought of a name for the baby yet? It’s a girl, right? My vote is Celine.”

“You’re an idiot,” Wes tells her.

“You could name her something weird like all the celebrities. I don’t think Unicorn Horn is taken yet.”

“Yes, Unicorn Horn is the top name on our list,” Wes says, rolling his eyes.

“We haven’t really decided on a name yet,” I tell them.

“What are your top choices?” Stella asks. I look to Wes to make sure he is ok with me telling them, and he nods his head.

“Well, our top two are Lucy and Emerson.”

Stella gasps. “Oh my God. I love Emerson. You have to pick that!”

“I love that name, too,” Celine agrees.

“As far as names go, I guess that’s a cool one,”Ezra says. Ozzy doesn’t say anything, but he does nod his head, so I think we can take that as his approval.

“So, Emerson?” I ask Wes.

He smiles. “Emerson. I like it.” I guess that’s that.

“She’s going to be the prettiest and smartest little girl ever,” Stella says.

“Yeah, it’s kind of unfair how perfect this baby is going to be,” Celine says. I laugh. I know they’re probably just trying to be nice, but it really means a lot to me that they already seem to care for the baby.

“Thanks, guys,” I tell them.