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I nodded. I didn’t even have to think about it. I wanted to meet them. I wanted Zoe in my life.
The rest of lunch was relaxed and comfortable. We talked and laughed, joked and shared stories of our pasts. We took the time to get to know each other, not only as sisters but as friends.
When it was finally time to leave, Zoe gave me a hug and it wasn’t nearly as awkward as it had been before. It was warm and real and right.
“I’ll see you soon,” Zoe said. “Let me know when you can come to Boston. You’ll stay with us, and we’ll have the best time.”
I agreed, and Brent and I waited until Zoe left before we walked to the car together. It felt different between us, too. After what Zoe had told us, we looked at our situation differently.
“I didn’t know that Zoe hadn’t meant to fall pregnant,” I said. “I can’t believe how similar we are. I thought the same things when I found out I was pregnant.”
“I was thinking that,” Brent said. “If your looks are not a dead giveaway, that would have sold it for me.”
Brent pulled me against him and kissed me. We climbed into the car together.
“Your place or mine?” Brent asked.
I smiled and put my head on his shoulder, cuddling up to him.
“Yours,” I said. I wanted to go home and get lost in Brent. I wanted us to connect again, to be one again. It was different when we slept together now. It wasn’t fucking; it was making love.
Epilogue
Brent
Three months later
Rena was huge. It was her first pregnancy, and according to all the books we’d read together, she shouldn’t have shown this much, if at all. Most women still weren’t showing at twelve weeks, but Rena looked like she was close to six months.
I was worried about that. Something didn’t feel right. I didn’t know much about pregnancies, but her mother and Zoe had said the same thing, and I tended to agree with them.
Rena’s parents hadn’t taken the news of her pregnancy very well at first. They had worried that we wouldn’t last, that it would be too hard on her emotionally and physically, and that she would have to sacrifice everything. It had taken them a while to get used to the idea, as it had taken us all.
Now that we were this far down the line, they seemed to have changed their minds about it. They had gotten to know me better, and Rena had moved in with me. It was official. I had told her about a month ago that I loved her. I had mustered up the courage to say the words. After that, she had brought her bags and told me she wasn’t leaving.
I still wasn’t quite used to the idea of being a father, but that would come. I was reading up on it, and I let her tell me week by week how the baby’s development was progressing. It helped me keep things in perspective.
“How are you going to deal with it if she loses the baby?” Joe asked. I had gone to his place to drink a cup of coffee. We had to talk about business, and I wanted to tell him what was going on in my life, too. I was nervous, and he was the only person I could talk to. He had kids and understood what I felt for Rena.
“I’ll be there for her, of course. Do you think it’s serious?”
Joe shrugged. “I don’t know. I know how it was when we were expecting these two, and what you’re going through sounds nothing like it.”
We watched Joe’s kids playing on the grass. This was my future, I thought. Joe had a nice place and an easy life, and he dedicated himself to his family. It was how I wanted to do it. It was what I wanted, too.
“If she loses the baby, it might affect you. I hope it’s nothing too traumatic. Maybe it’s good news.”
“Like what?”
“Like twins.”
Two babies? I hadn’t even thought about the possibilities. We hadn’t planned on any children, and now there might be two? Zoe had twins, though. And Zoe and Rena had been part of a set of three. Maybe it was a family thing.
“Are you ready for this?” Joe asked.
“Honestly, I’m not,” I admitted. “But I don’t think Rena is, either. We made a decision, and we’re riding this one out. As long as we’re together, we can make it work.”
“That’s the best thing you can do. You know, when I realized Rena was gunning for you, I didn’t think it was a good idea. I thought she was a silly kid. But now that I look at the two of you together, I don’t think you could have ended up with anyone better. She’s perfect for you. She keeps you young.”
