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“Why?”
She rolled her eyes. “Because I’m fifty-five months pregnant, my man is on the other side of the country, or maybe he’s in Canada this week for all I know, and I worry when people aren’t where they’re supposed to be. Problem?”
I raised my hands up in a defensive posture, and smiled. “Nope. No problem at all. Smells good in here.”
“Thanks.” She brightened and stood a little taller, smiling over her shoulder at me as we made our way further into the small house she currently called home. “With kids on the way, I figured now was as good a time as any to improve my culinary skills.”
“Yeah? How’s that going?”
“Pretty good, actually. With a little bit of organization and an ever-growing collection of herbs and spices, it’s not too bad. Granddaddy is a fine teacher.” The smile on her face was so big and so right that I felt a pang of sadness settle in my own gut. Suzie was expanding her family, which included me, sure, but it felt as if I was being edged out in favor of Gavin and his family.
“That’s nice.”
Suzie let out a small trill of laughter. “You know, Drew, it wouldn’t kill you to make an effort to get to know them all. We’re all family now. All of us.”
I shook my head as we came into the kitchen, the smells growing stronger by the second and my stomach growled louder with every passing minute. “They’re your family, Suzie and I’m happy for you. This is the big family you always wanted.”
Her smile softened when she turned to me and put a gentle hand on my arm. “You’re wrong, Drew. They only add to the family I already have. I’m not looking to replace anyone, and I won’t ever. These babies will need all the love and support they can get, including their Uncle Drew.”
I smiled at that. “Uncle Drew. I think I like the sound of that.” I hadn’t actually thought of the twins in real life terms, as two little girls with blond hair and green eyes, slightly different to match both Suzie and Gavin’s coloring. The sound of little girl voices shouting for their uncle. I looked down at my sister’s giant belly and frowned. “You should sit.”
“I will. In a minute.” Suzie pointed to the stove. “You stir while I clear the table.”
The kitchen table was piled high with folders and papers, Suzie’s laptop at one end and a giant calendar sat at the other end. “What’s all this? You’re having babies any day now, Suze. You ought to be resting.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll have days to rest after giving birth, Drew. I need to get everything else under control before my water breaks. I’ll be out of it for at least a few days which means I need to approve schedules and time off, make sure the OR schedule isn’t overcrowded. All that fun stuff.” She flashed an exhausted smile, completely in her element while multi-tasking.
“You have an assistant who can handle this. Not to mention you can delegate to department heads.” We would all happily step in to fill any gaps while Suzie was away. “Maternity leave is more than a few days. Suzie.”
“Technically, yes, but there’s no backup administrator and the hospital will still need things. I’m going to work mostly from home, relying on my village when something requires me to be at the hospital.” She flashed a proud smile as if that settled things.
“If you say so. Is this sauce done? I’m starved.” My stomach growled again just to punctuate the statement and Suzie laughed.
“Is it thick enough to stick to the spoon without being gloopy?”
I looked at the sauce and then back to my sister with a shrug. “Sure?”
Suzie rolled her eyes and gave the table one last look before she made her way to the stove. “Grab some plates and we’ll eat in the living room.”
A bark of laughter escaped. “Mom would be horrified.”
“Wouldn’t she?” She shrugged and dumped the pasta into a strainer. “I eat in the living room most nights, usually working and watching TV while I do it. I console myself with the fact that she’d be proud that my house is clean, mostly, and I have a successful career.”
“Mom was always proud of you, Suzie. She would be in awe of you now.”
Her green eyes glistened with emotion. “Thanks, Drew.” The plates and flatware between us did nothing to stop my sister from wrapping her arms around my midsection and squeezing tight. “I’m so happy you decided to come back to Jackson’s Ridge.”
“Yeah, me too, Suze. Me too.” In the moment of silence another roar echoed from my stomach and she let out another, louder laugh.
“All right, jeez, let’s feed the beast.” She grabbed the plates and stacked each one with thick flat noodles, poured the creamy mushroom alfredo sauce on top, and a piece of grill chicken she produced from the oven. “Voila!”
