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WHEN THE WEDDING IS over, we say goodnight to our parents and we all head out to sit on the beach. The guys dig a hole and set up a small bonfire, one that isn’t very noticeable but adds the sentimental feel we’re looking for. Everyone is drinking beer, except me of course, while we talk about how Christmas went and reminisce for a bit.
“Oh, Holden.” Jo gets his attention. “Thanks for having extra pillows sent to my room. It helped last night.”
He’s bewildered as he looks at her and shakes his head. “I-I didn’t. Helped with what?”
“Helped me fall asleep. I have trouble sleeping in hotel rooms unless I have extra pillows. I thought you knew this and that’s why…” She’s staring at her brother, realizing he’s not lying. “Wait, if you didn’t send them then who…”
Caleb elbows Jason playfully. Jay coughs and shakes his head, discreetly trying to play it off. Jo gasps when it hits her.
“Oh, my god.” She breathes. “You remembered.”
He smiles shyly and shrugs. “I remember everything.”
Jo gets up, walking over to him and putting out her hand. He takes it and she helps pull him to his feet. As soon as he’s standing, she grabs his face and kisses him. Jason sighs happily and wraps his arms around her, lifting her and spinning them around. Holden feigns gagging, while I practically glee with excitement.
When they pull away, Jason is all smiles. “God, I missed you.”
She beams back. “I missed you, too.”
As they go back to kissing and being all over each other, Caleb groans. “Well, now it’s back to being the only single one.”
We all laugh and I reach over to pat the top of his head. Poor Kermit.
UNFORTUNATELY, WE’RE ONLY ABLE to stay in Hawaii for one more day, needing to get back to school and hockey. The flight back is hard. I can’t manage to get comfortable, and it’s a total of 12 hours on a plane. Holden watches me, looking sympathetic for my pain.
“Are you okay?”
“No.” I groan. “The baby is in my back and it hurts.”
He waves for the attendant, asking for something as soon as she gets close. The woman comes back with a small bottle of lotion and Holden thanks her.
“Sit up.” He tells me, lifting the back of my shirt as soon as I obey. His fingers dig into all the right places as he gives me a massage. I moan softly at the contact. “Are you always in this much discomfort when we travel or is it just because this flight is so long?”
“The bigger he or she gets, the harder it is to sit in tight spaces.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It just started recently.”
He sighs. “Maybe you should stay in Maine this semester.”
“What?”
Finishing rubbing the lotion into my back, he puts my shirt down. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have you with me, but not if you’re going to suffer in order to be there.”
“But I’ll miss you.” I pout, leaning my head on his shoulder.
“I know, baby. I’ll miss you, too. This is about what’s in your best interest, though.”
The only thing I can do is frown. He’s right. The best thing for me, despite what I want to do, is stay in Maine and take care of myself and the baby.
THE ULTRASOUND TECH MOVES the transponder around my stomach. It amazes both Holden and I to see how much the baby has grown since the last time we saw him or her. She points out all the body parts and measures their growth. After the legs, she stops and looks at us.
“Do you want to know the gender?”
Holden bites his lip and smiles. He’s always been anxious to know what we’re having. I nod but when she goes to tell us, I stop her.
“Can you write it down and put it in an envelope? We want to have a gender reveal party.”
