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15
It
My first mistakewas assuming Bev went all out for the gender reveal. It was a big mistake. Gigantic.
The entire main floor of the house is decorated. Some rooms in pink, others in blue. Each has a theme.
Butterflies, anchors, zoo animals and florals.
The living room is the only room that has remained neutral. The decorations are all gray with a chevron print. There are pops of color in the room—yellow, teal, red and orange—but nothing gender specific.
Haley is the first to arrive, Gus on her hip greedily reaching for me when he spots me.
"Hey," I say, pulling her in for a hug as Gus latches onto me. "I thought you weren't going to be able to make it today."
Over the last few months, Haley has become an extension of our family. She comes to dinner on Sunday nights when she can. We have lunch together at least once a week on her day off. I've fallen in love with Gus, and as much as he loves me, Adam is actually his favorite person most of the time.
"Wyatt insisted I have the day off, so here I am. I didn't have time to buy you a gift, though."
"I'm not worried about that. You being here is a gift itself. Come on in and grab something to eat," I say, motioning for her to follow me and Gus.
Her eyes dance around, taking in the house as we make our way into the formal dining room where all the food and beverages are. I'm sure the look on her face is much like mine was the first time I saw this place. It's overwhelming and intimidating to be in a house like this.
I compared it to walking through a china shop.
Look, don't touch. Watch where you walk. And most of all… be careful not to break anything. You can't afford to replace even the smallest item. Not in this lifetime.
The house has changed a bit since the first time I was here. Instead of flashy, expensive items all over the place for show, it now has a homier feel. Bev made sure to "childproof" the house once Chloe decided to move back to town. She didn't want Lola to break anything or hurt herself. Since Lola spends a fair amount of time over here, it was smart on her part.
My sweet girl likes to snoop and explore. To be blunt, she gets into everything, especially things she's not supposed to. So, if it looks like she shouldn't touch it, it's almost a guarantee she will.
"This place is like a museum," Haley comments as I hand her a glass of punch.
"Not as much as it used to be if you can believe that," I reply, smiling at Bev across the room. She's talking with my mother, or rather, my mother is talking at her. I'm surprised she's putting up with it after yesterday. There was more than one point I thought she might slap my mother for her backhanded comments.
I was waiting for it. Watching to make sure I didn't miss the action.
Bev being the upstanding person she is in public was able to refrain, sadly.
As half the women in town gather in the living room, Chloe and I are directed to take our seats. The party kicks off with a few games. Beverly splits the group into two teams and hands each team a roll of toilet paper before calling us to the center of the room.
The object of the game: wrap us in toilet paper.
The first team to successfully use all their toilet paper wins.
Glancing at Chloe, I smirk. Being three weeks ahead of me, her belly is a tad bit bigger than mine. She's shorter, though, so it looks like it protrudes a lot more. This should be an advantage, and to most people, it would be. What most people don't realize is that the little bit of extra weight and lack of height also means that she won't be able to turn as fast as I can.
Because that's what I plan to do.
Turn and turn and turn until all the toilet paper is gone. All my team has to do is pass the toilet paper in the opposite direction I'm turning.
"Go!"
As I start spinning, my team gets confused. The toilet paper breaks and we have to start all over again. I sneak a quick peek over at Chloe and her team seems to be easily wrapping her belly.
"New plan. Me and Haley versus the other team. Haley, I'm going to turn this way. You run the opposite way. Make sure the roll can easily spin between your fingers or the paper will rip. Ready?"
Haley nods and takes off as I begin to spin.
