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Bev declares a winner a few minutes later, and I fall onto the couch, dizzy from our failed attempt.
Haley plops next to me in a fit of laughter.
"I couldn't get it to stop ripping. I'm so sorry," she says between breaths.
For every two laps Haley ran around me, the paper tore. We'd start over and keep going but by the time we were halfway through the roll, Chloe was completely covered, and her team was declared the winner.
I'd be disappointed if the sight of Chloe hadn't been so hysterical. When they first started wrapping her, it was contained to her belly, the biggest part of her body. By the time they were done, she was covered from the waist to her chin. Her arms were pinned to her sides, but she was still glowing.
Bev hosts two more games, both of which have me laughing hysterically. The first, deemed the "dirty diaper" game, had our guest sniffing diapers filled with melted candy bars. The other had them tasting baby food in an attempt to guess the flavor.
After a quick break for refreshments to cleanse our pallets of baby food, Chloe and I begin opening gifts.
Instead of opening all boy or girl gifts, Chloe and I decided to randomly open them no matter the color of the wrapping paper. In the end, it won't matter. Our children will be spoiled regardless.
Haley offers to hand out the gifts. My mother sits next to me and is in charge of writing down all the little boy gifts. Bev sits next to Chloe and writes down all the little girl gifts. Once the babies arrive we'll know who to send thank you notes to that way. With almost a month to go, I know I won't remember who to thank for what.
"I bought you that one," my mother says as Haley hands me another gift.
"Is it for a boy or a girl?"
"It's for you. There's one for Chloe as well."
I want to thank my mother, but the words escape me. There's so much that she's done this weekend that has thoroughly pissed me off. It's hard to move past that and focus on the times she's an amazing mother. Like right now as she dutifully sits next to me and participates.
Instead, I nod and rip the wrapping paper away to reveal her gift. It's a bath set for me. A really nice one. I can see salts, oils, candles, a new loofah, body lotion, and so much more.
"Thanks, Mom," I finally say after looking through the entire basket. Everything smells like lavender, one of my favorite scents.
"You're welcome. I figured since you didn't know if you were having a boy or a girl, I'd buy something for you instead. Once the baby comes, I can buy something for it."
It.
She just called my unborn child an it.
Chloe must notice the shift in my body language because she lays her hand on my arm and gives it a gentle squeeze. Before I say something that's bound to cause a scene, Haley hands me another gift to open and the party continues as if nothing ever happened.
But it did.
And I won't forget.
Not today. Not tomorrow. And after she's on a plane back to California, I certainly won't have an issue bringing this up. For now, I'll bite my tongue and play nice.
Unless she decides to keep up her backhanded remarks. Next time, I may not be able to hold back from unleashing hell on her. Aside from right before I moved to Denver, there was only one other time she pushed me over the edge.
"I really thinkyou should reconsider, Addison. He loves you."
"I know that. You've said it at least ten times since I woke up this morning."
It's been less than twenty-four hours since I moved back into my parents’ home. Without my father here to referee us, my mother has been on my ass about leaving Liam. Well, I didn't exactly leave him, but I did break up with him and move out.
"Don't take that tone with me. If you're going to live under my roof…"
I pick at my eggs as she lectures me about the rules of living in her house. Respect being number one on her list. For me, that means biting my tongue and keeping to myself. I can do that. It's only two months until I graduate. After that, I'll hopefully find a job and be able to move out on my own.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Of course I am. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I'm stressed out, and I don't really want to talk about Liam right now."
