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“Mm-hmm.”
“I knew you were getting dick’ed! Totally called it.” She does a fist bump in the air. “Apparently a little too well…”
“Oh my God, you’re obnoxious.” I snicker, sitting down.
“Do you know what you’re having?”
“Twins…” I snort.
She smacks my desk. “You’re lying.”
“Nope. Not sure about the genders yet. Soon, though.”
“Dare I ask who the father is?” She arches a brow. “I mean, I’ve heard rumors but…”
I relax my shoulders and proudly tell her. “Noah Reid.”
Missy’s smile widens, and it’s obvious she already knew. “No wonder you’ve been so happy these past few months.”
“It’s been amazing,” I agree. “Never been happier.”
She tells me how happy and excited she is for us, and I feel lighter for the rest of my shift. Now, everyone knows. After work, I pick up Owen from my mother’s. Now that school’s out for the summer, I drop him off at her house or Loretta’s in the morning. Since basketball season is over and I wanted him to stay busy and active, he signed up for baseball. So they take him to practice and youth group. Loretta has temporary guardianship of Anthony until Brittany’s trial, so Owen’s getting to play with him as well. Though Owen doesn’t know the full story of why Anthony’s living with Loretta, the time will come eventually, and I’ll have to figure out how to have that conversation.
“How was your day, sweetie?” I ask when he jumps in the back seat.
“Fine.”
“Anything excitin’ happen?”
He shrugs. “Not really.”
“How was practice today?” I question as I drive us home.
“Good.”
Lord, it must take a witch’s brew to get more than one-word answers from him.
“What do you want for dinner?” I look at him through the rearview mirror, and he shrugs.
“I don’t care.”
“Noah found a new movie on Disney Plus he thought you’d like. Could make some popcorn and snuggle up with blankets,” I say enthusiastically, hoping he’ll budge. He’s been in a mood for the past two months, and I don’t know why he won’t talk to me about his feelings. I won’t push him, but I want him to know he can open up to me.
“Maybe.” He shrugs again, staring out the window.
By the time I pull into the garage, I give up on getting him to talk. As soon as we walk inside, he rushes to his room, and I remind him to take a shower since he’s all sweaty. Instead of responding, he slams his bedroom door.
“Hey,” Noah says, coming from our room. “What’s that about?”
I inhale sharply. “Who the hell knows.”
Noah wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a kiss.
“He used to be so clingy and loved hanging out with me. Now it’s like he doesn’t want anything to do with me at all.” I pout.
“Give him time. He’s still adapting to all these changes. Plus, he’s almost eleven and probably going through preteen hormonal changes.”
“Well, I wasn’t ready for this yet. It seems way too early.”
