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“They’re so cute,” River says.
Benita winks, then fixes Beau’s hair that’s sticking up in all different places. “You’ll have one of these in about four months. You’re going to have the most beautiful baby; I know it. It’s fun to imagine what he or she will look like. Do you want a boy or a girl?” She tilts her head and looks at River and me.
“Maybe we’ll just have one of each,” I joke, but River doesn’t laugh.
“I swear, I’m going to hurt you if you keep joking about us having twins.”
Benita chuckles. “You’re not big enough for twins. No way, especially not Bishop twins. You’d be twice as big and twice as miserable. Aunt Rose talks about how they all weighed ten pounds each, like big ass turkeys.”
River stops eating and glares at me. “You were an eleven-pound monster baby? Oh my God.”
“Oh yeah. Mama’s been taking it out on us ever since. Ask Evan,” I tell her.
“Twins. Giant babies. Anything else I need to know?” Her eyes meet mine, and she laughs nervously.
“Nothing I can discuss in front of our current company.”
Benita rolls her eyes. “Thanks for sparing me.”
As soon as Mama’s finished eating, Patsy carries in one of Mrs. Betty’s famous chocolate cakes from the kitchen with candles lit. Everyone starts singing “Happy Birthday” just as the cake is placed down in front of her. Mama looks around the room at all the family members and friends, and I can see tears on the brims of her eyes ready to spill over. Dad places his hand on her shoulder with a big grin. She’s so damn happy that it’s contagious, and there’s not a face without a smile in the entire room.
“Make a wish!” I hear Jackson yell from the back of the room, causing everyone to laugh just as Mama leans over to blow out the candles. As soon as she does, we start clapping and hooting and hollering.
“Real quick,” Mama says, holding up her hand getting everyone’s attention. The room quiets, and she stands and speaks. There’s a softness in her tone as she makes eye contact with each person in the room. “I just want to thank every single one of you for comin’ out to celebrate my birthday. This is a day I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Chatter fills the room, and Aunt Patsy immediately leans over and cuts the cake then slaps it on plates and hands them out. River and I take a slice and walk to a table that has pictures of Mama from over the years spread around.
“Wow, your mom is beautiful,” River whispers then looks at a photo of her and my father together in high school. “They were so young. Wow! You look just like your dad.”
I place my hand on the small of her back. “A lot of people say that. Especially the older ladies that thought my dad was a looker back in the day.”
She snickers. “I can’t imagine growing up here. Reminds me of a movie. Cowboy hats, horses, ranch life, and your parents are a real-life Southern love story.”
I burst into big, hearty laughter, and all I want to do is pull her into my arms and kiss the fuck out of her. “You’re too cute.”
Tucking hair behind her ears, she looks up at me. The constant pull between us is becoming too much. When her eyes meet mine, everything that surrounds us disappears. In a room full of people, it’s just her and me, and I know she feels it too. With one single look, River causes my heart to race, my head to spin, and my body to react.
“You two are plain ol’ disgustin’,” Jackson says, walking between us and breaking our trance to look at the photos on the table. He’s eating his cake real loud with his mouth open like a savage.
“Do you always just appear at the exact wrong time?” I ask, slightly annoyed by him.
“I try my damnedest!” He chuckles, and somehow River and I escape his presence without him noticing too much.
Just as we’re about to walk back over to Mama, my phone vibrates in my pocket, and I see it’s Courtney trying to FaceTime me. I instantly answer it, and it’s so loud in the building that I can barely hear a word she’s saying, so I walk her over to Mama and hand over the phone. They exchange I love yous and I miss yous then she hands the phone back.
“Tell River I said hi!” Courtney shouts, and River pops her head into view.
“Hey, Court!”
I have no doubt that if Courtney lived closer, the two of them would be the best of friends. So far, everyone in my family seems to adore River and especially now that Mama seems on board.
