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Maggie
As soon as the foodhits my tongue, I groan. “Oh god, I’ve missed that so much.”
Declan hasn’t touched his food. He’s just watching me eat. We’re out at a restaurant. I guess technically resuming our agreement to date once a week, but what makes this extra special is that I’m finally eating spicy food again.
“That good?” he says.
I take a bite and close my eyes. “Words can’t even describe.”
He finally picks up his chopsticks and starts eating.
“Can you believe I made it to my due date? I say between bites.
He shakes his head. “I kinda can’t.”
“Do you think I’m going to have to evict him?”
He laughs. “Be induced?”
I nod since my mouth is full of food.
“I hope not. I’m hoping he’ll just come on his own.”
“Me too,” I say.
He studies me and says, “Are you ready for this to be over?”
I think about it for a minute. “There’s a lot I won’t miss, and I’m ready to meet him. But - I’ll miss it a little. It’s a special time.”
He nods. “It is. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.”
Guilt washes over me. I almost didn’t let him.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he says. “Everything turned out fine.”
I look down at my plate. “I still feel bad for the way I treated you. I made things so much harder than they needed to be.”
“You really did.” He laughs but I don’t. Our eyes meet and he turns serious. “Maggie, we worked through it. The stuff I did. The stuff you did. It’s in the past. We’re better for it now that we are on the other side.”
He resumes eating, looking down at his plate.
“You’re going to be a great dad,” I say.
His eyes jerk up to mine. It takes me back how surprised he is. This shouldn’t surprise him. I should have said it earlier.
He holds my gaze for a minute and then says, “Thank you. You’re going to be an amazing mom. There’s no one I’d rather be doing this with.”
I return my focus to my plate, and we both fall silent. Emotions flood my system. I know now isn’t the time to figure out what the future looks like for us. I can’t separate my hormones from my true feelings, but I know I’ll miss him when he moves out. I love having him around. I love going to bed together every night, making love, cuddling, waking up in each other’s arms. I’m afraid it will get messy again, but for now...for now I’m happy, and I’m not going to worry about anything else.
Sterling Family Group Text
Juno: Declan, any baby news?
Brooklyn: Yeah. Isn’t it Maggie’s due date?
Declan: No news. No baby.
Elizabeth: Wow. It’s amazing she made it this far.
