AllFreeNovel
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I watch her disappear, then look back at my friends, who are all smiling.
“Shut up,” I say, and they all chuckle.
“How’s she doing?” Mack asks.
“Good, thanks. Much better.”
“So you proposed?” Sidnie, his wife, asks.
“Yep. And she said yes! I was gobsmacked.”
“She obviously doesn’t know you very well,” Evie says.
“Yeah, that’s why I asked her nice and early in the relationship.”
Evie chuckles, then starts talking to Mack about the rugby. I listen for a bit, then turn to Titus, who’s taken the chair next to me. “Can I ask you a favor?”
His eyebrows rise. “Sure.”
“Are you free tomorrow morning? I wondered whether you could spare an hour to come with me. I need to pay someone a visit.” I tell him my plan, and he nods.
“All right. Shall I pick you up?” he suggests. “What about nine a.m.?”
“Sounds great. I’m at Queen’s.”
“Cool, no worries.”
“Thanks.” I’ll feel better with Titus at my side, as a witness, if nothing else.
Huxley declares the barbecue is ready, and Elizabeth and Catie come back out. The table is already laden with salads and rolls to accompany the meat, and we help ourselves, then sit around, talking and eating, while the sun slowly sets over the harbor.
“How are you doing?” I ask Catie quietly after a while, when the others are asking Titus and Heidi about the UK. “Did you like the nursery?”
She nods, licking her fingers after finishing a steak kebab. “They’ve chosen neutral colors—lemons and pale greens—mainly because they don’t know the baby’s sex yet. But she was telling me as well about Victoria being a transgender woman, and how Huxley would rather avoid traditional pink or blue for his baby. She said that Victoria has told them she’ll be buying something pink or blue depending on what the baby is and not to worry about it, but Huxley’s insistent. It’s strange that they don’t know what sex it is, isn’t it? I can’t imagine not knowing that we’re having boys.”
“Some people like being surprised on the day.”
“I suppose. I’m so glad we found out though.” She rests a hand on her bump.
Elizabeth comes over to our table and leans across to place a dish of strawberries there. “Are they moving much yet?” she asks.
“A little,” Catie says. “Like having butterflies.”
“Huxley says the baby’s going to be into parkour the way it flips about. I sometimes feel…” She stops, puts a hand on her side, then gasps.
“Elizabeth?” I leap to my feet and hold her as she bends over.
“It’s just a contraction,” she says, but I can see it’s taken her by surprise. She grips my hand while she breaths in and out, then finally gives a heartfelt, “Ooh. That was a strong one. Oh!” As she exclaims, she looks down at her legs.
“Her waters have broken,” Catie confirms, and there’s a sudden flurry of activity. Everyone wants to help, and Elizabeth laughs as they all flock around her.
“I’m all right,” she scolds, although she’s still leaning against me. “Just damp. I’m so sorry. It’s not quite what I’d planned for after-dinner entertainment.”
“Don’t worry about a thing,” Sidnie tells her, throwing paper towels on the floor, “we’ll clean up. You just concentrate on yourself.”
Huxley runs up, and I wonder whether he’s finally going to look panicky. But he stands in front of her, hands on his hips, and gives her a big smile.
“Action stations,” he says. The two of them start singingBaby Loveby the Supremes, and then they laugh, and he pulls her into his arms. “You want to get changed?” he asks.
