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“I mean, she’s nothorrible. But she’s a total try-hard, you know? Always talking about clothes and bands and stuff she sees on TikTok. Like, just go be a parent and leave me alone already.”
“So, she has other kids already?”
Brooklyn frowned. “No.”
“Oh. Well, how is she supposed to go be a parent if she isn’t one already? I mean, it’s not like us adults take a class in college on how to annoy the heck out of every teenager we ever meet.” Alex bumped his elbow into hers.
The ghost of a grin tugged at Brooklyn’s lips. “Yeah, well, you coulda fooled me.”
“Some of us are just naturally more annoying than others. But you know what? I’d rather have a stepparent who’s a try-hard than one who completely ignored me. Or worse, tore me down all the time.”
Brooklyn considered that for a moment, then gave a small shrug. “Are your parents still married?”
“Yeah,” Alex said, thinking back to their family dinner earlier in the week. Despite an occasional spat or two, he had zero doubt they always would be.
“You’re lucky. You don’t have to deal with stepparents or having to fit into a whole other extended family.”
“Maybe, but I bet you get more Christmas presents than I do.”
Amusement ghosted across her features again. “Fair.”
Alex spied movement out of the corner of his eye. Mia must have heard them, but she remained in the hall. For her sake, he sought the answer to a question he knew had been on Mia’s mind.
“Can I ask you something?”
“I guess so,” Brooklyn said.
“How does it feel, knowing you’re going to be a big sister soon?”
She shifted in her seat. “I don’t know. I mean, at first I was pis—uh, mad, because I was like, ‘what, I’m not good enough?’ Plus, there’s going to be this huge age gap between us.”
Brooklyn tapped her fingers on her glass. There was more to the answer. Alex nodded and waited.
“But then…then I thought it’d be kinda cool, having a baby sister around. All my friends love babies, so maybe they’d be more excited about coming to see me in Warsaw when I go to visit my dad on his weekends.”
“You know it’s a little girl?”
Brooklyn shook her head. “No, but that’s what I think it will be.”
“Well, you’ll all find out soon enough. In the meantime, maybe you can work on cutting Becky some slack. After all, she is going to be the mama of your little sister or brother. Plus, if she’s like any of my cousins, those hormones are going to start going haywire any minute now. I’ve seen women go from laughing to crying to screaming at their spouses all in the same breath.”
“Dang.”
“Dang is right. That pregnancy stuff is for real. Trust me, you don’t want to have to deal with any of that for a long, long time.”
“Heck no, I don’t want kids until I’m way older. Besides, all the guys at my school are either too busy playing sports or too annoying.”
“I remember those days. High school was rough. Plus, they’ve got all that new testosterone to figure out what to do with. For some of us, it takes longer than others.” He gave a subtle wink over the top of Brooklyn’s head. “You feeling better?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Alex. I guess I should get back to Dad’s before he figures out that I left.”
“You can talk to me anytime,” he said. And he meant it, too. Even if things between him and Mia didn’t work out, he’d developed a soft spot for Brooklyn. She was a good kid caught in the middle of an evolving, postdivorce family landscape. “And I’m following you back to Warsaw to make sure you get there okay.”
“You sure? It’s not that far.”
Again, he wished he’d brought the Rover instead of his Camaro. But he’d ride a scooter in the snow if that’s what it took.
“I’ll sleep better knowing you made it back safely. Besides, I think your mom would kill me if I didn’t offer.”
