AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m all for joining the cool kids’ party,” Jake says. He shoves his chair back and rises to his feet. “Let’s do it.”
“I’ll settle the bill,” Shane says. “You guys go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
Jake nudges my shoulder. “Let’s go get some cake. Come on. You can ride with me.”
Chapter 2 – Molly
Today is my bachelorette party, and all these people are here forme. It’s very humbling. Jamie McIntyre and I are getting married in two months—on December 12. When Jamie and I first started dating, I had no idea how big his family was. The McIntyres are a very close-knit family, and they’ve welcomed me with open arms. I’m gaining more than a husband—I’m gaining an extended family.
My soon-to-be mother-in-law, Bridget, is hosting the party. Her long kitchen table is covered with platters of finger foods, a veggie tray, fresh fruit, and chips and salsa. At the far end of the table is a gorgeous three-tiered cake decorated with pink icing roses and real strawberries. Nearly all of the women in my fiancé’s family are here—everyone but Hannah. She and her significant other, Killian, are coming in from Colorado in December for the wedding. My mother’s here, too, as well as Ingrid, Erin, and Jasmine. My best friend, Chloe, waves at me from across the room as she helps herself to some goodies from the table.
After we load up our plates with food, we all take seats in the adjoining great room. Fortunately, it’s a large, open space with high ceilings and a big brick fireplace. There is plenty of seating, as Bridget and Calum have a lot of sofas. They have to. Most of their seven adult children are married now, and the ones who aren’t married have significant others. And then there are all the grandchildren. There arelotsof grandchildren.
Jamie and I hope to add some babies of our own to the family tree.
My 7-year-old nephew, Aiden, plops down on the sofa beside me. He’s nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie. “Are you havingfun at your party, Aunt Molly?” His infectious enthusiasm makes me smile. So does the well-worn and well-loved stuffed stegosaurus tucked beneath one of his arms.
“I am,” I reply.
“Maw-wee!” My youngest nephew, Luke, two years old now, runs up and hugs my legs. “Party!” he announces.
Laughing, I glance down at his spiky white-blond hair and big blue eyes as he proceeds to climb up onto my lap. “Yes, we’re having a party.”
I’m filled with emotion as I look upon all the family and friends gathered here to celebrate my upcoming wedding. When I first started dating Jamie, I often found big family get-togethers like this one overwhelming because I grew up an only child. It was just me and my parents. Family get-togethers were quiet and uneventful. But there’s nothing quiet about this family.
“Here, sweetheart,” Bridget says as she brings me a glass of frothy pink liquid. “Would you like to try this strawberry punch Annie made? It’s delicious.”
As far as future mothers-in-law go, I can’t imagine a better one than Bridget McIntyre. She and her husband, Calum, have welcomed me into their family with open arms.
Aiden and Luke end up seated on the carpeted floor in the center of the great room playing with Hot Wheels cars. Annie and Jake’s twin daughters, Everly and Emerly, attempt to join them, but they’re still a bit too young to grasp the concept of sharing. They mostly get in the way and try to nab the cars that Aiden and Luke are playing with. The two youngest babies—Ava, who turned a year old last month, and Mia, who’s six months old—get passed from person to person.
I love that the kids are here at my party, but deep inside I’m nursing a painful secret.
Jamie and I both want desperately to start a family. And since we’re not getting any younger, we decided to stop using birth control over a year ago. We’re grown adults. It wouldn’t have mattered to us if I’d gotten pregnant before our wedding. But it hasn’t happened, and not through lack of trying.
My periods have been erratic for the past year, and it scares me because I’m only 38. I’m skipping one, sometimes two, months at a time. Each time I miss a period, I take a pregnancy test, desperately hoping for a positive outcome, but it’s always the same result.
Negative.
I shake anxious thoughts from my head and try to focus on the here and now. This is a party—a celebration. I’m about to marry the most incredible, most wonderful man I’ve ever had the good fortune to know. The only thing that could make this party better would be if Jamie was here with me.
While we’re busy chatting, eating, and passing the babies around, we hear the front door open, followed by a swell of deep, masculine voices.
Aiden jumps to his feet and sprints down the hall. “Daddy!”
Luke clambers to his feet and races after his big cousin. “Daddy!”
I know it’s silly, but my pulse picks up as the McIntyre men and their friends file into the room, sheepish grins on their faces.
“I thought you boys were having your own party,” Bridget says with a laugh.
Shane walks into the room holding his son, Luke. “We thought we’d come join your party, if you don’t mind.” He crosses the room to his wife, Beth, and leans down to kiss her.
As Jamie follows his brothers into the room, Aiden grabs his hand. “Come with me, Uncle Jamie. I’ll take you to Aunt Molly.”
Jamie reaches down and ruffles Aiden’s chocolate brown hair. “That would be awesome, pal. Thanks.”
As Aiden carefully leads Jamie by the hand, I scoot over to make room on the sofa.
