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This is now. And I have both. I have my Danielle, who is my spiritual and legal wife now, since we went down to the courthouse last week and stood before the judge. Then there is our baby, who is healthy and growing and going to be born into this world surrounded by love.
So I’ve bought out Danielle’s favorite brunch restaurant for her baby shower and I’m standing here with a blood orange mimosa in my hand, eyeing the explosion of decorations that Lorraine, Lori, Luna, and Michael’s sisters have spent the morning setting up and I’m thrilled to be here. I am also happy to pay for it all knowing we have the legalities worked out, papers drawn up by my lawyer to cover any and future scenarios for our family.
Now if I drop dead from a heart attack or from sheer annoyance with Crew, Danielle is protected. Crew saunters up to me and eyes the flute in my hand. "That doesn’t look like Bourbon."
"When in Rome," I tell him, raising the glass.
"I don’t understand the theme," Crew says, hands in his pockets. "Are oranges really that cute?"
Danielle requested we all wear our brunch best, which apparently means suits for us, and a skin-tight green dress to show off her tiny baby bump. I’ve been told by the women this is early in a pregnancy for a shower, but we wanted to do it before the hockey season starts, so the uncharacteristically tight dress is Dani’s way of showing off her not-so-big-yet belly. She looks beautiful surrounded by all the peach and orange and green flowers and balloons, green eyes sparkling, cheeks bright with color. There are little oranges on everything from the banner to the table centerpieces to the menu cards with the phrase, "A little cutie is on the way," accompanying it.
"I guess. Tiny oranges are cute. I don’t know." I haven’t even thought about it, to be totally honest.
The majority of the guests haven’t arrived yet. I decide I want to talk to Danielle before she’s too busy receiving congratulations and gifts. But Michael appears beside us and hears the last bit of our conversation.
"Clementines," he says. "They call them ‘cuties.’ That’s where the theme came from."
Of course Hughes knows that. And that makes more sense.
"Oh." Crew frowns a little, like he still doesn’t entirely get it. "I would have thought it would be like a play on cookies or buns or something."
"Dani says she has to leave the pastry puns for Luna to use since she’s a baker," Michael says.
Crew’s mouth drops. "My sister is pregnant?"
"No, no. At least not that I’ve been told." Michael laughs. "For at some point in the future. It’s a girl thing. Not stealing each other’s themes and baby names."
Crew makes a sound of relief. "Good. I feel like it’s too soon for Luna and those guys. They’ve only been together a few months."
That makes me snort. He doesn’t even see the irony.
"And I can’t believe Dani doesn’t want to do a gender reveal and I can’t believe that I decided to stand with her on this," Crew adds. "It’s kind of driving me crazy and I don’t even know why. I don’t care if it’s a girl or a boy, I just want a visual when I’m thinking about the future, you know what I mean?"
I nod. "Stay strong, McNeill. Dani will be disappointed if you cave." Easy for me to say since I know the sex of the baby. It allows me to take the ultrasound printout out of the safe where I had to put it so Dani and Crew wouldn’t be tempted to dig it out of a drawer. I stare at it in awe at least once a day. I can’t get over the tiny baby growing inside my wife.
Michael and I have looked at it together and discussed what we know that they don’t know, but only when we’re absolutely certain we won’t be overheard. Danielle would be so disappointed if she found out before the birth, so we’re keeping the secret.
"I know, I know. Boy or girl, this kid is getting skates for their first birthday. Got to keep the tradition alive."
"Agreed."
Danielle’s mother has arrived and the minute she lays eyes on the three of us, we all tense. Danielle tends to defend her parents’ behavior, and I know they’re trying, but they still piss me off. The sour look on Mary’s face as she racks her gaze over us leaves no doubt how she really feels about our family dynamic.
"Brr. It just got cold in here." Crew pretends to shiver, which is his usual reaction to Mary Larkin. It kills him that she’s probably the only female in Illinois who doesn’t think he’s cute, charming, and sweet.
"You knew she’d be here," I remind him.
"Yeah, and I should remember that it’s really Doc’s fault that Mary’s pissed off," Crew says.
"Me?" Michael asks. "What did I do?"
"You knocked her baby girl up."
Michael snorts. "Only because you were hurt. Otherwise, this could totally be your fault."
"You know," Crew says, watching Mary greet a few other guests, "even though she doesn’t know the baby’s yours, and the minute Mary sees him or her she’ll forget all about being annoyed, I think I’m glad you went first." He claps Michael on the shoulder.
I chuckle.
