Page 174 of Toxic Wishes
“Thank God, it’s just you,” I place a hand over my heart. “For once, I’m glad you’re late.”
“Late, or arriving in a timely fashion. Besides, we are celebrating, and you can’t celebrate without champagne.” He holds up the two bottles in his hands.
“Except I can since I’m pregnant.” I lowered my gaze on him.
“So we all must suffer?”
I shake my head in response.
At the last ultrasound I went to, the doctor jotted down the sex of the baby on a card and put it in an envelope. When I got home, I immediately put it in the tea jar we had kept on the counter. It was tempting to peek since I was the only one who knew it was in there right now, but I also knew myself. The main reason I didn't want to know the sex of the baby was because, if it ended up being a girl, I would stress the whole pregnancy, asking myself, would she have blue or brown eyes? Would she get my curly hair? Would she end up being ugly and made fun of because she wouldn’t look like her pretty American friends? Would she grow up feeling ugly like I did for so long? I know with loving parents, that would be damn near impossible, but that’s how deep-rooted the damage is when it comes to my daily struggle with my own image. Sometimes, I look at Colt and still can’t believe he’s mine.
“Let’s get the banner hung up before Dad does get here,” Bodie says.
“Good thinking, bud.” Cliff ruffles Bodie’s hair a bit, and Bodie scoffs. “Grandpa, I worked hard on that.” He says as he fixes his hair back in place.
“For who? The ladies?” Cliff nudges Bodies shoulder, flashing him a wink.
“Yes,” he says matter-of-factly, and we all stare at Bodie in dismay before busting out in laughter.
“Definitely a Killian,” Cliff says under his breath.
“I swear, nothing but trouble,” Nora whispers as she aligns the plates of cookies together.
Cliff walks up on the step stool as I help him angle the banner that says, Congratulations.
“A little higher,” I tell him as he sticks the tape on the wall to hold one side in place. We all get distracted by last-minute touches to the decorations when Colt walks through the front door.
“What’s this?” He says, causing us all to turn around. We are silent for a minute before shouting, “Surprise!”
One side of Colt’s lip curls up, but he looks around, trying to piece together what we are celebrating.
“Uh, I thought we were going to celebrate your birthday on Sunday?” Colt says with a scrunched-up expression.
“Dad, that’s not the surprise,” Bodie says.
“You guys do know I’m not retiring for another year. So what could we possibly be celebrating?” He stares up at the sign. “That would congratulate me?” He drops his gaze from the banner to us, raising an eyebrow as he stares at each of us.
Bodie bounces up and down slightly as if he has to pee. And when he sees the excitement on his son’s face, something clicks, and it all comes together.
“Wait, are you?” he flickers his gaze to me. And a huge smile spreads across my face,
“Are you pregnant?” He finishes his sentence, his eyes fixated on mine.
“Surprise!” Bodie shouts once more. I nod my head vigorously as Colt gapes at me.
“Oh my God, he sprints over to me, swooping me in his arms and twirling me around.
We both laugh, and Bodie comes running over to us. Colt places me on the ground, and Bodie crashes into me for a big group hug.
“W-when did you find out? I mean, how far along are you?” Colt says, his eyes moving back and forth as if I can see his brain working behind those eyes. Then he drops his gaze to my belly, examining it as if he’ll be able to know by looking at me.
“Slow down there, soldier,” Nora says as she hugs her son. I let them hug for a minute and savor the moment before I say, “I found out a few weeks ago. I’m almost four months along.”
“Wow,’ He looks down at my belly, placing a hand over it. “Do we know the sex?”
“No, I was hoping you would want it to be a surprise,” I tell him. “Like me.”
“I think it’s a girl,” Bodie says.