Total pages in book: 55
Estimated words: 51530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51530 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 258(@200wpm)___ 206(@250wpm)___ 172(@300wpm)
I’m nodding my head, knowing she’s right. There’s fear building up inside me but something else too. I’m excited and eager for what my life could look like. I just have to be brave enough to go after it.
Carrie takes the bag of food from my hand. “Now all you have to do is figure out what you want.”
I hug her tightly and then pull back. I look at her, seeing a grown woman in front of me instead of my little sister, and I nod my head. “I have to go. I’m going to get what I want, Carrie. Wish me luck!”
I turn around and jog back to my car.
“What about the food?”
“You and Philip enjoy it. I’ll call you later.”
“Good luck!” she calls after me.
Ford
The last thing I feel like doing is being on for a party, but there’s no way I’m going to let Ollie down. I got here early to set up and decorate a little. I’m not a decorator, but hopefully it’s passable. I go out to the car to grab the cake when some other kids show up. The moms all step in to help me, and for the first time I appreciate their butting in.
“Everything looks great!” Tommy’s mom says. “I’m sorry you couldn’t make it for dinner. I never did get a reply to my text. Maybe we can get together this week.”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I’ve been pretty busy with work and everything. If you ever want the boys to play together, I can make that happen.”
I point across the room where some of the kids are gathered around the birthday cake. “I better go and make sure the cake is safe. I’ll catch up with you later.”
I walk away as fast as I can, and when I get to Ollie, I can feel the shift in the room. Just like every other time that Lily is around, I feel it. I lift my head and mentally prepare myself to see her. She’s standing in the doorway with the camera hanging around her neck, and she has a wrapped present in her hands.
She comes toward us, and Ollie intercepts her. “Lily! You’re here! Don’t forget we have to play dodgeball and you’re going down.”
She high-fives him. “I’ve been looking forward to it all weekend, and you forget it, because if anyone’s going down, it’s you.”
He throws his head back in a laugh, and all his buddies do too. She walks over to the gift table and sets down the present before coming toward me. I can’t help it; I’m sure she sees it in my eyes anyway. “You look beautiful.”
Her eyes light up, and I realize now that she’s closer, her eyes are a little puffy as if she’s been crying. I’m about to ask her about it when the party coordinator comes in. “Okay, so who’s ready to jump?”
The kids all start screaming and jumping up and down.
She calms them down. “Okay so first we jump for an hour. Then we’re going to come back in here and eat some cake, and Ollie—the birthday boy—is going to open presents, okay?”
They all cheer and nod their heads. She goes over a few rules with them, and then they’re all on their way. I want to talk to Lily, but Ollie is pulling her out the door.
The parents all follow behind. My dad and stepmom are here. Lucas and Issi, Beau and Austin are all here too. I look at Beau. “Where’s Natalie?”
He shrugs without looking at me. “She’s sorry she couldn’t make it. She sends her love, and she sent a present for Ollie.”
“But—” I start, and finally Beau looks at me. “Please, not now, Ford. I can’t talk about it now.”
I nod my head and cross my arms over my chest. All eyes are on the kids playing dodgeball. Instead of Lily being on opposite teams of Ollie, she was the first person he picked for his team. They laugh, give each other fist-bumps, and she keeps the kids laughing with all her antics.
My family is all gathered around when Lucas clears his throat. “I know it’s not necessarily the best place for this, but Issi and I have an announcement.”
My parents and brothers all turn to them, and I know what they’re going to say before they even say it. They both have pure happiness on their faces. Lucas holds his hands up in the air. “We’re pregnant! We’re going to have a baby.”
We all take turns hugging Issi and slapping a proud Lucas on the back. Even with all the shit I have going on, I can’t help but be happy for them. They deserve this.
The other parents are all looking at us, no doubt wondering what’s going on, and Issi tells one of the other moms and they all offer their congratulations too.