I’ve never enjoyed the idea of beauty days. Mom, Aunt Tawny, Gram Jodi, and a few of their best girlfriends regularly get their nails done. They usually follow the spa with cocktails and seafood. The last two activities were always more fun to me than the mani/pedi part. Despite my lack of interest in beautifying, I agree to join Cricket and Tatum at a full spa—complete with facials and massages.

“I’m beginning to wean Magnus,” Cricket says with green goop on her face as she gets her feet massaged. “His teeth are coming in loud and proud, and my little man is a biter.”

“I feel you,” Tatum mumbles behind her blue mask. “Sierra gnaws at my boob a lot lately. I’m not ready to wean her. She’s my last baby, and I want to prolong breastfeeding as long as possible.”

“So you’ll stop when she’s like five and ready for kindergarten.”

Tatum smiles, cracking her blue mask. “Why even then?”

I’ve felt invisible for most of our spa fun. They talk about people I don’t know and remember events I wasn’t around to enjoy. Now, though, I’ve found a subject I can add to.

“Cap and I decided we want to have a baby right away.”

Looking up from her phone, Cricket nods. “And I assume you’ll be hiring a large Eastern German woman to carry the monster child.”

“Uh, no.”

“Are you nuts? That baby will be the size of your entire torso.”

“I doubt it.”

“Cap was twenty-seven pounds when he was born.”

“Is that big? I knew a girl who gained sixty pounds when pregnant.”

“Yeah, but that’s not just baby weight. You also have the placenta and more goop than you can imagine.”

Tatum clears her throat. “I’m going to jump in here and say I think twenty-seven pounds is wrong.”

“No, I’m fairly certain he was around the thirty-pound mark.”

“You were ten when he was born.”

“I remember these things, Tatum.”

“Do you, though?”

“No, probably not, but let’s move on. Now, Audrey, I like you, and I’m totally okay with you using your eggs for the impending baby, but there’s no way your tiny body can carry a giant’s fetus. It’ll kill you. We all think so.”

“Who’s we?”

“Me, Chipper, Poet, Tatum,” Cricket says. Before I can respond, she continues with, “Poet’s stepmom and her sisters. Bianca Bella and her mom and that lady who was in their cruise cabin when we chatted online.”

“I’m glad you are having fun at my expense.”

“No, not fun. We’re very seriously worried. No one worries like that lady in the cabin.”

“The baby could take after me and be small.”

“Eww,” Cricket says. “Tiny babies are so creepy. You should have seen the mini-twins when they were born. Just freaky with their tiny wrinkled faces as if they hadn’t finished cooking. Magnus was born at a healthy nine pounds, and his face wasn’t wrinkly at all.”

“She’s not wrong,” Tatum says. “Magnus was a perfectly cooked baby.”

“Where’s the punch line?” Cricket asks Tatum.

“Your son is very handsome.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

Tatum stares intensely at Cricket. “He has many attractive qualities.”

“I’m going to stand up and waddle over there to kick your blonde ass if you don’t stop.”

“Your son has a head full of hair.”

“Bitch,” Cricket growls.

“I feel like I’m missing something,” I mutter.

Tatum instantly smiles. “We decided to have babies at the same time so they’d be cousin twins. Then Cricket decided to make it a competition to see who got knocked up first.”

Tatum doesn’t finish, but I can do the math with the cousins’ ages.

Cricket sighs loudly. “I blame myself. It’s not as if Poet’s sperm wasn’t willing. My eggs were just playing hard to get.”

“Happens to the best of us.”

“But never to you.”

“No,” Tatum says, smirking. “Never to me.”

Cricket sighs dramatically for nearly thirty seconds before smiling at me. “If you insist on bearing the child of an angel, we promise to help you with whatever you need. We have baby stuff, lots of advice, and kids you can practice on. Want to know what your baby will like as a preteen? Feel free to babysit the mini-twins.”

“I’m going to say no to the babysitting hormonal kids, but I will take Magnus.”

“Yeah, they’re so cute when they can’t speak.”

Tatum gets out of her chair and walks gingerly on her recently manicured feet to where I sit. “I’m going to act as the voice of reason. I don’t know you yet, but I’m still going to ask if you’re rushing into motherhood.”

“I appreciate your concern.”

“No, you don’t. My question clearly pissed you off.”

“Stop looking at my face, so I can lie better.”

Tatum smiles and glances at a snickering Cricket. When her gaze returns to me, she gets serious.

“Why are you in such a rush?”

“Didn’t you get pregnant right after hooking up with Chipper? And Cricket got pregnant the first time she even met Poet. Why are you so worried about my having a baby when you did it too? Is it me? Am I not good enough to have a baby right away?”

Cricket’s snicker turns into full-on hysterical laughter. “Watch out! She’s going to blow!”

Tatum waves off her sister-in-law’s giggling. “I wanted to be a mom since I was little, and Cricket didn’t know how to properly use birth control.”

“Hey,” the giggler mumbles.

“The point is we aren’t you, and we got the impression you weren’t interested in having a baby soon. Now you say you are. We just want to make sure you aren’t feeling pressured by anyone to have a baby now rather than later.”

“So diplomatic,” Cricket grumbles. “Wait, did you just accuse my baby angel-bro of pressuring Betty Boop over here into having his monster-sized baby? Because if so, fuck off, Tatum.”

Grinning, Tatum leans closer. “Ignore her. She’s on her period.”

Cricket shrugs. “True.”

“Audrey, we already think of you as family, and family is honest with each other. Well, good family is anyway. So we’re honestly asking what changed your mind when it came to having a baby.”

“I admit I didn’t think I wanted a baby, but I had no experience with babies. After babysitting Sierra, I feel differently. I’ve never had a person depend on me like that. It made me feel something I’ve never felt before. Normally, I’d be nervous by new stuff, but meeting Cap showed me how I’m capable of so much more.”

Tatum’s expression is full of understanding while Cricket no longer giggles. Their reaction encourages me to keep talking.

“My mom was a wife and mother at my age. She was nearly done getting her teaching degree. Before Cap, I was floating through life with no goals. I didn’t know what would make me happy. Now I’m beginning to understand what I need. Cap is one. A baby is another. I like my job and living in a town where no one cares about my last name. Maybe I’m rushing into things, but I’ve been waiting for something to inspire me. Cap did that, and I want to keep pushing myself. Does that make sense?”

Nodding, Tatum glances at an also nodding Cricket. They genuinely do understand. They were my age when they took risks with men they barely knew. Years later, they’re obviously pleased with those big chances they took. After our spa day and my explanation, I feel as if I’ve officially joined their club.