Epilogue
The party on Saturday was held at the Nova Eastern University, and it was for the sports alumni and all the players that were associated with the University and the training center. It was a huge event, arranged in one of the University’s great halls.
When the six friends arrived–Jacob and Kina, Brian and Sadie, and Hanson and Lacey–they were blown away.
“Did Lauren do all of this?” Kina asked Sadie.
Sadie nodded. “She was involved in almost all the planning. She’s so efficient. And I must say, the place looks fantastic.”
The room was decorated in the teal colors of the Florida Sharks, with white table cloths and tables of six. The meal for the evening was a buffet with assorted dishes to choose from, and modern music played in the background.
Everyone walked around, looking fancy. It was a semi-formal event, and everyone had made an effort.
Even Kina had managed to find something that worked with her pregnant belly, and she looked radiant on Jacob’s arm.
The friends all sat down.
“How are you doing with the baby?” Lacey asked Kina. They sat next to each other.
“I still have four months left, and I’m already wishing it was over,” Kina said, laughing. “It’s not so bad. Obviously, you know how it is. But I know it’s just going to get worse, and after Nate, I didn’t miss the swollen ankles and bloated feeling at all.”
Lacey nodded.
“Do you miss being pregnant?” Kina asked.
Lacey took a sip of her water. “To be honest? I don’t. I know women are supposed to get broody after they’ve had their first, but I just don’t feel it. Hanson wants another child, and we’ll try, but I don’t look forward to it at all.”
Kina put her hand on her friend’s arm.
“It will be fine. Do you remember how beautiful it was to know that there was life inside of you? Once it happens, you’ll feel it.”
Lacey shrugged. She didn’t know how to explain to Kina her fears about having another child, about having children in the first place. Kina was so comfortable with having children, with being a mother. And Sadie hadn’t walked that road yet. Lacey felt like she was completely alone with her fears.
Lacey turned to Sadie, who sat on her other side.
“How about you?” Lacey asked Sadie. “Are you and Brian planning on having kids?”
Sadie shrugged. “We haven’t really talked about it.”
After the fights about their careers, Sadie and Brian were just happy to be together. They hadn’t spoken about starting a family, not yet. Maybe they should have. When Sadie glanced at Brian, he smiled at her. She was glad that she had chosen to stay in Miami with her team instead of taking the job in Kentucky. Seeing the three men together, she realized how close they were to their friends and how important it was to have a support network like this.
Especially with how things were going to change for them soon.
“On the note of having babies,” Kina said, speaking up. She glanced at Jacob, smiling. “We have an announcement to make.”
Everyone fell quiet.
“We’re having another boy.”
Everyone congratulated Kina and Jacob.
“Having two boys is so much easier than having a girl,” Brian said.
“Why?” Sadie asked
He grinned. “Because with a boy, you only have to worry about one dick. With a girl, you have to worry about every dick in the world.”
Everyone laughed, but Sadie got a sinking feeling in her stomach. She suddenly felt like crying.
“Excuse me,” she said and got up, fleeing to the ladies’ room.
“What was that?” Lacey asked Kina. They both looked at Brian who shrugged, looking worried.
“We’ve got this,” Kina said, getting up. Lacey got up, too, and they followed Sadie to the bathroom.
When they found her, she was locked in a stall, crying.
“Are you okay, honey?” Kina asked. “What’s wrong? I’m supposed to be the emotional one, what with being pregnant.”
“That’s just the thing,” Sadie said. “I’m pregnant.”
Kina and Lacey looked at each other, surprised. Sadie opened the stall door and came out, her makeup a little smudged from crying. Lacey hugged her friend before helping her fix her eyeliner by running her thumb beneath her lower lashes.
“But that’s great news,” Kina said. “Why are you crying?”
Sadie took a deep breath and let it out with a shudder. “I only found out today. I took a pregnancy test when I was late. I’m terrified.”
“Oh, don’t be,” Lacey said. “You want kids with Brian, don’t you?”
Wanting to have children made it all so much easier, Lacey thought, but she didn’t say it out loud.
Sadie nodded, but she was still crying. “Brian and I never talked about it. We probably should have, but we didn’t. I don’t know if he’ll be happy about it. We’ve both been so focused on our careers, and I’m nervous it will mess that up for us.”
Kina shook her head. “I can tell you now, he will be thrilled for you. He’s an amazing man, and he’ll make a great father. And you’ll make a great mother. And you have all your family and friends rooting for you.”
Sadie nodded and wiped her tears. “It was just a shock, that’s all,” she said.
“I know what that’s like, trust me,” Lacey said.
The door to the ladies’ room opened and Lauren appeared.
“The men told me you guys were hiding out in here.” She was smiling, but when she looked at Sadie, her face fell. “What’s wrong? Did you guys not fix it?”
“No, we did,” Sadie said. “I’m pregnant.”
Her tears started rolling again. Lauren tried to look sympathetic, but she couldn’t help it. She stepped closer to Sadie and hugged her.
“I would be lying if I told you that wasn’t great news,” she said. “I’m so happy for you!”
“You think it’s great news?” Sadie asked Lauren. Her best friend was always supportive, but she was always honest.”
Lauren smiled. “Of course. God, babies everywhere. It makes me feel like I need to get myself a man now, too!”
The women laughed. After a while, they returned to the table. When Sadie sat down, Brian took her hand, turning all his attention on her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Sadie nodded. “This might not be the best time to tell you,” she said.
“Tell me anyway,” he said. He wanted to know what was up with his wife. She was his world, and after their fight and her staying somewhere else, he was more aware of how blessed he was with her than ever.
She took a deep breath.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
Brian blinked at her for a moment while the news sank in. Then, he grabbed her and kissed her.
“Did you hear that?” he asked the rest of the table. “Sadie is pregnant!”
The only two that didn’t know were Jacob and Hanson, but everyone cheered, and Sadie laughed, blushing. She really did have the best friends, and judging by the way Brian was talking animatedly, never letting go of her hand, she knew she had been a fool to doubt if he would be happy about the news. He was an amazing husband, and now, they were going to be a family.
And suddenly, she couldn’t wait.
Lacey watched her friends and their husbands. They were both radiant with their pregnancies, and both men were so taken with their women, it was beautiful. She remembered when Hanson had been like that with her. And the feeling that she’d never felt before, the baby fever that she’d believed she would never get, crept up on her.
She reached for Hanson, putting her hand on his thigh and squeezing.
“Someone’s in a mood,” he said, leaning in and whispering in her ear.
“In the mood to have a baby,” Lacey said.
Hanson blinked at her. “Really?”
Lacey smiled and nodded. “Everyone around me is pregnant. I want to have another baby. I want them all to grow up together and be friends the way we are. With so many babies and pregnant women around, I’m getting baby fever. I want to do this with you.”
Hanson grinned before he pulled Lacey to him and kissed her.
“Have I told you how much I love you?” he asked her.
“Only once a day,” Lacey said, laughing.
“Then I haven’t told you nearly enough.”
He kissed her again.
The three couples were beautiful together, smiling and laughing and in love. No matter what came their way, Lacey knew they would get through it. Kina and Sadie were talking about being pregnant, and the men were joking about trading beer bottles for milk bottles. It felt to her like they all went through the same things at the same time–whether it was fights or pregnancies–and because of it, they could be there for each other in a way no one else could.
It made her happy to have a group like this, and proud to be a football wife.
Sure, it was horrible when the men were away playing games on the road, and none of the women could go with them to spend time with the men. Yes, it was a hard life, never knowing if your man would be injured in the next game.
But while the men were gone, doing what they loved, Lacey, Kina and Sadie were home waiting for them. They had each other, through thick and thin, and they would for a long time to come. Lacey had a glimpse into the future, their children being into sports as well, the six of them–seven with Lauren, perhaps eight if she started dating–more of a family than just friends.
And it was beautiful. They each had amazing relationships with children and husbands that loved them, and they had a great group of friends that were there for each other, no matter what.
Could life be any better?