Second Chance Holiday

“Okay,” I mumble. I have no idea what else to say. My brain has shut down.

I stay silent though the procedure. Even when I hear the heartbeat and see the little baby on the screen, it still doesn’t feel real. When everything is done and I have discussed with the doctor what I should expect, I’m still in a daze. Then I wait for him to fill my prescription for prenatal vitamins before following him out to the front desk, where I make another appointment.

After my meeting at Brandon’s school, all I wanted was a large glass of wine—now, I wanted the whole bottle.

I shake my head and head out to my car. I have no idea how I’m going to tell Mike this news. Things have just settled with us. We’re at a good place in our relationship. I know that he didn’t want a relationship after what had happened with November’s mother, but I didn’t know if he ever thought about having more kids.

A million thoughts race through my mind and I feel my stomach bubble with anxiety when I pull up in front of the house and see Mike’s car as well as his mom’s. I sit in silence for a few minutes, working up the courage to go inside. When I finally make it up to the front door, the sound of a little girl laughing greats me from the other side, and I take a deep breath before walking inside.

“Hey, babe,” Mike says when he spots me standing in the hall watching him. He’s sitting on the floor in the living room wearing one of his many band tees with a pair of jeans. June is standing between his spread legs, holding on to his fingers. “How was everything?” he asks.

I look from June’s sweet face to Mike’s and take a deep breath. “It was good,” I tell him.

His eyes draw together. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” I say, smiling when his mom walks into the room.

“Hey, girly,” Emma, Mike’s mom, says, walking across the room to me.

I meet her in the middle and give her a hug. My parents both live in Oklahoma, so having Mike’s mom here in town along with the Maysons has made being away from family much easier.

“Where’s my boy at?” she asks as the front door opens and Brandon walks in.

“Gran,” Brandon says, giving her a hug. Then his eyes go to the floor where June is.

The moment June sees him, she starts gurgling and bouncing. She and July both love Brandon, and he loves both the girls.

“June bug,” he says, getting down on his knees and holding out his hands.

June has been trying to learn to walk for a few weeks now. The farthest she has gotten when I have been around is two steps before giving up and crawling.

“Come here,” Brandon says, holding out his hands, and June immediately lets go of Mike’s fingers and walks four steps to Brandon before falling into his arms. “You’re getting so good,” he says, standing with her in his arms.

She laughs, looking into his face.

“You sure you’re okay, baby?” Mike asks, coming to stand next to me.

I nod and lean into his side, and his mom smiles at us then looks at Brandon with June. She laughs when June grabs Brandon’s hair and pulls his face closer so she can gnaw on his chin.

“He’s really great with kids,” Mike’s mom says. Then she looks at me and smiles. “So, do you want to go shopping with me this weekend?”

I immediately shake my head no and start thinking of something I need to do this weekend. Shopping with Emma is like pulling teeth. I don’t even know why she calls it shopping when we’re never in the store for more than a few minutes. I think she was happier than anyone in the world when online shopping was invented.

“I think Susan needs my help this weekend getting ready for the Halloween party that they are putting on downtown,” I answer.

“Good. I’ll call and see if she and November would like to go with us to pick up some stuff in Nashville. Then we can head over to the local warehouse store and pick up the stuff for the Halloween party.”

“Okay, that would be nice,” I tell her and feel Mike’s body shaking behind me.

He knows that his daughter and I both hate shopping with his mom. November was actually the one to warn me about shopping with her grandma.

“I’m going to take June home before it gets too late,” Emma says.

At the sound of her name, June turns her head in our direction, and when she sees me, she gets a huge smile on her face and holds out her hands towards me. I step away from Mike and take her from Brandon, and she immediately snuggles into my chest.

“Hi, June Bug,” I say, rubbing my cheek over the top of her head.

The smell of her and feel of her in my arms causes me to tear up. Thinking about having this feeling while holding Mike’s and my child in a few months is absolutely crazy. I lift my eyes and look at Mike—his eyes are pulled together like he’s trying to figure something out. I smile and he smiles back, but I can still see the concern in his eyes.

“Are you going to come back for dinner?” I ask Emma.

She shakes her head no, running a hand over the top of June’s head. “I have to go help November out tonight with the girls because Asher has some job he’s working on and won’t be home until late, and November is pregnant again, so Asher is on edge with leaving her alone.”

“What?” I whisper in shock.

“Oh crap. There I go again, letting the cat out of the bag,” she says, looking between Mike and me.

I can honestly say that I’m not even a little surprised that Asher and November are pregnant again. I know that they both wanted to have their children young and that Asher really wants a boy.

“Don’t say anything until they announce it,” Emma mumbles, walking over to the couch, where she grabs the diaper bag and June’s sweater.

“Jesus,” I hear Mike mumble.

Brandon laughs. I just stand there silently watching Emma gather all of June’s belongings while trying to understand what I’m feeling. I will be pregnant at the same time that my boyfriend’s daughter is pregnant. How in the world does that even happen? How awkward was it going to be when we both show up places at the same time?

“You okay, Mom?” Brandon asks.

I look at my son and do the only thing I can at this moment—I plaster a fake smile on my face. “Just great. So, what are you doing tonight?” I ask him.

He narrows his eyes but answers anyway. “I’m going to help a friend study for a test we have coming up in history.”

“What friend is that?” I ask because he hasn’t been hanging out with any of his old friends lately. If he’s not working, he’s at school or at home.