It wasn’t happening.
“I’m getting hungry,” I said when we left the next store. By that point I was desperate to move the shopping trip along so I could end Rebecca’s nagging. I loved the girl, I really did, but she was tap-dancing across my last nerve.
“Me too,” Talia agreed. “Can we head in there first and then eat?” She pointed her orange painted fingernail at a baby clothes store. Her eyes shone brightly, glimmering with excitement.
“Ooh. Baby stuff,” Rebecca cried gleefully. “I love baby stuff.” Sobering, she pointed at both of us. “That doesn’t mean I’ll be joining the baby train any time soon, though. Maybe in like…five years.” She crinkled her nose in thought.
“Five years?” I laughed, lifting a brow.
“Five years seems like a good timeline for settling down.” She shrugged as we entered the store.
Talia’s eyes flitted from the table in the front to the racks set up and shelf after shelf of baby clothes.
“They’re so tiny,” she said in awe. “Wow.”
She reached out and picked up a small yellow and white striped onesie with a duck on it. Her fingers shook slightly, and I heard her gasp.
“I’m still struggling to believe it’s real.”
She picked up a green hat with little ears on it.
“Look at this.” Rebecca came over to us, carrying a pale pink onesie with a tutu attached. “Is this not the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?”
“That’s adorable,” Talia cried, taking the onesie from her and holding it against her chest. “Guys,” she said softly, “I’m going to be a mom. Isn’t that crazy?”
“It means you’re like a real official grown-up now,” Rebecca mused. Her mouth parted in horror. “This means you can’t drink! For nine whole months. Forget it, I’m never having kids. I’ll raise chickens instead.”
I snorted. “Chickens?”
Rebecca pursed her lips and gathered her whitish-blond hair into a ponytail. “Chickens are cute, and I like eggs.”
Talia and I looked at each other and broke out into laughter.
“Humph,” she
made a noise in her throat, “no eggs for you guys then.”
Talia put the onesie down and moved to another table set up that held the softest looking blankets I’d ever seen and small stuffed animals.
“Aw, I love this one.” Talia picked up a blanket with an Aztec print on it in colors of navy, gold, and light green. “And look at this. This is precious.” She held up a small gray and white stuffed bunny. Tears shimmered in her eyes. “I want these,” she said softly, holding on tightly to both. She looked at the prices and paled. “Never mind.” Her voice grew soft and crackly with sadness as she put them down. The tears in her eyes pooled further, and this time I knew it wasn’t because she was overcome with happiness. “Let’s go eat,” she said forlornly, heading for the exit.
I didn’t hesitate to grab the blanket and stuffed bunny.
“Ari, no.” Talia grabbed my arm and tried to stop me. “You don’t need to do that.”
“I want to,” I told her, “and Liam would want me to too. Consider it a gift from both of us.” I laid the items down on the counter.
“Did you find everything okay?” the checkout girl asked.
“Yes,” I replied with a smile.
“Ari,” Talia whined, “you don’t have to do this.”
“Shush.”
The checkout girl gave me the total, and I handed her the cash.
“Have a nice day,” she chimed merrily, handing me the bag.