I push as hard as I can, and I notice that I'm gaining early momentum.
My hand is wrestling his, and right now, I'm on top.
But as soon as I realize this, Parker increases the pressure. "Oh no you don't," he smiles. "Thought you had me, right? WRONG."
We both laugh, but we continue, using all of our strength to outmatch each other, and then we hear a voice.
"What in the world are you two doing?"
It's Cara, and she's leaning into Mason. He has one arm draped over her shoulders. They're both grinning from ear to ear and I don't know if it's because they find our impromptu arm wrestling match funny, or if it's something else.
But there's also a glow about them, and a glimmer in their eyes.
Now that I think about it … they seem happier than usual.
I'm thinking there's something they aren't telling us.
Then I feel the top of my hand slam down on the granite countertop.
"BAM! I won!" Parker yells, pumping his now free fist into the air.
"I was distracted," I say, which is true. I was too focused on Cara, and her beautiful glow. I was thinking too much about that smile hidden behind her eyes, and what it all means.
"Distracted or not, I win," Parker laughs, "And you know what that means, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I shrug. "Fine, take the room. You don't have to cry about it."
I give him a playful punch on the shoulder and he laughs.
Then Cara walks over to both of us.
"Actually, if it's the big room you two were fighting over … you should've saved the arm wrestling for another time. I think we might have other plans for it," Cara says.
Mason smiles. "She's right … because we have some big news."
"Big news? You mean bigger than any book deal?" I ask.
"Much bigger," she says, and a smile slowly spreads across her face.
I watch as she places her hand on top of her stomach, rubbing it in slow, small circles, and Mason reaches over, doing the same.
"Wait … do you mean what I think you mean?" Parker asks. A new realization is spreading over his face.
I can feel my heart kicking in my chest, and the same realization floods me.
I grab Cara's free hand, and place it over my heart so she can feel my excitement.
"Is this really happening?" I ask. "Tell me it's true."
She smiles, looking at all three of us.
"It is," she says. "I'm pregnant."
Cara reaches into her purse and pulls out a black and white picture.
"You see this?" she says, holding it up. "This … is our baby."
The image isn't much … a small white blob that resembles the size and shape of a gummy bear, in a background of black, but it doesn't matter because that image is everything.