Something So Perfect (Something So 2)

“Why didn’t you wake me?” I ask her, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, letting them adjust to the light.

“Um, because you were sleeping.” She takes a sip of what looks like coffee.

“Is that decaf?” I look from her to my mom to Cooper. “You shouldn’t be drinking caffeine. It’s not good for the baby.”

“You should worry about standing here in the kitchen in your underwear instead of what’s in my cup, thank you very much.”

My mother sees that I might have steam coming out of my ears. “It’s decaf. Cooper went out this morning and got it. Now please go put something on so you guys can eat.”

“Okay.” I lean down and kiss Karrie’s lips. “Love you,” I whisper to her. I turn around and by the time I get back downstairs there’s a buffet of food on the dining room table. “Is this brupper?” I ask my mom, looking at everything she set up.

“Brupper?” Karrie asks, putting a couple of pancakes on her plate, with some scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage.

“When we were younger Allison was obsessed with pancakes, so much so Mom used to make them for supper and we would call it brupper.” I sit next to Karrie, filling my own plate. “Is bacon okay for the baby? Is it not too greasy, Mom?”

“You know what’s not good for the baby?” Karrie says while pouring a heaping portion of syrup on her pancake. “YOU.” She cuts into a pancake, moaning as she eats. “Now if you want to live here while I’m pregnant you need to chill out. Jesus,” she says, stabbing a piece of sausage and dipping it in syrup. With her mouth half full she says, “Parker, this is so good. I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“So when do you want to start interviewing nurses?” I ask when I finally finish my plate. Cooper’s eyes bug out while my mother’s mouth opens wide and doesn’t shut.

“Pardon.”

“Well, we need to have around the clock care in case you get sick or you’re tired. We need to have someone here to watch you.” I don’t continue because Karrie’s hands shoot up.

“I’m going to be sick,” she says out loud, her chair shooting back, scraping against the floor while she runs to the bathroom. The sound of her throwing up has me rushing down the hall, throwing the door open. I open the water to cold, grabbing a small towel from under the sink. Wetting it, I hand it to Karrie. “Thank you,” she says, grabbing the towel and putting it on her face. I squat down next to her, pushing the hair away from her face. “I was fine and then in one second I wasn’t.”

“I know, babe.” I get up to grab a glass and fill it with water. “Here.”

She takes little sips of water while she waits for her stomach to stop being queasy.

The doorbell rings. Mom goes to open it. “Hey,” she says to whoever is at the door. “Guys, Doug is here.”

“Hey, guys,” he yells. “I brought Karrie her favorite burger from Shake Shack.”

“Oh, God,” Karrie groans beside me, leaning over and emptying whatever was left in her stomach.

I grimace and decide this is fucking love. What feels like an eternity later, but is more or less twenty minutes, Karrie sneaks off to go upstairs to shower and brush her teeth. I go into the living room where Cooper is eating Karrie’s burger.

Raising my eyebrow at him, he says, “What? I’m getting rid of it so it doesn’t make her sick.”

I sit down on the couch and reach out to see the white frame in the middle of the table. Inside is a picture of the ultrasound. I smile, passing it to Doug. “So how bad is it?” I ask him, looking back at him and then at Cooper. My mother comes into the room with a tray of coffee, juice, soda, water, and cookies. I smile up at her, grabbing a water bottle. “Just come out and tell me.”

“I think we should wait for Karrie,” Doug says, still looking at the picture.

“Wait for Karrie for what?” I turn my head to watch Karrie walk in the room. Her hair is tied on top of her head. She’s wearing plaid PJ bottoms with one of my team T-shirts that fits her almost like a dress.

“Hey, Dad.” She walks over to kiss his cheek.

“Hey, honey, I brought you some ginger ale and some saltines to help the queasiness.” My mom leans forward.

“Thank you.” She smiles at my mom while I open my arms to her and she sits next to me, cuddling into my side. “Vivienne is on her way here. She should be here soon.”

I pull her to me, kissing the top of her head.

The knock at the door comes a couple of minutes later with Vivienne coming in and saying hello to everyone, sitting next to Karrie, and holding her hand.