“She’s nesting. That’s what the books say,” my brother replies.
“Oh, hush,” Gabby says, still staring at my son. “I’m not nesting. I’m just trying to go through my stuff that was stored in the garage before the baby gets here. I just want it off our plates.”
“It’s not hurting anything sitting in the garage.”
“No, it’s not. However, I feel better having gone through it.”
“Nesting,” Chase says again.
“Call it what you want. It’s done, so that’s all I care about.”
“Happy wife, happy life.” Chase winks at her, and she rolls her eyes.
“What time is this guy getting here? What’s his name again? Harry?” Chase asks.
“Hollis. And he should be here anytime.”
“Good, let’s get busy unloading so we can help him.” He leans down, places his hand on Gabby’s protruding belly, and kisses her softly. “Love you,” he whispers before disappearing out the door.
I follow along behind him with a twinge of jealousy. I never really thought much about settling down and having a family of my own. However, I assumed if I ever did, it would be in the right order. Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I would be a single father to an infant, courtesy of a one-night stand.
“You weren’t kidding,” I tell Chase when we open the back of Gabby’s SUV. “You guys didn’t have to do all of this.”
“It was all Gabs. It’s expensive to start out on your own. We’ve both been there, and we didn’t have a baby to take care of. Besides, some of this stuff is used. We combined our places, cleaned out the garage from when she moved in, and we have duplicates of a lot of things. We figured you wouldn’t mind.”
“No. I appreciate it, man. I was just thinking about how I have this house, but it’s bare-bones.”
“This should get you by. It’s all in good shape. We just don’t need it.”
“Thank you. Not just for this, but for taking such good care of Milo. I don’t even want to think about what could have happened if it had not been your doorstep she dropped him off on.”
“Yeah, well, maybe think twice before you use my name again. I don’t think my wife would appreciate that.”
“Trust me, that’s not going to happen. Those days are long gone. I have more than just myself to think about. Milo needs stability, and I’m going to make damn sure he has it.”
“Great. Start by taking this.” He places a large box in my arms.
“What’s in here?”
“Dishes. Baking dishes, and honestly, I’m not really sure. What I do know is it’s yours now, toss or keep it. We don’t care either way.”
I carry the box into the house and place it on the small kitchen island. “Thanks for all this, Gabby.”
“It’s nothing. We were going to get rid of it anyway. If you don’t like it or need it, just pass it on or donate it. Whatever. I only brought the stuff I thought you might want or need.”
I start unpacking the box and pull out some mixing bowls, a couple of glass baking dishes, and a full set of glasses. “Are you sure you don’t need this stuff?”
“Positive. Between everything from my apartment and what Chase already had, we’re overflowing.”
“These are new.” I point to the glasses.
“Yeah, I bought them on clearance right before I had to move. We like the ones that Chase had better so, there you go.” She grins. “I’m going to lay him down and then start helping you wash and put all this away. Do you have a preference of where it goes?”
“No. The cabinets are clean and bare. You do what you think makes the most sense, and we’ll go with that. Thank you, Gabby.” My brother did damn good finding his forever.
“We’re family.” She leaves the room to place Milo in his Pack ’n Play and then reappears and gets right to work.
“I thought we were hauling all this shit in? As in, you and me, brother? Instead, I find you in here chatting up my wife.”
“My sister,” I counter, and he smiles despite his words. “And I was just taking the time to thank her for all of this.”
“I’m taking it all back if you don’t get your ass out here and help me.”
“That means you have to load it all back up in your SUV,” I counter, and he curses under his breath, making Gabby giggle. “Come on, you big baby.” It takes us two more trips to get it all unloaded.
Once the bags and boxes are unpacked, my house doesn’t feel so bare anymore. The kitchen is stocked. From baking dishes, glasses, to plates and bowls, even silverware. I have a stack of linens, a throw blanket, and an end table and a lamp that fits perfectly next to the new couch that was delivered earlier this week. There’s now a rug lying in front of the front door, and there are two empty laundry baskets ready to be filled in the small laundry room.