42 Hours (Time for Love 3)

When we rounded the corner we saw Craig and Cal hugging each other in the middle of the living room, while Shelly and Rose stood holding on to each other with tears and watery smiles, and Calvin stood off to the side looking proud and happy.

“What’s going on?” I asked excitedly, their enthusiasm contagious.

Craig turned to me and smiled widely. “I got in to USC! They gave me a scholarship.”

I beamed with pride and rushed over to pull him into a hug of my own. “That’s fantastic, brother, you deserve it!”

I clapped Cal on the back, who couldn’t have been more excited if it were him going, then turned to shake Calvin’s hand. He bypassed the hand and pulled me in for a hug. Looked like we were going to be celebrating today.

“Congratulations, Craig,” I heard Gaby say, and I looked over to see her laugh as Craig picked her up off of the ground and spun her around.

“Easy,” I said with a chuckle, but Craig just winked at me as he put Gaby down in front of Rose and Shelly. She and Shelly gave each other a hug, then she turned to Rose, who was still grinning happily, her face wet wi

th fresh tears.

“What a happy day,” Rose gushed, putting her hands on Gaby’s cheeks. “I’m so happy that you’re finally here with Scott, Gaby. Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for having me, Ms. Rose,” Gaby replied sweetly.

“You’re welcome any time dear,” Rose said, then she looked around the room, taking in her family, and added, “Calvin, I don’t know what we did to deserve these boys, but I couldn’t be more proud of our sons. Cal’s opening his own business and making us grandparents, Scott’s finally got the right girl on his arm, and Craig’s got a baseball scholarship to a great school.” She looked lovingly at her husband and said, “We must have done something right.”

Calvin rushed over to hold his wife, as I worked on calming my racing heart.

Rose had called me their son.

They’d always treated me like I was one of their boys, but to have her say it out loud, and say she was proud of me, meant more to me than I could have imagined.

I turned around and pressed my fist to my mouth, trying to regain my composure before I started crying like a baby, when I felt Gaby’s arms encircle my waist and her head rest against my back.

When I knew I had a handle on my emotions, I turned in her arms, and hugged her to me. “Thanks,” I said softly, kissing the top of her head.

“Alright, blubbering time is over,” Calvin said. “Time to eat.”

I guided Gaby to the table and sat her across from Shelly and Cal, and in between me and Rose.

“How’ve you been feeling, Shelly?” Gaby asked as she placed her napkin in her lap.

Shelly placed her hand over her swollen belly and smiled. “Much better. I haven’t had morning sickness in a couple days.”

“Thank goodness,” Cal added, placing his hand over Shelly’s on her stomach. “You need to let Mommy keep her food down, so you can both grow healthy and strong.”

“Were you just talking to the baby?” I asked with a chuckle. I loved seeing my best friend like this; it was great to see him so excited about becoming a father.

“What of it?” Cal asked with a grin.

“When do we find out what it is?” Craig asked as he bit into a roll, causing his dad to smack him upside the head for talking with his mouth full. “Hey,” he cried out around the bread.

“The doctor said at our next appointment we could try to see what it is.” Shelly leaned around Cal to look at Craig as she answered. “So, about another two months.”

“Cool,” Craig said after he’d swallowed the bite. “Boy or girl, I’m getting the baby its first glove.” Cal turned to place his hand on Craig’s head, ruffling his hair as he smiled at him.

“I’ve got dibs on the first pair of Nikes,” I added.

“I’m teaching him or her how to bake cookies,” Gaby put in with a grin.

We spent the meal talking about Shelly and Cal’s baby, arguing over everything from baby names to who would get to be the first babysitter. I knew Gaby would be fine after she spent time with my family. She’d been coming to Cal’s family home since Cal and Shelly started dating, so she already knew and loved Rose and Calvin. In fact, that just made our relationship that much sweeter.

Chapter 28 – Gaby