Thirty-five and Single

“Thanks to you, babe.”

We kiss again with our kids between us and it’s a wonderful thing. My parents come over, reaching for their grandkids, who go willingly. Then I’m hugged first by Amelia and then Ella. Melissa and I have come to a weary truce, but we’re not at the hugging stage just yet.

Joel rubs his hand over my belly.

“They should call you twin maker,” Ella snickers.

Joel, used to my sister, leans in to conspiratorially tease her back. “You see, it’s Olivia. She can’t keep her hands off me. I can barely get any sleep.”

Amelia giggles and Darren chimes in, “I know the feeling.”

They are working on number five.

“Over Forty and Pregnant Again is the name of our reality show,” Amelia jokes.

“If Joel can’t keep his hands to himself, I’ll be joining you on that show,” I say.

We all laugh except Melissa. I still don’t know all the reasons behind her mysterious reappearance.

“Hey,” Joel says in my ear as the others continue to make one-liners. “Give me a minute, okay?”

He squeezes my hand and I glance over to see Aaron who’s growing like a weed standing next to Rhett, who’s become a big part of our lives.

“Okay,” I say, and he kisses me again before letting go of my hand and walking over to talk to his brother.

I take the opposite path to thank Craig for coming as well.

Joel –

“You didn’t have to come,” I say when I reach Rhett.

“And miss all this?” he says flippantly, but his bloodshot eyes give him away.

I lean over to Aaron. “Why don’t you go congratulate Aunt Olivia?”

He nods and solemnly walks over to the group. I hurt for him, but am grateful considering the recent events. Rhett had gotten the test done. He forced me to take it too. DNA could determine with much accuracy who the father is even between brothers, not that there had been any chance it could have been me. Now he has his answers, the ones I’ve known all along. Rhett is Aaron’s father.

“He needs normal,” my brother says. “And what the hell is that, anyway?”

He’s talking about Aaron and what we’re all feeling.

“She would have made it,” he says with conviction.

I nod. Calli had done all the right things to get her life on track. She’d been working at the shop, practically running it for me.

“I loved her,” Rhett says.

I know that too. Their relationship had been far from conventional.

“But I never told her,” he admits.

And there it is. Guilt. My brother has a lot of that.

“She knew,” I say.

There had been little comments she’d made about my brother like I know he loves me. It might have been with full-on sarcasm, but I knew Calli better than anyone.

“Every time I close my eyes, I see her. I can’t fucking unsee what I saw.”

Calli’s stepfather had murdered her. He’d been paroled because of overcrowding and she hadn’t been notified. Not that his sentence had been very long in the first place. Sexual violence didn’t warrant as much time as drug possession in this country.

From what they put together in the case against him, he’d waited for her to leave the shop. Once he had her, he beat, raped, and strangled her to death. Rhett found her in the side alley after not hearing from her.

Thankfully, forensic science had been able to pull prints from around her neck, which matched to the now convicted murdering asshole. Otherwise, Rhett, having found her, would likely have been the prime suspect and ended up on trial for her murder.

Olivia comes over and wraps Rhett in a hug.

“We’re going to get through this.” I hear her murmur.

God, I love this woman.

When he straightens, he announces, “I can’t do this alone. I know Aaron’s almost eight, but I need help. I’m going to hire a nanny.”

“It’s a good plan,” I say. “But he’s always welcome at our house. And so are you.”

Rhett and Aaron have been sleeping in our guest rooms for weeks.

“I know. But it’s time we go home. I’m sure Olivia wants alone time with you.”

“Don’t worry,” Olivia muses. “Joel thinks it’s funny to make me scream. He thinks you’ll get a kick out of it.”

A corner of my brother’s mouth lifts. “And here I’d hoped the cat was dying somewhere in the house.”

Olivia tosses her head back in a howl of laughter.

“I thought you were getting along with Sable now,” she quips.

“She’s more of a beast than a cat. Her name should be Sabretooth.”

Then we are all laughing because it’s all we can do. “I can’t believe you let a pussy cat get the best of you,” I say, lip twitching as I fight a full-on grin.

He glares at me. “She’s no pussy. Pussy purrs for me, not scratches.”

And for the briefest of seconds, I see my brother not grieving.

I wrap my arm around my amazing and pregnant wife and gaze around our family as Craig walks over. We’re a little crazy and a little fucked up, but they’re mine.