Gavriil (Stepanov Mafia)

It felt a bit too early to be doing any shopping for the baby, especially since I didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl yet, but I was still excited to look at all of the cribs and bouncers and tiny newborn clothes. Plus, the trip had been my brother’s idea. I couldn’t remember a single other time in my life when Devin had willingly gone into any store with my mom or me.

He would fight tooth and nail to not have to go to the grocery store with us. He whined that it was boring, and he hated walking around. And in his later years, he argued that everything could be bought online. And while that was true, I would remind him that we didn’t have the money to pay for shipping. But now, for whatever reason, he wanted to buy me some baby supplies, and I wanted to let him.

“What do you think is more gender neutral, green or yellow?”

I turned to see Devin standing at the end of the aisle with a stuffed green frog in one hand and a yellow duck in the other.

“Definitely the duck,” I said.

He tossed the frog over his shoulder without looking, managing to make it into a giant cardboard bin of stuffed animals, and shoved the duck under his arm. I clapped for him, and he paused to bow.

“Do you have any suspicions about whether you’re having a boy or a girl?” he asked.

“I picture a boy, but I think it’s just because it is hard to picture Gavril with a daughter,” I admitted. “He is the stereotypical tough guy, so imagining him with a baby girl dressed in hair bows and pink seems strange.”

“Imagining him with anything vulnerable and tiny seems strange,” Devin grumbled.

I gave him a warning glare, and he held up his hands in surrender.

“You really don’t need to buy me anything, Dev. Just having your support is enough.”

He waved me away. “Nonsense. I want to be the first person to buy the baby a gift. It will drive Mom mad.”

I turned to him, eyes wide. “You didn’t tell Mom, did you? I know I didn’t ask you to keep it a secret, but I thought it was implied. No one can know about this yet.”

“Do you think I’d be here alone if mom knew she was going to be a grandma? She would have had me push her through the store in a wheelchair, buying everything in sight until we were bankrupt.”

I laughed. “Okay, fair point.”

“She doesn’t find out until you want her to know, okay?”

I nodded and smiled, trying to figure out when my brother had become so responsible. He had a job and was excited to be an uncle. He respected my wishes and kept secrets. It was like he had reformed overnight. He was becoming the brother I’d always wanted.

We wandered around the store for half an hour, Eric staying a few aisles behind us. He never let me out of his sight, but he gave us space to talk privately, and I almost forgot he was following us.

“I was going to buy you a crib, but damn,” Devin said, flicking a price tag that read $500.

“An outfit would be fine,” I said. “Or a stuffed animal. You found the duck, and I think that is really cute.”

“I want it to be special,” he said, his forehead creasing.

I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Whatever you get he or she will be special because it will be from you.”

He wrinkled his nose. “How cheesy.”

“Cheesy, but true.” I laughed. “But if we are going to be here much longer, I am going to have to use the bathroom. Pregnancy makes you pee a lot.”

“It’s in the back. I’ll show you.”

Devin grabbed my arm and started leading me down the aisle, but I pulled my arm out of his hand and smoothed down my sweater. “I’m sure I can find it myself.”

“This place is huge. If we get separated, we may never find one another,” he joked.

Devin’s sudden maturity had apparently come with a bit of over-protectiveness, but that was still better than the flake he was before so I couldn’t complain. I turned around when we’d crossed half the store to look for Eric. He was behind us, but pretty far and he’d been stopped by an employee pushing a trolley full of pack and play boxes. I was just turning back around when Devin grabbed my arm again.

“I’m fine,” I said, growing annoyed and trying to take my arm back. But Devin only squeezed tighter. I winced as his fingers bit into my skin, sure to leave bruises. “What the hell, Devin?”

Devin turned around, and when he saw Eric patiently waiting for the employee to push the boxes across the aisle, he yanked me to the right and began jogging for the double doors on the back wall with an ‘Exit’ sign above them.