Jeff was holding his granddaughter. Stephanie and Vivian seeing to that not only was Cristine comfortable, but everyone else. They had just come back from getting food from the cafeteria. The hunger in Shawn's stomach was completely forgotten about as he stood next to his father.
"She's beautiful," Matt commented on the other side of Jeff.
"She looks just like me, huh?" Shawn said with an extra wide smile.
"I thought she'd be a little small," Jeff said, "considering she was, what? A week or two early?"
"Nah," Shawn said, taking his bundle of joy from his father. "She's a big girl, ready for the world."
Anise watched the three guys talk amongst themselves from the other end of the room. After she held her niece for the first time, she and Randy saw to stay out of the way for now.
"Well, why don't you hand over that big girl," Cristine butted in, "and go eat something. You haven't eaten anything since we got here."
Anise listened to them, pulling out her camera again to take a few precious pictures. She also took some on her phone to send to her three cousins. Her thoughts were only derailed from the pictures when she heard her mom's voice.
"We'll be at the house," Vivian said. "We're going to clean everything, and make sure everything's ready."
Shawn let out a laugh. "Not much to clean, mom," he said. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Cris learned her habits from you."
"Hey," Cristine said, pouting at Shawn. "If they want to clean, let them."
Stephanie smiled, getting in a hug from Cristine. "We'll meet you all at the house."
"Okay," Cristine said, happy that it was almost time for them to leave. When the duo left, she looked at Anise, noticing the strange look on her face. She called out for her, patting the bed. "Come here."
Anise stiffened as Cristine spoke to her. "What? You need something?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "Just wondering why you look so sad."
It was Anise's turn to shake her head. "I'm not," she said softly. She even surprised herself when tears started to come down. Wiping them away, she kept a hand over her mouth. "Excuse me."
Cristine's mouth dropped open, her hand lingering in the air as she watched Anise turn and walk away. "I – " She paused when Randy stood up, his eyes directed towards Anise opening the room door. "Is she okay?"
Randy's attention diverted momentarily, his gaze falling upon the new mother, his newly acquired brother-in-law, and the Hardy brothers.
"She's just... emotional," he commented. It was honest, in the very least. Though he wouldn't quite tell them why. He walked up towards the bed, holding out his hand to Cristine. "It was nice meeting you again."
When the door clicked behind him, Cristine started shaking her head.
"What?" Shawn asked her, curious as to what she was thinking.
"She's done something that she doesn't want to tell us."
Jeff plopped down in an abandoned chair. "Like what?"
"That ring, for one," Matt said.
"Yeah, I noticed it too," Jeff added.
"You think he asked her to marry him?" Shawn questioned.
Cristine nodded her head. "Not only do I think he asked," she said. "I think she accepted."
"""""
"What the hell was that about?" Randy asked her as they sat in front of the airport. She sighed, tapping the steering wheel with the palms of her hands.
"Nothing. I just... " Tightening her lips, she looked over at him. "I just wished that things were different between us."
"What do you mean?"
A smile crossed her face as she shook her head. "I think Cris knows."
"Knows what? That we got married?"
"Think about it, Randy. She saw the ring. She's not stupid," she said, pulling the ring off her finger. "She put two and two together."
"Wait, hold on a minute," he said quickly, stopping her from putting the ring away. "You wear that. It's bad enough you didn't wear your engagement ring."
A sarcastic laugh left her. "I couldn't, Randy."
"Why not?" he questioned, twisting his body to look at her. His eyes were dark, and the expression on his face was less than pleased. "You not only refused to wear it, for a reason that can't be valid other than the fact that you wanted to hide what we are. But you also threw it back in my face."
"Randy," she started saying before he even finished. "I'm not going to sit here and argue with you. I've got a family to get back to, and you've got a plane to catch."
He reached for the door handle, not taking his glare off her. "Fine," was the only thing he said as he exited the vehicle. She waited for him to retrieve his bag, watching as he entered the building. Only driving a short distance away from where they were, she stopped, unable to control her emotions anymore. Must be the pregnancy, she told herself. Has to be.
Giving herself a few minutes to compose her thoughts, she wiped her eyes and concentrated on the drive back to their homes. As she put the gear in drive, she looked down at the ring that was placed down in the cup holder. She couldn't wear it. Not now that Cristine knew. Bloating is what she would say if anyone asked why she wasn't wearing her ring anymore. To make it even more viable, she took a moment to remove her earrings and necklace as well.
"I can't let them know how dumb I've been," she whispered, then lifted her foot off the brake and started driving to where her family was.
"""""
To say that their houses were crazy was an understatement. Anise looked around from where she sat on the lounge chair. Her brother, Cristine, and their new baby girl sat on the couch. Her three cousins, Aurora, Murphy, and Evelyn gathered around at the moment, excitedly talking about the newest edition to the family. She looked over towards her mother and her aunt. They stood in the kitchen, cooking and talking as usual. Jeff and Matt had just walked out of the sliding door, to the backyard, greeting some of their friends.
Though she was surrounded by family and friends, there was a part of her that felt alone. She sat by herself, keeping to herself, not wanting to bring any attention to herself. Just when she thought that she was finally completely forgotten about, she saw someone sit down in the chair next to her.
"Pretty exciting, isn't it?" he asked. He took a swig from the beer bottle he held. "Ready for yours?"
"More than ready," she answered, rubbing her stomach. He motioned to her hand, tipping the neck of the bottle towards her.
"Do you mind?"
"No," she said, moving her hand. "Not at all."
She watched as he placed his hand gently over her tummy. A smile cracked his face as he felt a bump press into his hand. He laughed as the motion came again, only stronger.
"Damn, kicking already," he said.
Anise smiled herself. "I'll teach them to whoop on you, Shane."
"Psh, I bet you they'll team up with me," he joked.
She enjoyed Shane's light-heart nature, finding herself comfortable talking to him. Time had passed, and before she even realized it, dinner was being served. While the ladies had cooked a few things inside, some of the guys had been busy grilling outside. She looked up from the little corner she and Shane sat at, waiting for the traffic of people to slow from getting food. But before she could stand to get a plate, Shane stood and looked down at her.
"Want a little bit of everything?" he asked her.
She smiled warmly at him. "Please, if you don't mind."
He left her side, making his way into the kitchen. She checked her phone in the few minutes he was gone, seeing that she had several text from Randy, and a few missed calls. Right now, she didn't want to deal with him. She just wanted to enjoy her family time.
"""""
Shawn looked around. It was after dinner time, and everyone had gone to do their own little thing. His mom and aunt were finishing cleaning. His dad and uncle took to watching some television. Scanning the room for his sister, he saw that she was sitting in the kitchen next to Shane. Murphy and Evelyn sat at the table with them. Aurora was sitting next to Cristine, giving the new mother a small break. He watched as Aurora slung a clean cloth over her shoulder and proceeded to burp baby Astrid.
He stood up, standing still for a minute. Cristine looked at him, concern creasing her tired face.
"What's wrong, honey?" she asked him. He shook his head, then held out his hand to her. She took it, confused as he pulled her up to stand with him. His mouth parted, as if to say something, but it was a few minutes before he said anything.
"I've wanted to do this," he started, grabbing the attention of his family. He continued holding onto her hand, slowly kneeling down in front of her. "Since the day we started talking."
"Shawn!" Cristine gasped out. She watched in pure surprise as he pulled out a velvet box from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a silver ring, with a glittering diamond in the center of it, two smaller diamonds on either side of that.
The rest of them had come into the den, gathering around the couple. From the corner of his eye, he could see his mother tearing up.
"Will you marry me, Cristine?"
Silence was all that met her as she placed a hand over her mouth. Tears slowly streamed down her face, and she couldn't prevent herself from crying. She started nodding her head after a moment, "Yes."
"Yes?" he repeated, standing and taking her into his arms. "I love you."
Clapping and cheers filled the room as the couple hugged. When everyone settled down once again, Shawn took the ring from the box and placed it on Cristine's finger. He was pleased when she smiled at it.
"It's beautiful, Shawn," she told him, giving him a kiss as he guided her back down to the couch.
"You like it?"
"Let me see," he heard Aurora say. She held out her hand to his cousin, and the two ladies began talking about it. Soon his mother and aunt had joined, both wanting to see the ring that now adorned her finger.
"""""
Later that night, unable to sleep a wink after the day's excitement, Cristine took to heading outside to the patio. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw Anise sitting at the patio table, sipping on a glass of soda.
"Can't sleep?" Cristine said as she took a seat next to Anise. She placed the baby monitor down on the table before sighing heavily in the night's air.
Anise shook her head. "No," she replied with a smack of her lips. "Way too much on my mind."
"Like Randy asking you to marry him?"
Eyes snapped towards Cristine in less than a second, the shock on Anise's face quickly melted into a smirk.
"I don't even have to tell you, do I?"
"Nope," Cristine said, taking a small sip from Anise's glass. "It wasn't even the ring. It was the look on your face." She sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest. "Like a light was shining on your face."
Anise was silent for a few long moments, thinking carefully of what to reveal to Cristine. She trusted Cristine, but something told her to keep what really happened to herself. With a new baby, and a wedding to plan, Anise didn't want to burden Cristine any more than she already was. Running her tongue along the inside of her cheek, she spoke cautiously.
"He actually asked me a while ago," she told Cristine, a tiny smile on her face. "But I told him no."
"Why?"
"With Randy?" Anise lightly scoffed. "So many reasons. Honestly, I think the best thing he has going for him right now is that title."
"Oh, that's not true," Cristine said, dismissing Anise's words. "He's got you and those babies."
Anise shook her head. "He's got everyone fooled. Even had me fooled, thinking that he actually gave a damn about me, and then I have to turn around and hear his dumb little girlfriends on the phone."
"More like he's the foolish one. If he keeps that mess up and loses you for real, he's going to realize just how ridiculous he's being."
Their quiet talk was interrupted with a fitful cry from the monitor. Anise watched Cristine pick up the device before standing.
"Guess that's your calling," Anise said with a slight laugh.
"It'll be your calling too, now," she commented with a small laugh of her own. "Twice over."
Anise gratefully hugged Cristine before watching her future sister-in-law make her way back into the house. Cristine was right. Randy was completely at risk of losing her. He had a lot of things going on, but the one thing that should have absolutely had all of his attention was rather quickly slipping through his fingers. Anise had already left Randy several times, but constantly coming back on the promises he made to do better was wearing thin. There were only so many chances one could have before allowing themselves to be completely given up on.
Anise breathed deeply, shrugging to herself at Randy's behavior. She couldn't change him, that much she knew. But she had a glimmer of hope that he'd treat her better for the sake of their children. Surely sharing such a deep connection would make him realize how he's been. She was hoping that Cristine was correct in that Randy would see just how foolish he was being. She was hoping that Randy would see how much he's really hurt her, and she was hoping that somewhere inside of him, he would begin to care about her enough to make this work. He wanted them to stay together after all.
