"Are you serious?"

Jackie sat at her kitchen table across from Mia, her jaw dropped.

Mia could only nod her assurance, temporarily too excited to speak.

"When are you due?"

"September!"

"Wow...I can't believe it! I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you!" Mia beamed. Any news she shared with her sister became twice as exciting. "I wanted to tell you before we went to your baby shower. I didn't want my news to take away from your day."

"Are you kidding? It makes my day a hundred times better! You have to announce it when we get to Mom and Dad's. God, Mom is going to lose her shit."

"You think so?" Mia wondered.

"Yes! She loves Bill. She said he was...what was it? Distinguished."

"Wow."

Jackie looked at the time. "It's almost time for us to go, Mia. Is it bad I'm most looking forward to the cake?"

"I thought that was the whole point of a baby shower."

They left for their parents' house soon after. Lots of cars were parked in the driveway already when they arrived. The living room was decorated with blue balloons and baby themed party decorations. The dining room table was spread with a blue tablecloth, blue cups and plates, finger foods and cheese trays, and a sheet cake with blue frosting. When Jackie strode into the room, tall and elegant with a gracefully rounded stomach, everybody cheered and congratulated her. Cousins and aunts and friends all wanted to touch her belly. Mia knew when her stomach got that big and everyone would want to touch it, all of that physical contact would greatly annoy her.

Mia was excited to tell her parents and her grandmother she was going to have a baby, especially since Jackie gave her blessing to do so, but wasn't sure when the best opportunity would be.

They all played a few baby-themed party games, then moved onto gift opening. The pile of clothes, toys, and packs of diapers grew higher and higher next to Jackie as she unwrapped them. Mia felt a strange longing as she looked at the baby things, like the tiny pajamas or the little bath tub. She imagined her baby in them, and how cute it would be.

"Oh, Mia! This is beautiful!" Jackie gasped. She was holding a large stretched canvas that Mia had painted on, a scene of blue baby elephants floating among the clouds for Jackie's nursery.

"You are so talented, Mia," their grandmother praised.

Jackie opened the rest of Mia's gifts, which included a little three piece outfit printed with elephants, a soft stuffed elephant plush, and-

"A baby carrier!" Jackie exclaimed. It was versatile as either a backpack or a front pack, where the baby would sit as they were strapped around whomever was wearing it.

"Now you can take him hiking with us!"

"I love this!" Jackie kept flipping the box over and over, reading every word, looking at every picture.

Mia was pleased that her gifts went over well. That wasn't going to be the last time she spoiled her nephew, either.

Soon after Jackie finished opening the rest of the gifts, everyone moved to start eating.

"Mimosa?" their mother asked Mia.

"No, thanks."

"Coffee?"

"No, I'm fine."

Their grandmother looked at Mia knowingly. Jackie must have noticed this, and nudged her sister.

Mia felt a jolt of nervousness before speaking. "Okay… Mom, grandma, I'm pregnant!"

Their mother sharply gasped while their grandmother looked positively delighted.

"Mi bebé está teniendo un bebé!" their mother cried, and she held Mia against her in a hug as she began to shed tears.

Others nearby heard their mother's declaration and an excited murmur broke out extending to those who hadn't heard. Soon everyone was congratulating and blessing Mia, who was happy for the welcoming response, but also felt anxious being the sudden center of attention.

Jackie was standing in the background, happily eating her cake in peace.


Bill was spending the day at Gilbert's lakeside cabin with Gilbert and Raul. He and his cousin were going over business numbers, which bored him greatly. Gilbert had a good handle on it and didn't seem to expect much of Bill's input at least.

Bill and Gilbert sat at the little round kitchen table, bathed in the warm sunlight filtering into the cabin. The table was spread with papers, which were inked with rows and columns and percentages. From what Bill could gather, the sauce sales were doing very well so far, especially for only being on shelves for a week.

Raul was reclined on the couch, long legs stretched out in front of him, typing away on a small laptop while going over his own business numbers.

"I suppose that covers it," Gilbert finished, more to himself than to Bill. He gathered up the papers in a neat stack to be filed away for future reference.

"Same," Raul agreed, and snapped his laptop shut.

Finally.

"I have something I'd like to tell you guys," announced Bill. The other two looked at him with rapt attention. "Mia and I are having a baby!"

"Shit!" Raul exclaimed with approval. "Congrats!"

"The Dauterive name lives on!" Gilbert acclaimed. "Oh, I'm so glad it wasn't with Rose or Lily."

Bill scowled. "You didn't have to tell Mia about that, you know."

Gilbert airily waved it off. "No matter now. We need to celebrate!" He moved to rummage through the kitchen cupboards. "Oh, we drank up my last bottle of the good champagne…"

"Let's just go out," Raul suggested.

"Splendid idea! We can go to Kokoshka's, you remember that restaurant, don't you, darling?"

"Yeah, with the balcony over the rose garden?"

"That's the one, and with the little cherry tarts, of course. What do you say, Guillaume?"

"Sounds good to me!"

"Wonderful! My lord, I can't believe you are going to be a father…" Gilbert bustled to the closet to put on his suit jacket.

"You're going to be like an uncle to this kid, you know," Raul reminded him.

Gilbert stopped in his tracks.

"You're right...why hadn't I thought of that?" He stared off into space, growing more and more distressed. "What does being an uncle entail? I've never been presented with such a responsibility before..."

Raul chuckled, amused. "You've been around my sister's kids a couple of times. It's like that. Just play with them, talk to them, offer them guidance. Then at the end of the day you just give them back to their parents and you can go home."

"Huh…" Gilbert paused to think over that advice.

"You'll be a great uncle, Gilbert," Bill assured him, "I'm glad my kid will have you in their life. Both of you, of course."

Gilbert smiled warmly, a look Bill never grew tired of seeing on his cousin. "Thank you, Guillaume. That means very much to me." He patted Bill affectionately on the shoulder. "Now, let's go celebrate with champagne and cherry tarts!"


The Hills invited Mia and Bill over dinner, to celebrate the announcement of the new baby. It was always touching to Mia that the Hills and the other neighbors always invited and included her with things like dinners and parties. She always felt so welcome on Rainey Street, like it really was becoming home.

"Mia! Bill! It's so great to see you!" Peggy greeted and invited them inside. "We're just finishing up dinner!"

"Hello, you two. Or should I say, you three," Hank chuckled from the couch.

"Bobby is over at Joseph's tonight," Peggy told them, "So it will just be us!"

Mia wasn't surprised to see Luanne, Lucky, and little Gracie in the living room already, but her curiosity was piqued. She remembered what Leah mentioned about Luanne probably being pregnant.

Her question was answered almost immediately, however.

"Mia! I'm going to have a baby, too!" Luanne delighted. "When are you due? I'm due in September!"

"Me, too! Wow, what if they have the same birthday?"

Luanne gasped and clapped happily. "Wouldn't that be so awesome?"

Lucky tipped his head to Bill. "I have some cigars we can smoke later, to celebrate our participation in all of this."

"They're from a gas station, Bill," Hank bluntly informed him.

Lucky nodded proudly. "I got them at 7-11."

Mia sat beside Luanne and they watched Gracie play with toys on the rug.

"Is it safe for you to keep working at the mechanic shop?" Mia asked her.

"Most things I should be okay with. Anything I would need to go under the car for I might not do, at least not once my stomach gets bigger. Mr. Reyes is very understanding."

Mia burst out laughing. "Raul makes you call him 'Mr. Reyes?'" What a piece of work he is.

"He doesn't make me, but he's my boss. It just sounds more respectful."

"Oh. Well, that's very professional of you."

"Thank you!"

"Please be careful working there, Luanne," Peggy fretted, "I think of all the hazards in a place like that and, oh, it just makes me so nervous for you."

"I'll be fine, Aunt Peggy. There's a lot of protocols and procedures in place. Besides, I know what I'm doing…"

Peggy turned to Mia. "What about you, Mia? Does your work get dangerous? Rogue dog attack maybe?"

Mia laughed. "No, nothing like that. I think I'll be fine right up until my maternity leave."

"Good. We want healthy babies here! Oh, and Mia, next month I'm throwing Leah's baby shower. Would you like to have a baby shower here when the time comes, too?"

Once again, Mia was touched. "I would love that!"

"I have a fun baby-themed Boggle game we can play!"

The timer on the oven went off, so Peggyleft to pull out the chicken.

"Everyone come to the table, dinner is ready!"

Luanne scooped up Gracie and put her in her high chair. Everybody else followed behind them, finding their seats at the dinner table.

Hank said grace, a short little prayer of thankfulness, and they began to make their plates. Roast chicken, steamed green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and dinner rolls were passed around eagerly. Luanne cut up some of the food in small pieces for Gracie's plate.

"This is so good, Peggy. You always make the best dinners."

"Oh, thank you, Mia," Peggy blushed.

"Once I get settled into Bill's house, I'm actually planning on having lunch or dinner to invite all the neighbors to. I really hope you all can come!"

"Of course we can!" Hank promised.

"We would love to. Would you be making traditional food of your home country?"

"Um, my home country is here," Mia corrected Peggy, "But I might make a traditional Colombian dish, especially since I know you would appreciate it."

"Si, I just love anything Spanish!"

"The most Spanish thing I eat is Taco Bell," Lucky told them all, "Well, and maybe Spanish fly…"

"So, anyway," Hank quickly changed the subject, "Do either of you girls have any names picked out for those babies yet?"

"Lucky likes Gordon for a boy," Luanne said.

"After my favorite NASCAR racer, Jeff Gordon," he nodded.

"Or Danica for a girl."

"After my favorite lady-racer, Danica Patrick."

Peggy and Hank stared at them.

"Uh," Hank cleared his throat, "How about you, Mia?"

"We have names we like, but nothing we have narrowed down yet. It's still so early…"

"I know exactly what you mean," Peggy nodded, "I needed to 'get to know' Bobby more, well, before he was 'Bobby' that is, before I could settle on his name. You have to get a feel for your baby, for your visualization of them."

"Are you hoping for a boy, Bill?" asked Hank.

Truthfully, he was, but he would be just as happy to have a girl. What he wanted most was a healthy baby...but imagining having a little boy came easiest to him.

"I'm just as excited for either," he answered simply.

He felt Mia's hand squeeze his hand under the table, and he smiled.

"If I have a boy, and if you have a girl, I will save up all of Gracie's old clothes for you!" Luanne offered Mia.

"Thanks, Luanne. That would be nice!"

They all talked more about the babies, and Leah's soon-to-be-born baby, and how happy and excited they all were. Mia liked that she was going to be pregnant at the same time as Luanne, and that they would be going through the same milestones together.

Bill was grateful to have such a strong support system for the both of them, comprising all their neighbors, Lucky and Luanne, Gilbert, and Mia's family. It was hard to believe that this was his life now...he had a beautiful girlfriend and, soon, a baby...when less than a year ago he was more depressed than he had ever been, completely alone, with seemingly no way out. How quickly everything changed.

He just had one more thing he wanted to do, but it would take some time and careful planning…