At Second Blush

by OyHumbug

Part Two of the Mother of the Bride Series - In the three months since her only child's wedding, Beth Marks' life completely changed. Not only did she fall in love again, but she, Rio, and his son, Marcus, became a family together. Now, that family is about to grow. Doubly so.

5. Chapter Five - 28 Weeks

Chapter Five: 28 Weeks

Kensley was running late, but Beth didn't mind the wait. It was a beautiful, summer day, she was more than just content; she was downright happy, and she was about to see her daughter for the first time in weeks - first time since Kensley's wedding, in fact. Although Beth had been busy with work and spending time first with just Rio but now also with Marcus, too, she would have found… if not specifically made… a few hours for her only child if Kensley hadn't claimed she was too busy herself. Beth wasn't sure what exactly had her daughter's attention and schedule so stretched, but that was partly why they were meeting for lunch - to catch up on each other's lives, including Beth sharing with Kensley that she was seeing someone.

With Marcus back at his Mom's for the week, Beth had been spending most of her free time with Rio at his loft. After a lazy morning spent in bed with Beth trying to convince him to join her for lunch - she didn't just want to tell her daughter about Rio; she wanted to introduce him to Kensley as well - and Rio contending that showing she was dating was better than telling, it was not a hardship for Beth to sit at her outdoor patio table, soaking in the warm sun while waiting for Kensley to arrive. It made her recall waking up hours earlier with the sun lighting her up through Rio's nearly floor to ceiling windows while Rio himself went down on her underneath his high thread count, dove gray sheets.

He made her cum three times - with his tongue buried deep inside of her; with this teeth scraping against her clit; with one hand massaging the front wall of her center from within while the other applied pressure to her lower belly on the outside and somehow also teased her hard, overstimulated nubbin with one of her vibrators - and then squirt for the first time before slithering up her body and just absolutely gliding inside of her, Beth already so wet, and warm, and boneless from her many and then extreme releases. In the haze and distraction of the tremors radiating out from her pussy and pulsing through the rest of her body, it didn't take long for him to cum deep, and hard, and long inside of her, staying buried within her for the rest of the morning, long after he'd gone soft… and then grew hard again.

They just laid there in their mess, petting, kissing, talking. It should have been horrible and gross - the sheets wet from Beth's ejaculate and then cold from the dampness, but instead it felt decadent. In their afterglow, Rio left marks all over her body, rubbing his stubble against the delicate skin of her breasts, her belly, her thighs; laving and sipping kisses along her collarbone, down her sternum; biting her nipples, her hip bones, the rounds of her ass - his way of helping Beth display her new couple status not just to her daughter but to the world. Eventually, he carried her into the bathroom, insisting that, if she was going to go out, he was at least going to help her get ready. That meant fucking her again in the shower and then tracing every last inch of her skin but particularly the lasting evidence of his lingering touches before it disappeared from his sight as she dressed.

Thinking about Rio - his sensuous mouth, his thin and graceful fingers, the long, corded muscles of his thighs and back, his thick and velvet soft cock - made Beth feel flushed and dewy all over again. A blush stole over the apples of her cheeks, and she discreetly dipped the fingers of her right hand beneath the open collar of her light and airy blouse. She skimmed her touch along her clavicle, paused to feel her heartbeat pounding away at the very center of her throat, and then dragged her fingers down into the deep valley of her breasts. The pads of her index and middle digits unerringly found one of the bruises Rio had left there, pressing against it, biting her rounded nails into it, and savoring the jolt of awareness, of pleasure-pain that came as a result of her shallow explorations, her self-teasing.

"Oh my god."

Both startled and embarrassed, Beth jumped, dropping her hand to her lap like she had just been scalded. She didn't think that her thoughts, that her touches, had been that blatant, but now paranoid, Beth discreetly glanced around at the other diners. Some of them had briefly looked at Kensley after her exclamation, but no one seemed to even notice Beth. Perhaps Kensley was just standing at the precise, perfect angle, or maybe - and wasn't this a horrifying thought - Beth had missed one of the love bites Rio had left on her skin, and they weren't all covered by her clothes. She could feel her face catch fire, and then with a single sentence, Kensley quickly extinguished Beth's humiliation, her emotions quickly jumping to bafflement.

"I didn't think it would actually work."

Kensley dropped down into the seat across from her, and Beth frowned. "Wait, what are you talking about? What didn't you think would work?"

"My plan." Well, that didn't clarify anything. "My wedding."

Becoming worried, Beth questioned her daughter, "you didn't think your wedding would work, but you went through with it anyway?" And if Kensley had concerns about her wedding, what did that mean for her marriage ?

"No, I knew the wedding would be fine," Kensley waved aside Beth's confusion and agitation. "I just didn't think you and Dad would actually rekindle the old flame. I hoped! I thought, if anything could make the two of you reunite after so many years of misunderstandings and bad timing, it would be seeing your only daughter get married. But this…?" Kensley gestured towards Beth, grinned widely, and then giggled. "I never expected this . You're glowing, Mom!"

"Thank you," she started slowly, wanting to at least acknowledge the compliment before tackling Kensley's… very wrong assumptions. "But why would Dean have anything to do with my complexion, and more importantly, why would I ever get back together with him? We divorced for very real and very important reasons, Kensley."

"Yeah… but Dad loves you. He's always loved you!"

"Even if that was true… and I'm sure his three other ex-wives… not to mention his current girlfriend… would have something to say about it," Beth held up a hand to ward off her daughter's prepared argument - Kensley's mouth already opening in protest, "it wouldn't matter, because I do not love him. I've never loved him."

"But you married him," Kensley would not let her… delusions drop. "Even after you separated…"

"No, Kensley," Beth cut her off harshly. "We didn't separate; we divorced. There is a distinction there, and it is important."

"Fine," her adult daughter snapped. "Even after you divorced , you never remarried. You never dated. Hell, I don't think you've ever been with another man. If you didn't still have feelings for Dad, why did you stay faithful to him for so many years?"

Beth sighed, exhausted and dispirited. She had been so excited to tell Kensley about Rio, and now she knew, even after the whole Dean matter was resolved, her news would not be received well. Thank goodness Rio hadn't taken her up on the offer to join them for lunch. That would have been an even bigger disaster. Beth didn't want to think about what his reaction might have been to Kensley's defense of Dean and her encouragement of Beth to reunite with him. It certainly wouldn't have been positive, but it definitely would have been memorable.

Catching sight of their waitress approaching, Beth subtly nodded her off. "I wasn't single out of some very misguided loyalty to your father. After all, you seem to be forgetting in all of this that he cheated on me multiple times during our very short marriage."

For years, Beth refused to explain to her daughter why her parents were no longer married. She didn't want to influence Kensley's thoughts about or feelings towards her father. But Kensley nagged, and nagged, and nagged, and finally, one day when Kensley was in middle school, Beth just snapped, and she told her everything . Yet, Beth's restraint had been for naught, because Kensley didn't blame Dean for the divorce or think anything less of him, and over the years, Kensley's indulgent, apologetic regard for her father somehow morphed into her actually holding Beth accountable. She pushed Dean away, she didn't love him enough, she wasn't ready or mature enough for marriage. Beth had hoped that, now that Kensley was married herself, her thoughts on her parents' marriage might have changed, evolved… but apparently not.

"I was single because I was working full time, raising you pretty much by myself, and going to school. Then, you had activities, and Ruby had Sara, then Harry, and Annie always needed me, too. I was focused on being the best mother I could be, the best friend and sister for your aunts, so I sacrificed being the best me for myself. I was busy, and I put you first, and I don't regret any of those years when I was alone. Or maybe," Beth suggested, thinking of Rio. "Maybe I just never met someone who made me want to date again… until now."

"What's that supposed to mean," Kensley snapped, obviously offended, though it was unclear if it was personal or if it was on Dean's behalf.

"I just… I really like him."

"Maybe if you just gave Dad another chance, get to know who he is now, you'd really like him, too?"

Losing her patience, Beth stopped holding herself back. "Damn it, Kensley! It wouldn't matter if Dean Boland was the last man on earth, and the only way I could ever experience an orgasm again was sleeping with him, I still wouldn't do it. Not only is an orgasm not worth putting up with your father, but I have serious doubts he'd be able to keep up his end of the bargain anyway." It was blunt, and it was probably way more information than Kensley would want, but she just wouldn't let it go. If Beth could only accomplish one thing during her lunch with her daughter that day, she was going to make sure that Kensley gave up on both the idea and the hope of her parents reuniting.

"If Dad is so bad, why did you marry him in the first place?"

"Ugh, you know this already, Kensley," Beth groaned. "We got married, because I was pregnant, and Judith insisted. I was too scared to tell her no, and Dean was too weak to stand up to his parents. It was doomed from the start. Not only were we too young, but we were also too inexperienced. Because what is it that I've told you since your very first crush?" When Kensley simply glared at her, refusing to engage, Beth said for her, "you have to live before you can love. If you don't know yourself, how are you supposed to allow another person to truly get to know you? And you only learn who you are through experience. That's why I had my reservations about you getting married so young."

"Oh, get off it, Mom," Kensley retorted rudely, rolling her eyes. "You were just mad that I wasn't enrolling in grad school right away."

" You selected graduate school for yourself, Kensley; I didn't. If you'd wanted to get a job instead, I would have been just as supportive. More schooling or starting your career now, you're still moving forward. You're still making decisions about your future and taking the next step in becoming… whoever it is you want to be. More schooling or starting your career now, you'd still be growing, having experiences, living."

"Getting married is an experience, Mom. I am living. I'm just not living the way you want me to, and you hate that."

"No, I hate that it feels like you're stagnant. More importantly," Beth moved them back to the topic at hand. Kensley's lack of decisions about her future would need to wait for another afternoon. "I'm worried about you. Because you assured me that you were ready for marriage, and I had to trust that you had learned from my mistakes and did know yourself well enough to decide at the age of twenty-two who you wanted to spend the rest of your life with, but I also thought you understood that, while having you is the best thing I've ever done, marrying your father was indeed a mistake, Kensley. If you can't see that, if you can't even recognize what I've done wrong in my life… let alone take those hard-earned lessons to heart, then what else are you blind to; what else don't you understand?"

"Jesus, Mom. You've been dating this guy for what… a few weeks? Now, all of a sudden, you're a relationship expert?"

Once more, their server tried to approach, but Beth let her know they weren't ready yet. "We actually met at your wedding and have been together ever since."

Kensley was still cross and petulant, but she was now also curious. "Oh, so I know him?"

"In… a manner of speaking." Not wanting her daughter to try and guess… and inevitably end up insulting her in the process, Beth just simply told her, "I'm seeing Rio Garza, the owner of the event hall."

"Haha, Mom. Very funny. But come on, be serious."

Irritated, Beth asked, "why would me dating Rio be a joke?"

"Because you're… you," Kensley waved a hand in Beth's direction, indicating that somehow her appearance said it all. "And he's all black clothes, tattoos, and… and did you know that Dad almost canceled our deposit for the hall, because he's pretty sure your new boyfriend is a criminal?"

"He's still pushing that lie, huh? Well, at least he's consistent." Shaking off her irritation, Beth directly addressed Kensley's accusations. "Rio's not a criminal, Kensley. He's a father, a grandson, a business owner, a boxing enthusiast. He loves music, drinks gin and tea, and has the nicest closet I have ever seen. You and your father are being judgemental, and you're stereotyping him simply because he's not like you. I wear a lot of black, too, because it's slimming, and your Aunt Annie has that eyesore of a tattoo across the small of her back. Do those two things make us seem like criminals, too?"

"A tramp stamp is a far cry from a neck tattoo!"

"And just because your father was intimidated by Rio that does not mean that Rio leans on people professionally!" Anymore. Maybe Beth would have felt more qualms about not telling her daughter the whole truth if she had even tried to give Rio a chance before deciding that she didn't like him.

"You barely know him, Mom! Have you seen his books? Have you had a background check run on him?"

Beth had to send their waitress away for a third time, and she was starting to wonder if their lunch would actually even happen. "We're not just hooking up, Kensley," she told her daughter in lieu of answering her ridiculous questions. "We spend as much time with each other as we can. I'm sleeping at his place more than I am my own. There are feelings involved… for both of us, I think. I've met and spent time with his son."

Her daughter narrowed her eyes to observe her closely. "When you say you met at my wedding, what exactly do you mean by that? Did you have a question about the kitchen, and in answering it, he introduced himself, or…?"

"Or," Beth responded succinctly. She lifted her glass of water to take a hasty but very much needed sip as flashes of that first night in Rio's office made her palms sweat and her throat suddenly dry. "Definitely or."

"Oh, that's just fantastic, Mom. Really." Angry, Kensley stood up from her chair and started to fumble with her purse, slipping her cell phone inside while searching for her keys. "Here I thought you were irritated and miserable the entire night of the wedding, but it turns that was only when you weren't skipping out on my reception to fuck a stranger. Dad might have been drunk, but at least he enjoyed the most important day of his only child's life! You couldn't even keep your legs together for a few hours, and of course you somehow had to find a way to make my wedding about you. Now, everytime Aaron and I celebrate our anniversary, I'll remember that my mother spent the evening screwing some thug!"

"First of all," Beth warned her daughter, having had just about enough of her attitude. "You don't get to speak to me or about me in that way. Secondly, you need to sit back down, so we can talk about this some more, work it out, and I want to make plans for you to meet Rio and then, if that goes well, Marcus, his son."

Kensley scoffed. "Yeah, that won't be happening!"

"Which part of it?"

"Any of it!"

"And lunch," Beth wanted to know, gesturing around the restaurant's busy patio.

"Frankly, I've lost my appetite."

Beth sighed. "We still need to fix this, Kensley."

"Well, it'll have to wait, because I have somewhere else to be."

"Really," Beth challenged, extremely doubtful of her daughter's excuse. "And is this the same somewhere that's been keeping you so busy that you couldn't even answer your phone when I called you?"

"I know it's not super important like working as a glorified secretary or having a midlife crisis, but, yes, I have been extremely busy lately. Not only am I still getting us settled into the new house, but some of us want to be a good wife to our husbands, so I'm taking care of a lot of things for Aaron, too. Plus, Grandma Judith has been teaching me how to cook, and…"

"I have been offering to teach you how to cook for years!"

Glaring at Beth for the interruption, Kensley accused, "and maybe I just wanted to learn how to make a decent meal for my husband, not have the whole experience turned into some infuriating chemistry lesson or women's lib lecture!"

"You certainly won't have to worry about suffering through any sister suffrage talk with Phyllis Schlafly herself!"

"Just so that we have everything out on the table," Kensley warned her after positioning her purse in the crook of her arm, obviously still preparing to leave at any moment. "I've also been helping Dad out at the dealership."

"You're selling cars?"

Her daughter flushed, refusing to meet Beth's gaze. "Just… some light administrative work. He's been really swamped, and it is my family business, too, you know."

It was petty, and it wasn't something a mother should ever say to her daughter, but Beth couldn't help but snark, "now who is the glorified secretary? At least I'm assisting the director of finance at a major public research university. You're just answering phones and filing paperwork for some cheap, used car salesman."

"No. I'm supporting my Dad."

Without anything else being said between them and certainly nothing getting resolved, Kensley turned on her heel and walked away. For a brief moment, Beth debated if at least she should order something. After all, they'd taken up a table at a nice restaurant on a busy Saturday afternoon for a considerable amount of time. But she quickly decided against it, preferring to just heavily tip the waitress for her patience and the lack of an actual paying customer. The plan was always for her to head back to Rio's after lunch with Kensley, anyway. Now, if she didn't eat there, maybe they could go out and grab something together instead.

Or maybe they'd stay in… and have each other.

Either way, the faster Beth could be off of that patio, back in her car, and far away from that restaurant and her disaster of a lunch date with her daughter, the better. She'd have to try again. Kensley was her child, and Rio was now her boyfriend. One was a permanent fixture of Beth's life, and the other she was hoping might someday become permanent as well. Ideally, she'd be able to find a way for them to coexist together, but if not, she'd still need to fix things with Kensley. Beth didn't feel like she was in the wrong for dating Rio, for not wanting to reunite with her ex-husband, for wanting her daughter to have more and be more than her, but as the mother, she would apologize, and she'd never give up on Kensley… even if sometimes it seemed like Kensley had already given up on herself.

!

Wearing what was now pretty much her go-to outfit - a pair of leggings and a big, baggy sweater, Beth made her way over to where Annie and Ruby were sitting in the secondary living space, two glasses of wine in hand. The furniture was less formal, and the TV was nearby should they want to turn on Real Housewives . Beth really wasn't in the mood, though, to watch other people's staged drama. These days, she had more than enough of her own thanks to her daughter.

Beth was just about to curl her legs up on the chair underneath her when she started to second guess the instinct. It would condense her middle in on itself, emphasizing the baby belly that she was intentionally trying to disguise with her shapeless clothes. So, instead, Beth had just placed her feet back on the floor, trying to slide them forward and stretch herself out in a way that could somehow be comfortable yet also look natural, when Annie caught her eye and demanded to know, "where's your drink?" Beth popped back up so that she was standing, looking around for something to busy herself with.

"Oh, we're out of bourbon," she said dismissively. There were a few of Marcus' toys sitting outside of his room, and she moved over to them. They weren't in the way or even messy, but she straightened them anyway, essentially shifting them back and forth but not actually changing their position.

"And… there's literally a fully stocked bar downstairs that you have some sort of stake in."

"You don't even have to go down to get it," Ruby joined in on the argument. "Didn't you say that Rio was getting some work done in his office?"

"Yeah, just text your boi and have him bring Mama up some booze." Annie tried to lower her voice to emulate Rio, but she actually ended up sounding more like Elvis.

"I'm fine, you guys," Beth dismissed their suggestion. She was also more than six months pregnant, so bourbon was a real no-go. "And I'm not going to bother Rio when he's busy, and I really don't even want anything."

Raising her eyebrows pointedly, Annie snarked, "well, I guess the honeymoon period is over."

Rio was actually downstairs, not because he needed to catch up on paperwork as she had told her sister and best friend, but because he couldn't be near her for more than two minutes without caressing the side of her stomach, or talking to the baby, or asking her if she needed anything. He'd gladly bring her whatever she needed or wanted or go out and get her something if they didn't already have it, but Ruby and Annie would immediately suss out that Beth was pregnant if they saw Beth and Rio interact for themselves.

Sliding over to the desk to tidy its already neat surface, Beth argued, "I'm not asking Rio to fetch bourbon for me, because I don't want any, and I don't need any. Plus, this is supposed to be a girls' night, right? The last time I checked…"

"... which was probably thirty seconds before we got here, just enough time for Beth to wash her hands first before opening the door," Annie cut into what Beth was saying.

But she ignored her and finished, "... he didn't fit the one and only parameter to secure an invitation."

Beth could feel their eyes on her as she rounded the couch and headed into the closet that she now shared with Rio. It was as neat as always, but she grabbed a stack of cashmere sweaters and just started refolding them anyway. She was tucking the arms into the body of the second sweater when Ruby raised her voice and innocently asked, "so, how far along are you?"

Beth froze. Eyes wide and mind scrambling, she searched for something to say, something to do, some kind of reaction at all besides feeling paralyzed. Fingers numb, the sweater slipped through her grip and ribboned to the hardwood floor. Beth just left it there. Acting on instinct, she reached for her cell phone tucked into the side pocket of her leggings, sending a quick text.

Beth knew, if she didn't confront her best friend's question soon, Ruby… and then Annie… would just charge into the closet after her. So, she slowly stepped back out into the open vastness of the loft, turning to face her waiting family but not advancing any closer to them. "You are pregnant, aren't you?," Ruby sought confirmation.

For the briefest of moments, Beth considered lying to her best friend. After all, she had promised Kensley that she wouldn't tell Annie and Ruby. But she wasn't announcing her pregnancy to them; she was just confirming what they already knew. Besides, it was one thing to not share their happy news; it was another thing entirely to deny her child. "How did you know?"

"Bitch, who blocked the bathroom door for you when you were throwing up every day between second and third periods?"

"But I haven't been sick, not even once," Beth argued.

"That's because you're not carrying the spawn of Deansie," Annie chimed in.

Ruby gentled her voice, smiling indulgently at Beth. "What I'm saying, Bee, is that I know you. And don't forget that I've had two babies myself. Maybe you don't have morning sickness this time, but you're not drinking, I can't remember the last time we saw you wear something that highlighted your waist, you're moving differently, and the nesting is real and getting on my last damn nerve."

"You never answered Ruby's question," Annie reminded her. "How many weeks are you?"

"We have our 28 week appointment on Friday."

"What the hell, Dude?! You're in your third trimester already!"

"Yes, Annie," Beth acknowledged with an eye roll. "I am aware of that, thank you."

"I think what she meant was why didn't you tell us, Bee?"

"Actually," Annie argued with Ruby, "what I'm wondering is if this is why you got married?"

"What the fuck kind of question is that," Rio demanded as he stepped into the loft, obviously having heard at least the last portion of their conversation.

"Well, I think it's a legitimate one, considering the timing of all this," Annie defended, shrugging her shoulders before sliding her hands into the front pockets of her denim jumpsuit.

"Nah, see, because our timing," he motioned between himself and Beth, "ain't none of your concern. For the two of you," he included Ruby in his rebuke as well, "all that matters is that I treat Elizabeth right and that she's happy."

"He does, and I am." Because they loved each other, but that special word was just for them. "But I also don't want there to be any doubt about our marriage or our baby," Beth added, looking more specifically at her sister who could be too tenacious for her own good. She'd get something in her head - it didn't matter if she was right or wrong, and she would hold onto it with both hands, never willing to concede the point. "Yes, I was already pregnant when we got married, but we had no idea. It never occurred to me to even wonder if I could be. I was twelve weeks before I even took a test."

"That's because you're as old as dirt," Annie cracked.

While Rio settled into the available chair and pulled Beth down on top of him, Ruby picked up a pillow and took a good swipe at Annie. "Excuse me, you do realize that your sister and I are the same age, right?"

Annie dodged the blow and then grabbed the pillow, holding it hostage to avoid further attacks. "Yeah… but you're, like, spiritually younger than Beth. I'm pretty sure she came out of the womb already reprimanding me."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "That's not how being the younger sister works."

"Which is exactly my point," Beth's sister threw her arms up dramatically. On their way back down to her lap, she jabbed a finger in Rio's direction. "You, don't get comfortable. This is girls' night. No schlongs allowed."

Beth and Ruby both groaned, but it was Ruby who chastised, "don't say schlong, Annie!"

Rio, however, engaged with Annie. He actually enjoyed getting her all wound up - had since the very first time they met. "What if the baby's a boy, though?"

"I mean, it can't be any bigger than a… I don't know, one of those little kid plastic lunch boxes, right? So, even if it is a boy, we're talking about a micropeen."

"Not my kid," Rio flashed a wide, cocky grin.

Annie made a retching sound, and Ruby took the opportunity to return them to their more serious conversation. "Why were you keeping it a secret, Bee? I get not saying anything until you were safely through your first trimester, but you're in your third now. Did you not think we'd be supportive? I know we ," she glared at Annie, "don't always say the right thing, but we're happy for you… I mean," Ruby started to backtrack, became nervous, "if you're happy about this?"

Clasping one of Rio's hands that were wrapped around her and her baby bump, Beth gripped him tightly, her next words for her best friend, her sister, and him. "We're ecstatic!" She laughed then, surprised to find how emotional she was, but they were joyful tears clouding her vision. It was such a relief to finally share the baby with her family as well as Rio's. "I won't lie, it was a shock at first, but never - not even for a second - have we not wanted this baby."

"So, did you just want to keep it to yourselves?" Beth could hear the skepticism covering up the hurt in her sister's voice. "Was the plan to open the door one day with a baby in your arms and cry, ' surprise!' ?"

"I told you they were gonna be pissed, Ma."

"Wait," Annie practically yelled, standing up from the couch in her agitation. "This was Beth's idea?!"

Through clenched teeth, Rio contradicted, "nah, it was Kensley's ultimatum."

"Is she uncomfortable with the two of you being pregnant at the same time," Ruby surmised. Her assumption was both accurate and just barely scratching the surface of the issues between Beth and her daughter. "It's… different," Ruby acknowledged. "And I get needing a few days to… adjust to the idea, come to terms with it, whatever. But it's been months!"

"It's… more complicated than that," Beth started to explain… only to be cut off by a ranting, pacing Annie.

"Yeah, because as I've been telling you for, like, forever, she's jealous. You went from a negative on the hotness scale, to two decades of self-imposed celibacy, and then all of a sudden you're bumping uglies with a zaddy and a daddy. She wanted that D for herself. Now, you're carrying around proof of exactly how good and how often he's been given it to you instead, and she's Smuckers… but, like, times infinity and beyond."

For several moments, the loft was completely silent. Beth could hear the traffic outside and three floors down, the hum of their refrigerator, and the creaks and moans of the old building's heating and water systems - noises that usually faded into the background. She held her breath, waiting one, two, and then three seconds to see who would explode first: Rio or Ruby.

It was her best friend. If Beth had to guess, without tilting her head back and around to catch a glimpse of Rio, her husband was probably too traumatized to react yet. "Never say any of those words ever again." Annie went to protest, but Ruby held up a warning hand and glowered towards the younger woman. "No. I will personally sew your lips together, and you know I don't have the touch with a needle that your sister does, so it'll be both painful and ugly as hell. Now, sit your ass down," Ruby finished her threat with an order, "and let Beth actually tell us what's going on." Under her breath, her best friend muttered, " Smuckers ! Now, I have to clean out my damn fridge."

With a dramatic pout, Annie all but fell down into her designated corner of the sofa. She hugged the pillow to her chest but, otherwise, didn't protest. Taking that as her cue, Beth started to talk. "Kensley is struggling with… all of it. Rio, Marcus, the baby. My marriage, her marriage. Her pregnancy, my pregnancy. She claims it's too many changes at once."

"None of that gives her the right to demand that you not tell us," Ruby waved her hand back and forth between herself and Annie, "that you're expecting. We're going to be that little girl or boy's aunts."

"I know," Beth sympathized with her best friend. "And I never would have agreed to keep quiet except Kensley's pregnancy has been… really rough."

Ruby protested further, "but what does that have to do with your pregnancy needing to be a secret?"

"She almost lost the baby."

"That's awful, Bee, but that doesn't give her permission to take away any of this experience from you."

"And name a scary complication to or an unpleasant side effect of pregnancy, and she has it." Before Ruby could object again, Beth quickly continued, "apparently, Judith talked to her for hours about the unseemliness of me and Kensley being pregnant at the same time. She told me that she couldn't handle the stress of that again - the looks, the questions, the judgment, and she asked that I not share the news of my baby with anyone that we have in common."

"Yeah, well, we're not just anyone," Annie spoke up, petulant. "We're your sisters!"

Beth had... no defense for herself. Because Annie was right. At the same time, though…. "A daughter tops a sister, every time." It was Rio who justified Beth's decisions, her actions. Even if he hated what Kensley had asked of her and disagreed with Beth acquiescing to Kensley's stipulations, he'd always have her back. "Kensley won't see Elizabeth. She won't take her calls or return her text messages. She found out the gender a few weeks ago, and she asked her father to be there. The only reason we found out was because we saw them - all three of them - afterwards. She made Elizabeth cry . The one thing that Kensley has asked of Elizabeth, though, is for her not to tell anyone about our baby. Trust me, I hate it just as much as you do. Probably more. But Elizabeth had to do what Kensley wanted of her, because that's just what Mamas do for their babies… even the grownass ones who should know fuckin' better."

"I love my niece, don't get me wrong, but the girl has way too much Boland blood poisoning her veins," Annie exclaimed.

Beth laughed, but she didn't actually agree with her sister. She actually thought that Kensley was too much like her. She was a Marks, through and through. All she wanted was the picture-perfect family: mom, dad, kid. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to get what she wanted from her own family, she went out and started to make one for herself. Kensley was smart and capable of being anything she set her mind to, but she couldn't see beyond being someone's wife and the mother of his children. Beth would have been the same way if, at eighteen and pregnant, she hadn't discovered that her own husband was cheating on her. It made Beth wonder where and when she failed her daughter and worry about what would happen to Kensley when, and not if, she discovered that there was no such thing as a perfect family.

"You know what's ironic about all of this," Ruby spoke up, pulling Beth away from her introspection. "I couldn't even tell you the last time I saw, let alone spoke, to that girl, and she's worried about me looking at her funny, because the two of you are pregnant at the same time?"

"Nah, don't let her fool ya. Kensley askin' this of Elizabeth was all about her wantin' to hurt her Moms and exert a li'l control over her and the situation. Nothin' else."

Beth didn't think he was wrong. Even knowing that, though, she still would have caved to Kensley's selfish demands. Like Rio had said, she had to.

"I don't even know when my great niece or nephew - "

"Nephew," Beth supplied for her.

Annie started again. "I don't even know when my great nephew is due. And thanks for that, by the way: 33 and already a great aunt. Way to give a girl an age complex!" To salute her own words, Annie lifted her wine and drained it.

"I'm about four weeks ahead of Kensley. I don't know the specific date, but she's due towards the end of March."

"Well, her son won't be older than her sibling. There's at least that," Annie toasted with her empty glass.

Beth would have offered her more, but Annie was driving. She loved her sister, but she really didn't want her hanging around long enough to sober up… let alone sleeping on their couch. The conversation that evening had exhausted Beth emotionally and mentally. Now, she just needed to wrap it up and send Ruby and Annie on their way, so Rio could take her to bed and thoroughly exhaust her physically as well - the complete triumvirate of enervation. Given that he was already half hard underneath her ass… and seemingly always was whenever they were near one another, she knew he would have no objections to her plan or any problems seeing it through.

"Speaking of Kensley's new sibling, do you know what you're having," Ruby asked.

Beth allowed Rio to field the question… and get in his complaints. "Man, I fucked up. I let Elizabeth bein' all sweet with my kid blind me to the fact that he would obviously side with her and not want to find out what we were havin'."

Ruby and Annie both chuckled, but it was Annie who said, "Marcus is definitely a mama's boy."

"He ain't that agreeable for his Moms; he just wants to make sure he keeps gettin' all of Elizabeth's treats."

Taking a sip of her wine, Ruby looked over the rim of her glass and teased, "I'm surprised you don't take a similar approach."

Beth didn't need to look at him to know that Rio was grinning smugly, probably even waggling his eyebrows. "But I got treats of my own, yeah?"

Annie groaned, and Ruby laughed, and Beth, if it was possible, fell even deeper into Rio's embrace. They didn't stay much longer after that, Ruby wanting to get home to her own kids and Annie taking social cues for once. While Ruby finished her wine, they talked about how Marcus was taking to the idea of becoming a big brother, how Rio's family and friends reacted when they heard the news. It was soft, and gentle, and warm, and exactly what Beth should have been experiencing with her sister and best friend for the last few months.

As they were leaving - Beth and Rio walking them to the door, Annie and Ruby both paused. Her sister and best friend exchanged a brief glance, nodded, and then turned as one to address them but especially Beth. "Congratulations… to the both of you." Ruby squeezed Beth's hand, and she smiled at Rio.

"I'm so happy for you, Sis," Annie added, practically throwing herself into Beth's arms and hugging her tightly. "Not just about the baby… but all of it. If anyone deserves to have it all, it's you."

"And don't you dare think we're not going to celebrate this properly!," Ruby warned her.

Even though Ruby and Annie were already out in the hallway at that point, Beth still called after them, "no baby shower!"

For her trouble, she received cackling.

!

"So, you received your vaccinations today, that's good. We'll perform your GBS - that's Group B Streptococcus," Dr. Smythe clarified for Rio, "at your 36 week visit. For week 30…"

"Wait, we're goin' to appointments every two weeks now? Is somethin' wrong?"

The OB-GYN didn't even look up from the notes she was making in Beth's file. "Nope. It's common procedure. And so we don't repeat this panic again in a couple of months, once Beth hits the 36 week mark, you'll be coming in for weekly checkups."

"A'ight." Despite the agreement, Rio sounded almost dubious - like he was still worried. Beth suspected that would low-key be his mood until she gave birth. "Now, what's this GBS test?"

"We'll be looking for bacterium in the intestinal and lower genital tracts. The bacterium is usually harmless for adults but can make babies seriously ill. I will swab the lower vagina and anal areas and send the swab to the lab for testing. If positive, Beth will be administered intravenous antibiotics during labor."

When Rio had no response to that, Dr. Smythe smirked, apparently enjoying being able to silence him for once. But she only allowed herself a moment to gloat. After all, she was a busy woman with a bustling practice. If she had a mother who wasn't presenting any issues with her pregnancy - and Beth wasn't, she needed to take advantage of the opportunity to get her in and out of the office, moving on to the next patient who might not be so lucky and required more of her attention. "Now, let's talk signs and symptoms of early labor, not only so that I can make note of any should Beth be experiencing them but also, Rio, so you can be on the lookout as well."

Addressing Beth, she asked, "have you experienced any contractions?"

"No. Nothing. My lower back doesn't hurt at all either, so there's no chance that I am having Braxton Hicks and just dismissing them as back pain."

"Well, if that should change, do not worry. Braxton Hicks contractions are not necessarily a bad thing. They can be uncomfortable for sure," the physician acknowledged, "but they're also the body's way of readying itself to give birth. They both tone your uterus' muscles and prepare your cervix for labor and delivery."

"If she would get 'em, is there anythin' I can do to help her through 'em?"

"Plenty," Dr. Smythe informed Rio, obviously pleased that he had asked. "This is one of those areas where, as Beth's partner, you can really be there for her. Have her change positions - lay down if she's standing, go for a walk if she's been resting. Run her a warm bath. Give her a massage. Help her practice her breathing exercises."

Beth elected not to enroll in a birthing class. She didn't recall anything that she had been taught the first time as being particularly helpful once she was actually in the hospital and pushing Kensley out of her body. But she and Rio had watched several breathing exercise videos on YouTube together, so he was aware of what Dr. Smythe was referring to. Of those helpful options for him, practicing her breathing exercises would be the last one Beth would want to try, however, because, again, they weren't actually that beneficial. Instead, Beth would probably go with the warm bath option… only she'd have Rio join her, and then he could give her a massage… of one variety or another... in the water.

"What about leaking fluids," the OB-GYN questioned.

The smirk on Rio's face gave his answer away even before he opened his mouth. "Only the good kind, yeah?"

Dr. Smythe rolled her eyes indulgently, well acquainted at that point with references to their healthy sex life. "No blood," she confirmed.

"If there was any blood, you'd already know about it, because I would've taken Elizabeth immediately to the hospital and had you paged."

"That's good; that's exactly what I would want you to do," Dr. Smythe said. "But, again, do not panic if this should happen. Spotting in the third trimester does not automatically mean trouble. Once Beth gets closer to her due date, it can actually be a sign that her labor is starting. Often mixed with mucus, this bleeding can be light enough that it's actually pink. It's called the bloody show."

"Yeah, well, we ain't nowhere near her due date."

"And there's not going to be any blood either," Beth reassured. Obviously, she couldn't promise Rio that, but she was confident in her pregnancy, and she was confident in her body's ability to carry to term without any such complications. Beth could just… feel it. She and her son or daughter were completely healthy, and Rio took amazing care of both of them.

"I have a good feeling she's going to be right about that." Dr. Smythe stood up to approach Beth. "It's still a little early, but let's check the baby's positioning while I also look at your ankles and hands for signs of swelling." While she pressed into Beth's ever growing bump, the physician asked, "have you been tracking the movements?" Speaking of which, the pressure from the OB-GYN's hands made the baby squirm around inside of Beth… like they were trying to evade the touch. It was a fanciful thought, but Beth wondered if her unborn son or daughter could sense that it wasn't its mother, father, or brother trying to feel him or her.

"Marcus is keeping a journal, and he makes me categorize every movement as either a kick, punch, flip, twist, or somersault."

"But he only lives with you guys part-time, right," Dr. Smythe asked.

"Yeah, but when he ain't there, I'm supposed to fill it out for him, and the li'l shit checks my work like I'm a deviant student, and he's the long suffering teacher or somethin'."

Dr. Smythe released a loud laugh. "That kid is awesome. I didn't deliver him, but he's still my favorite. As for this little wiggle worm," the physician indicated Belly's stomach, "it wouldn't matter if they were in position right now or not. They move before I can even finish making my notes. But that's perfectly fine at this point. We'll really start to worry about where the head is once the baby starts to drop and Beth is running out of room in there for the more complicated gymnastic combinations."

Standing up, the OB-GYN started listing off a summation of the appointment. "But no swelling, no headaches. Your weight gain and baby's fundal height measurements are exactly where we want them to be. Like usual, your very stubborn and consistent baby had a heart rate right at 140 beats per minute, and your blood pressure is better than mine, Beth, and I'm both younger than you and not pregnant. Although I think you ," Dr. Smythe glanced at Rio, "play no small part in keeping Beth calm and relaxed."

"It's a hard job, yeah, but I'm up for the challenge," Rio glibly remarked.

"And on that note, I'll see you in two weeks."