“Good idea. Ask him.” Greg makes quick work in ushering Cohen out of the room so I can continue to get ready. I am still laughing when I make my way downstairs to meet up with my boys.
It doesn’t take long to get to the restaurant. We have decided to meet up at one of the local Italian places that we all enjoy, and as normal, we are the last to arrive. One of these days, we will be first, maybe. Probably not.
When we walk in, I am immediately ambushed. I get a smile from Greg before he takes Cohen by the hand and leads him to the table. When Izzy, Dee, and Emmy finally shove me into the bathroom, the questions started flying.
“What the hell?” flies from Izzy.
“Would have been nice to get a call! Is that too much to ask?” sputters Dee.
“Did he knock you up?” Surprisingly, this comes from Emmy.
We all look over at her and I laugh when her ivory cheeks instantly flush. “What?” she whispers. “You were all thinking it too.”
I laugh outright with that comment. Truth is, this is something I knew was coming. Greg and I have already talked about what would happen if we did it. The backlash we, or rather I, will have to deal with. It looks like he was right. My girlfriends don’t like the thought that they have missed our wedding. But, I know, it’s more than that. Izzy and Greg are like family, so for us to disappear and run up to the mountains for a quick wedding with just him, Cohen, and me, well, it isn’t sitting well with Izzy.
“I’m sorry?” I offer. “Actually I’m not, but you can believe that if it makes you feel better.” They all laugh, but I can tell that Izzy is still a little sour.
“I wish I could have been there. I’m so happy for you two, but I wish I could have seen him get married.” I understand where she is coming from. And so does Greg. But, this is about us and that’s what really mattered.
“I know, Iz. I really do, but we needed this. It was something special for us. It was just a small ceremony with us and Cohen, then later we had a special day to do things our sisters and my mother would have enjoyed.” And we did. We did small things like drop feathers down one of the mountains that we hiked up, watching them as they floated away. We even found a wishing well. These little things will mean something to Cohen one day.
“So that means you aren’t knocked up?” Dee asks hopefully.
“No, I’m not knocked up.” I laugh when her face falls. “Not now, but we aren’t doing anything to prevent it. If it happens, it does. It’s just one of those things we’ve let go of the control on and now, we’re just living our lives.”
“Well, I’m happy for you,” Emmy offers and wraps her small arms around me.
“I am too. I promise. I was a little upset about it, but I understand.” Izzy smiles and her green eyes twinkle with moisture. “You’re kind of like my sister now.” She steps forward and gives me a hug. I haven’t thought about it that way, but she’s right. I think, and not for the first time in the last few months, how truly blessed I am.
“What’s your problem?” I hear Emmy ask Dee. “You’re this disappointed that she isn’t knocked up?”
She looks at us for a while, taking her time to look us all in the eye. Crazy chick really is disappointed and is doing a shit job at hiding it.
“What? So what if I’m a little upset. I was looking forward to having another baby around here now that Nate is all ‘alpha baby’.”
“What the hell is an alpha baby?” Izzy asks on a laugh.
“Uh, really? He is constantly saying ‘mine’. But does he say it about normal things a one year old would claim? Noooo, not Axel Reid’s baby. His baby claims boobs, Izzy. I took him with me to the mall the other day, and when we ran into Victoria’s Secret to get some new boyshorts, because hey, they were on sale so why not? Anyway, we walk in and he starts pointing to every mannequin, every sales lady’s chest. Then when I’m checking out, he pulls my top down and screams ‘mine’. You have issues with that boy if he is already chasing tits at one.”
Before she is even halfway through her story, we’re all wiping the tears away and laughing like loons. Jesus, sometimes the things that come out of her mouth are just unbelievable.
“Did you ever think that maybe he was just hungry?” Izzy asks. Like just the thought of her breast fed child being hungry might not even be on Dee’s radar.
“No. I didn’t, because it’s just weird you are still breastfeeding and your child has teeth. What if he bites off your nipple?”
“You’re serious?” Emmy says in shock.
“Hell yes, I am. When I have kids, there is no way they are coming anywhere near my girls with teeth. No way.”
“You’re ridiculous, it’s good for him. And seriously, Dee, I had them pierced. Do you really think a nip here and there is going to bother these milk machines?” I can tell that Izzy is starting to get upset. This is a debate we have constantly, ‘we’ being Dee against us. There is just no turning her around on that whole teeth and nipples thing.