My stomach flutter as I watch Maya and Maddi play some kind of American football game with the men and Antonio, on the lawn below us. I kick my feet around in the clear blue swimming pool water while sipping on my third cocktail that Mrs. Devous had poured for us. "I want to have that man's babies, like you wouldn't believe." Dr. Handsy balances herself on my shoulder while she flops down next to me and Lara, humming when her feet sink into the heavenly cool water on what appears to be a severe heatwave during the late afternoon in Colorado.
"Haven't you only been together for a couple of months?" Isobel grabs hold of my thighs as she leans over me to shove Lara against the shoulder. "Like you're one to talk. You told me last night that you married your husband a full month after meeting him. Besides, with the way we haven't been able to keep our hands off each other these last few weeks, I'm kind of surprised my birth control is still working." Lara bursts out laughing with me, mumbling something about horny firefighters under her breath.
Just talking about lusting after a firefighter makes my gaze travel back to my wife a few feet away. Maya lifts Antonio over her shoulder, stretching him out so he can fly in the air above her head. "Touchdown! Touchdown. Touch! Down!" My grin splits my face at how invested my wife is in celebrating the little boy's victory. "Oh, no. Oh, no, Tono. They're taking us down." We all whoop when Maya pretends to crash her favorite tiny human into Jack's arms. The two of them grabbing hold of a leg each, shaking the laughing boy until he begs for mercy.
"I don't have anything to worry about, right? I mean, I know they're just friends, but they do look like the family from the Little House on the Prairie over there." I bump the worried surgeon with my elbow, shaking my head at how similar we actually are. "You can relax, Handsy. Those two will never bump uglies again." Lara hits me in the stomach repeatedly, clearly shocked over learning about my wife's past. I'm just glad Jack asked for permission from me to disclose our entire past to his present girlfriend, so we can talk openly about this.
She looks at me skeptically when Maya jumps onto her ex's back, holding him in a chokehold when he doesn't want to give her the ball. "Isobel, I wouldn't have agreed to use Jack Gibson as our donor if I didn't trust the two of them fully. You have nothing to worry about. I have never seen him as happy as he's been since meeting you. He won't risk it." I smirk at her as every emotion flash through her eyes as she looks between me and our significant others before she lays her head on my shoulder. "I hate that I'm starting to like you."
I kick her feet in the water, laying my head on top of hers. "You're not so bad yourself, Langley. When you're not putting the moves on my wife, that is." She pinches me in the side, before we both start tickling Lara who has just heard parts of my past for the first time, being way too nosy. When we all pull away, I throw my arm over Langley's shoulder. "For what it's worth? If someone is going to give Jack the family he's always wanted, I'm kind of happy that it will be with you." Lara coos at us, celebrating the fact that we're actually all starting to become close friends before she hints that Isobel isn't the only one who wants a firefighter's babies.
"Finally! Someone who wants to give me more grandchildren." The three of us startle away from each other when Mrs. Devous places a tray filled with snacks on the table behind us, deliberately bumping into her daughter-in-law. "Sul serio, suocera? I have already given you two. Pick on one of your own children, per favore." I smile while chewing on a carrot stick and hummus at finally hearing my fellow Italian's accent so prominent.
She's lived in America since she's been a child and even though she can speak Italian fluently, her native language sounds more foreign than when I talk English. Maya has always teased me when I'd drink a little too much or had so many back-to-back surgeries that my accent was too thick for her to understand. Seems that Lara shares in that trait after a few of her mother-in-law's cocktails. For the first time, I'm grateful that Maya will be able to communicate with me in my mother's tongue later tonight when my English runs out.
Isobel chuckles when Lara splashes water on Mrs. Devous before throwing Molly with a handful of pretzels when they don't stop teasing her. I furrow my brow when Molly keeps quiet about her and Beckett trying to have another baby, especially when the teasing turns to her. I won't pretend that I understand the relationship between the mother and daughter, but from what I've witnessed since we arrived, they seem really close. Which makes me confused as to why she's not confiding in her mother.
I would have loved nothing more than to go to my own mama for advice when I was trying to get pregnant. What I wouldn't give to have had the love and support from the woman I've thrived to be my whole life. Molly flinches as her mom makes a fuss over her struggle in trying to get all her biological children to give her more grandbabies, which makes me think I have more in common with her than I first believed. At least Maya and I stopped trying and I didn't have to deal with all that added stress on top of our new beginning.
I try to change the subject in case I'm right about the Becketts' struggle to fall pregnant, by putting the spotlight back on Lara and Langley, which Mrs. Devous eats up. The surgeon tries to wiggle herself out of the confrontation by stating that she's not even family, which leads to an even bigger argument. Molly gives me a grateful nod before Lara leans over my legs to gain Isobel's attention. "Be careful, Isobel. Mama D's cocktails led to my first pregnancy, so you might want to be watch what you drunkenly wish for around the witch."
I squeal when the older woman jumps off her chair so quickly that I can't even comprehend what's happening until my head is under water. Lara, Isobel and I all gasp for air and splutter the water out of our mouths when we stand up in the pool. When I wipe the wet strands of hair from my face, it's to see Molly high fiving her mom, bent over from laughing as hard as they are. "Don't mess with the matriarch of the family, noted." I snort on my own laugh at Isobel's dry remark, nodding my agreement when she meets my eyes.
"What are you laughing at, amica? Maya and Jack have been adopted into this family now, which means you're on Mama D's radar for grandbabies too." My mouth falls open when the older woman snaps her fingers at Lara, loving the idea she just planted in her head. I growl at Lara before lunging at her, pushing her head back under the water until she taps my hand to be let back up. She only gets to take one deep breath before Isobel tackles her too, which starts a childish battle between the three of us.
"Should we be worried?" Langley and I shoot our gazes up to see everyone who had been playing football earlier, standing on the edge of the pool with grins on their faces. "Are you going to help me?" Lara desperately looks at her husband while Isobel still has a strong grip on her ankle above her head. I lift my eyebrow to see what he's going to do before helping my coworker dunk her again, which happens a lot sooner when her husband barks out a soft laugh and shakes his head. He steals a chip from his mom, blowing his wife a kiss when we finally leave her be.
I swim over to where my own gloriously sweaty wife is standing with a towel for me. "Do you care to explain yourself, my love?" She waggles her brows in my direction when I curl my wet hands around her bare ankles, drooling over the tanned legs that stretches up to the most angelic scene above. The scorching sun being blocked by her smiling face, the rays casting a halo around her which makes me eternally grateful for her love. I say a little prayer to all the deities for their intervention to bring this angel back in my life.
Maya flexes her calves, which immediately brings my attention back to what we were talking about before I started swooning over her beauty. "Mrs. Devous started it, but Lara undoubtedly deserved swallowing some water." I shrug at Maya as Isobel talks while she swims up behind me to mirror our position with Jack. Lara splashes us with water as she makes her way over too. "Sei solo scontroso perché non fai sesso. (You're just grumpy because you're not getting any sex.)" Maya nods her head at me, giving me permission to pull the other Italian in her life's head under water again.
"Children! Children! Stop trying to drown my daughter-in-law, please. I am but a humble old lady who only ask one thing from her kids. It will only be fair..." I catch the glint in Mrs. Devous eye as she has a silent conversation with Beckett before she turns to wink at me as she takes another step closer. "...if all my children get the same treatment." With the nod of her head, Isobel and I tuck on Maya and Jack's ankles, closing our eyes as they dive into the pool over our heads.
In the same moment, Beckett tackles his wife and brother-in-law into the water too. Isobel and I cling to each other to prevent the retribution of our actions when Maya and Jack resurface with murderous looks on their faces. Unfortunately, our attempt is futile when we both get thrown over a shoulder, squealing before we crash back into the water. My wife sneaks in behind me when I come back up for air, looking around her to make sure everyone else is preoccupied.
"There are so many more enjoyable ways for us both to get me wet, babe. Dragging me into a pool with so many people around may not have been your best technique." My legs turn to jelly when Maya whispers in my ear, nibbling on my earlobe when she feels the shiver run through my body. She loosens her arms around my body to make it easy for me to turn around in her embrace. "È così? Is this more what you had in mind?" I smirk at her swift intake of breath through tightly clasped lips as I wrap my legs around her waist and tuck my hands behind her head.
She pulls me closer by palming my ass before she kisses my neck. "Now this is more my style of seduction. Didn't you learn any new moves while researching your study?" I push her away slightly when Mrs. Devous grins at us from above with a knowing look. Maya gives me a questioning look, which I shake my head at. "I'll tell you later." I peck her pouting lips but deepen the kiss when an involuntary moan escapes the back of her throat. We only pull apart when another splash sounds next to us. "And my job here is done. I'm going to finish dinner, so enjoy your swim before we eat."
Mrs. Devous runs into her husband's arms after just pushing poor Maddi into the pool with the rest of us, unceremoniously baptizing us all as her kids. "Catch me, daddy!" Antonio squeals before jumping into his father's arms, not wanting to miss out on the fun. I adore how in love the older couple still clearly are with each other as they walk back into the house, tucked against each other's side. That's the future I've envisioned with Maya since the day we said I love you and sometimes I still can't believe that we're back on track to get there.
I swoon when my wife molds herself against my back while joking with her friends and finishing the drink Molly got everyone. She whispers words of affirmation into my ear every time I run my fingertips over her black silicone wedding ring. I only let her untangle herself from me when Antonio becomes fussy and my beautiful wife volunteers to take him inside. "Can Calina come, mommy? She not seen my new toys." I run my hands through her hair when she looks highly offended by being asked to stay back. "I want to talk to Molly about something anyway, bene?"
She reluctantly lifts Antonio out of the water but whistles quietly when I climb out myself. "Molto bene." The smile she gives me before swimming back to her friends makes me blush crimson, to the amusement of Molly. "If you two keep staring at each other like that for too long, my mom might just get her wish after all." I shake my head at Molly but can't seem to take my eyes off Maya's as I walk backwards into the house, almost tripping over the step before I turn around away from her.
"I need to convince her to give my ring back first. I think she's holding it hostage until we're both ready to...knock toes again?" I throw my hands up in the air in exasperation of my uncooperative mind when trying to recall the correct English idioms. Both Antonio and his mom looks down at my feet with confusion edged on their faces, until I meet Molly's gaze with a naughty wink. "Oh yeah, Sean told me you guys weren't knocking boots yet." I snap my fingers at her rewarding me with the correct use of the words.
Molly smirks when she points at my left hand, to where my ring finger is still bare. "Oh, my mom will be thrilled to hear that there's a reason you're not wearing it. It's the first thing she picked up on when she met you. Thought you were just stringing her new daughter along for a good time." She starts laughing when I give her a freaked-out look, thinking I made a bad impression on Maya's newfound family. "Don't worry. Lara and I had your back." I throw my arm around her in a loose embrace, not expecting them to be on my side.
"We figured you were waiting to move back in together before wearing it again or something equally sappy. It's clear you both are completely smitten with each other, but I have to say, I love that Bish is making you work for it." Antonio grabs one of our hands each, trying his very best to drag us up the stairs to his parents' room. I gladly carry the little boy up the last few stairs when he starts stomping his feet since we aren't moving fast enough for him.
His mom cracks up laughing when she enters the room to her son running around with his pants off, throwing a tantrum in front of the shower because he can't get the wet shirt over his head. "Antonio Georgios Beckett! If you stomp your foot one more time, I will give you a reason to cry." He stops crying immediately when Molly gives him an intimidating glare that only a mother can perfect. "Pwease?" I watch the cute interaction between the two of them, grinning the entire time Molly stares him down.
She pulls on the shower faucet and waves her hand under the stream until she's happy with the temperature. I smile down at the blond-haired boy when he accidentally bumps into me, his face now covered by the stuck shirt. "Auntie Caline, pwease!" I take the ends of his shirt and pull it over his head in one hard tuck. He lifts his arms over his head, celebrating his freedom with a high-pitched cheer while jumping up and down. "Come on, kangaroo. In the shower you go."
Antonio sprints to his mom but very carefully puts one foot under the stream before he tells his mom to cool it down a little more. She lifts him in completely after he's satisfied with the temperature, scrunching baby soap into a loofah while the boy patiently waits for her. "Sit down when you wash your feet, please." He pulls an inflatable ring closer and falls into it with his feet up. We all laugh when his mom grabs a foot to tickle, before washing it for him. She gives his big toe a nibble before helping him back up so he can continue playing in the shower.
"Your enisi is almost done with dinner, buddy. We can play games again tomorrow, okay?" He pouts at his mom, letting the toy plane he's been playing with, fall at his side. I give Molly a pleading look when his lower lip starts trembling and I can see that she's not as immune to it either. "You are worse than your wife, you know that?" She rolls her eyes when I point at her sad son like I don't have a choice in the matter. "Fine. Five more minutes, Tono, but then I get to wash your hair."
I have to roll my lips back between my teeth when his head flips in my direction, glaring at me like I just done him the worst injustice. "Get one prez?" Now I also have an angry mother glaring at me with an identical scowl. I throw my hands up in self-defense, not understanding why I'm being blamed for something without saying a single word. "This, this only started since spending time with your wife. He has her wrapped around his little finger and now he thinks he can get away with it at home too."
Molly holds out the shampoo bottle and face cloth at him, not backing down. "You want me to call your enisi?" I snort on another laugh when he begrudgingly grabs the face cloth and presses it against his eyes to prevent the soap from burning them. "Mama, one. Bambino, zero." The petite woman smirks at me while she squirts a dollop of shampoo in her palm. "Hai dannatamente ragione. (You are damn right.)" I sit down on the edge of the bathtub while Molly scrubs at an irritated Antonio's hair, not wanting to break her concentration.
"You know if you had two, they could keep each other occupied, right?" I try to start the conversation as subtly as possible. "You are worse than my mitéra." She tilts her head to look at me, smiling when she meets my eyes. She tells her son to tilt his head back for the rinse before she sighs in my direction. "I know you know we're trying, okay? I stopped taking the pill months ago, but don't really keep track of when and where we do it. If it's meant to be, it will." You don't have to be a behavioral psychiatrist to know there's more to it than that.
If only it were so simple for two women, then my chances of getting pregnant would have been exponentially higher with the amount of sex we had before I got my green card. It would have been perfect to have a baby that shared both our genes. Holding a baby with those electric blue eyes and Maya's blinding smile, paired with the beauty mark I inherited from my mama and my fratello's nose. Knowing they will be just like their mom with her spontaneity and compassion, and maybe make me laugh like Andrea used to when he was a child.
"Maya and I went through five donor inseminations without a single plus sign on a pregnancy test." Molly walks over after handing Tono back his plane, to sit next to me on the edge of the tub while pulling me into a side hug. "Maya told me you tried before everything happened, but she never went into detail about it. I'm so sorry." I lift my eyes to the ceiling, holding back the tears her words bring forth. "I never wanted..." She stops talking to watch her son draw shapes in Beckett's shaving cream against the wall, making sure he's not paying us any attention.
"K.I.D.S. Especially not with Sean. He was just my brother's best friend who I had the biggest crush on. I was warned off so many times that I never saw a future with him. But then my brother got hurt, and I instantly became a mom and my view of the world changed. Sean was demolished by Jason's death, but he still somehow found time to treat me like I was a precious jewel and he always made time for Tono. When I came this close to losing custody, Sean stepped up and married me without a moment of doubt and has been a parent to him ever since. Even when we broke up and got back together, he never stopped loving us."
She tilts her head to the bedroom, where we can get dressed in the dry clothes we got before joining her son in the room. We turn our backs to each other but let the conversation continue. "He came to me after a member of his team died, Miller, I think, and we started connecting like never before. I saw how much my son loved his dad and I finally allowed Sean back into our lives for good. And since moving here and having a less stressful job, we've become borderline obsessed with each other."
I pull my shirt on over my head and bra and turn around when I hear her lean against the dresser. "He stopped using con-, protection, and I wasn't too strung out about taking my pill religiously either. We never even had a scare, and now that we're trying..." I take the spot next to her against the dresser before I take her hand in mine, silently thanking her in confiding in me as much as she has. "You won't be the first woman to have trouble conceiving naturally. What does your OB have to say?" Her eyes quickly drop down to her knees, but not before I see the guilty look in them.
"Molly...you have discussed this with your OB, right? They can rule out any serious health issues and give you advice to better your chances. I give my patients dietary assistance, positions to try, yoga techniques to help them relax. The possibilities are endless before we refer someone to a fertility doctor." She still doesn't look at me but lifts her head enough to keep an eye on her son. "I don't want to talk about it, Carina. What if they tell me it's me?" Molly jerks upright like admitting that much physically pains her.
She shakes her head and walks back into the bathroom to help Antonio out of the shower before folding him up in a towel. "Madsi said she got me pjs?" I fall into step behind them, pinching his cheeks that's peeking out over his mama's shoulders. Molly asks me to pass her the lotion from the dresser while she takes out a London Olympics t-shirt from a gift bag, which looks pretty worn. "Early birthday present from Maddi so he can be just like his favorite aunt." Antonio slaps his mom's hands away so he can put his own undies and boxer shorts on before he tugs the shirt out of her hands.
"Look Auntie Calina! It's Bishy's pjs." He places it over his puffed-out chest, acting like the second-hand shirt is the best gift he's ever received. "I have a feeling I'm going to have to wash this shirt with him in it over the next few weeks." Molly taps on the corner of the bed to get Antonio to jump closer to her so she can help slip his arm through the sleeves since he keeps trying to push his head through the small opening. "You're going to have to let your mom wash it, bambino. Maya won't even let me sleep in her bed if I don't have on clean pjs."
Molly barks out laughing when he curls himself into a ball on the bed, whimpering at the prospect of having to take the shirt off at some point. She snuggles into him, sniffing at his clean skin before tickling him. "Have you talked to your mom at least? Maybe she had difficulty too-?" She shakes her head before I can finish my question, rubbing her son's back to try and calm him down. "She got pregnant the night she lost her virginity and my siblings have been popping them out like it's no one's business, which makes me feel kind of like a failure for admitting that I have problems."
Molly taps Tono on his butt before instructing him to get up and clean his toys out of the shower before his dad has to take one himself, giving us a minute of privacy. "There are tests, Molly. Fertility clinics. You have options." I offer to give her some names and numbers, but she keeps shaking her head. "Bene, bene. Come past the hospital in the week, I'll have my fellow look you over, run all the tests. Make sure you have a clean bill of health." She tells me that she'll think about it, but I can see how uncomfortable she is with the idea of finding out the truth.
"I never wanted kids either, you know. My ex before Maya, had a daughter and it completely threw a spanner in the works for what I envisioned my life to be. Which led to a few fights in our relationship and compromises from both our sides to keep making it work, but in the end, she had to choose her daughter's happiness." Molly sits down on the foot of the bed, having her interest piqued. "Did you try fighting for her?" I pull the chair away from the vanity set, to take a seat in front of her. "She had to do what was right for her kid, no matter how much it hurt me."
Antonio yells at his mom, asking her if he is allowed to put water into his toy fire hydrant. She replies yes, seeing how it will keep him busy for a while. "Did you love her?" Molly shakes out the towel her son was wrapped up in, before she starts taking articles of clothing out of the suitcases. "I thought I did." She stops folding a shirt before she rumples it up on her lap so she can give me her full attention. "I used to fall in love so easily, or at least that's what I believed. But I never felt like I belonged with someone until I fell for Maya."
The lopsided grin on her face makes me roll my eyes, knowing how cheesy it sounds. "Being with her made me want things I never even considered before. Marriage, kids, a family. I finally had a home and I wanted to fill it. The happiest day of my life was when Maya looked over at me and whispered that she was ready to have a baby. Then one negative result turned into two, then four, then more and I felt like I was failing her at every turn." The skin under Molly's eye twitches and I can see that she has been feeling the same way.
"I was the one who wanted kids. She told me time after time how she wasn't ready and didn't think she could be a parent. I begged her to change her mind, convinced her to want what I want and then I couldn't even deliver." My voice breaks on the guilt I felt back then, before anger fills me again as I think of what happened with Maya while we were trying to get pregnant. "I felt so isolated by keeping it all to myself. I was so scared that she'll change her mind if I confided in her. Maya didn't do failure and the fact that she didn't have control over my uterus only added to my uncertainty over us."
I need to keep my hands busy as a ball of shame gets lodged in my throat, making the tears burn the back of my eyes and my voice turn thick. "Sean has been trying to play it off, telling me that making the baby is the fun part, but I can see the light in his eyes dim every time I pee on a stick and it's not what we want. Tono is my blood, he will always be a part of me, which makes me want the same for my husband." Molly's breath also catches as she tries to fight her own tears, which makes me get up and sit next to her on the bed.
I throw my arm over her shoulders, pulling her into a side hug. "Don't get me wrong, we love Tono like he's our own and he will always be our oldest. But I want to carry Sean's baby. I want to hold what we made out of love in my arms and raise it according to our shared values and beliefs. I want my son to have the sibling bond that I have with mine, to never be alone like Sean had to be. I just wish every time I show pregnancy symptoms and it turns out to be nothing, it didn't put so much strain on our relationship."
She shakes her head and pulls out of my hug so she can get up and start moving around again, putting clothes away in the drawers of the dresser. "I'm sorry. I don't have to explain any of this to you, do I?" I start folding the last of the clothes and hand it to her to put away. "You and Beckett have each other. Maya and I had a pact that we'd take the pregnancy tests together, but I had to deal with the results on my own because she checked out. After the second test, she would hug me for a few seconds while I cried, offered to pick up another sample and then went for a run. I felt so alone, knowing that me and our potential baby didn't mean as much to her as her job did."
Molly starts picking up the toys scattered around the room, scolding Antonio when she sees the state of the bathroom. She ignores him while he throws another tantrum, staring him down until he picks up one toy after the other, throwing it into a crate with a lot of huffing and puffing. "You said you felt? As in, you feel differently now? Because you know you're Maya's priority, right?" I smile at her when she completely ignores the little stomping feet moving up and down between us.
"When we started talking again after she asked for a divorce, she began confiding in me about things she never would have if she wasn't trying to push me away. I was under the impression that she didn't care, but it turns out that she was reading studies because she was afraid that her behavior was hindering my chances of getting pregnant. My negative results were a blessing in disguise for her, not because she changed her mind, but because she thought she was turning into her dad. Looking back on it now, I really wanted a child but I can see now that neither of us were ready."
She apologizes for her kid interrupting us again, shushing him and pointing towards me. "I'm talking to auntie Carina, buddy." He glares at her, before his bottom lip starts trembling again. "Empty your fire hydrant in the bathtub please, then we can go eat and put you to bed. You are way past tired, darling." She crouches down, rubbing her hands up and down his arms before kissing his cheek. "I'll ask Bishy if she can come draw a dream with you, okay?" He hugs his mom tightly before he sniffs away his tears and runs into the bathroom again.
"Maya may have had a point. I've selfishly been waiting this long to have a baby with Sean too, because he hadn't dealt with his past yet. We both know Maya is as far from abusive as possible, but can you imagine getting a positive result while she was still trapped in the clouds? I know she's in a much better place now. Who knows, maybe we can take mommy and me classes together." She winks at me when her son proudly throws his last toy in the crate before running into his mom's arms.
She kisses his cheeks, tickling his sides when he asks for her phone. I join in on the tickles when his mom says no, and he asks which games I have on my phone. Molly meets my eyes over his head, tilting her head at my silence. "I knew things were going to be different now that we're back together. I've made peace with not having kids with my wife. That compromises and sacrifices will have to be made for us to get here. I'm okay with my choices. I'm happy just having my wife back."
I rub Antonio's back over his new favorite shirt, smiling at the unconditional love shining through Molly's eyes while she kisses the top of his head. "Maybe Bish just needed to work on her own past too. I can only imagine the pain you endured while she was trapped in her mind, Carina. How unbearable it must have been to deal with it alone. But what if it all happened exactly as it should have? Do you think Maya would have made this much progress if she didn't lose you, if she didn't have to interact with Tono. Maybe you guys are finally the right person at the right time."
We walk out the bedroom together when Mrs. Devous calls for everyone to come eat dinner. Molly stops me at the landing of the stairs with a hand to my back. "Don't let go of your dreams just yet, Carina. Don't lose faith in Maya. In the hope that you can still have the future you envisioned when you first fell in love with her. I can see it in your eyes. I have the same one when I watch Antonio and Sean together. You may be okay with not having kids with your wife, but it doesn't mean you stopped wanting that family you dreamt of."
Maya walks around the corner, clearly on her way to come look for me. Molly sneaks an elbow into my side when she sees where my attention has gone. I smile at how happy my wife is when our eyes meet, opening my arms for her to slip into my embrace. "You guys were gone far too long." We all laugh when she covers Tono's eyes to give me a big smooch before stealing the boy from his mom's arms. "Bishy! Bishy! Look what Maddi got me!" He wiggles out of her arms so he can show off his shirt to everyone in the room.
I rub circles over my wife's back when her eyesmist over as she meets the teenager's grin. "I know my mom told you howobsessed I was with you. I spent all my savings and had to do extra chores formonths to be able to afford that shirt. When I became too big for it, I justkept it close by. Thought it was time it went to someone who idolizes you asmuch as I do." A sob escapes Maya's lips before she rushes to Maddi to pull herinto a crushing hug, making my ovaries call out her name. I ignore Molly's knowingsmile when she bumps my shoulder with hers before we all sit down for dinner.