I can tell you one thing that may or may not change your life forever.
Odds are, it probably won't, but I feel you should know.
Ketchup-flavored ice cream? Surprisingly delicious. Adding some pickles on top? Even better.
I rest my back against the couch, flipping the channel on the TV--to Spongebob of course. As long as that show airs, I'll watch it, no matter what my age. I scoop up another spoonful of the ice cream, dutifully placing a small pickle on top, before shoving it in my mouth.
About eight months ago, the idea of ketchup ice cream with pickles would have appalled me. But eight months ago, I didn't get weird cravings.
I look down at my left hand, resting on my enlarged stomach. A magnificent ring sits on my finger, a diamond heart situated on brilliant gold, diamonds dotting the band.
Personally, I would have been content with something much simpler, but it was Cayton's choosing, not mine. I have yet to get the actual wedding band, due to the fact that the actual wedding hasn't happened yet.
Funny story that is. Cayton and I had a deal; after I finished school, we could finally start a family together. I wanted to be married first though. Even if our mate bond is stronger than any marriage bond, and I'm not necessarily human any longer, and weddings aren't a werewolf thing. I still wanted the wedding I dreamed of since I was little. And, Cayton being Cayton, gave me what I wanted.
Things got a little tricky when I found out I was pregnant though. I still had five months until graduation--which Cayton told me was the day he planned on proposing--and already there was a baby on the way.
He ended up asking me to marry him the day we found out. So that's how I walked across the stage to receive my diploma--five months pregnant and engaged.
We had to put the wedding off until after our little bundle of joy was born. I refused to walk down the aisle looking like an inflated marshmallow. And besides, due to me being changed, there has been some concern about both my health and the baby's, so we have to keep a close eye on it all for a while. The doctor is sure everything will be ok, but still, better safe than sorry.
Now I'm sitting at home, eight months pregnant and eating ketchup ice cream. Not the most healthy of choices, but I couldn't help my cravings. They've been strange, believe me. This is probably one of the more normal cravings.
Cayton is off in the house somewhere with Trenton, working on this so-called surprise for me.
Someone knocks on the door, and I shout for them to come in. There's no way I'm getting off this couch. That would require effort. I had always pictured pregnant women as always smiling and glowing. Which, I've concluded is nothing more than a marketing scheme to convince people to have babies so they can sell them baby clothes.
The door opens and it isn't long before two little girls come running in the room, one screaming "Aunt Macy!"
The oldest--Celene--jumps up next to me. She's nearly five years old now, and Lord help us all, an exact replica of her mother in the personality department. Her black hair is pulled up into a ponytail, and because she has an obsession with bows, she has about three clipped right above the hair tie, even though they don't match her outfit.
"Can I have some?" Celene comes right out and asks, pointing at the ice cream bowl in my hand, brown eyes looking at me as if she had to beg. I smile and shove a spoonful in her mouth.
"Me too?" Little Willow, three years old and Trenton's replica, pulls herself up on the other side.
"Anything for my favorite redhead," I say to Willow just as I hear Tami coming in. I give her a smile as I feed Willow some of the ice cream. "And how's my second favorite fire wolf?"
"Tired," she says, sitting down on the love seat and yawning. "These kids will wear you out."
"Oh they can't be that bad," I laugh sarcastically, knowing just how wild they can get. I was at Tami's house all day and night yesterday, watching the girls while her and Trenton had a night out. I ended up sleeping over, too tired by the time they came back to head home.
Celene taps my arm, holding her mouth open. Her signal for 'feed me'. And I do.
"You just wait, your kid is going to be ten times worse than you," she prophesies. I laugh at her prediction. My mother always said stuff like that when I acted up.
Speaking of parents, my mother and I are on smooth terms now, though there was a huge blowout when I called her for that first time after the incident. I had to come up with the most elaborate lie of my life, and still to this day she asks if they've come up with a cure yet. I had to figure out a way to explain both my extended absence and my eye color change. It was hard to believe for her, of course, but luckily the pack doctor was on my side and we convinced her eventually.
And then she was angry that I chose to stay down here, with Cayton. It took a bit, but once I showed her that I wasn't giving up my education for a boy, and that he would stand by me no matter what, she softened.
Of course, the news of my pregnancy was something she wasn't too happy about. Not that she wasn't happy for me, it was just this thing that my mother wanted me married and settled down before a baby was an option. It's all good now though.
And on the other side of the tracks, Cayton and Warren still aren't speaking. Cayton doesn't rage at the mention of his name anymore, and Alan allowed Warren and Lisa to join the Midnight Fire pack, but Cayton cut off all other ties. Lisa still keeps in contact though, and boy is she excited.
"I'm not that bad," I laugh, rubbing my hand over my stomach.
"Right," she snorts. "So, have you guys decided on a name yet?" Tami asks.
"Yep. Marshall Lee Setters." Marshall is a family name on Cayton's side--being his, Warren, and Warren's father's middle name--and something I have always liked. Yeah, Cayton didn't like the idea too much, but as I've said before, he gave me what I wanted. I know he won't admit it solely because it's a name he and Warren share, but he's actually rather happy about it.
Lee is my own Dad's middle name, and it seemed fitting enough.
"I like it," Celene says, stealing the remaining pickle. She giggles when I try to swipe it back, failing because she quickly scurries off the couch.
"I don't," Willow says, shaking her head.
"Why not?" I ask. She puts her hand on my stomach and looks up as if thinking.
"I like Bear."
I pretend to think about it, putting a finger on my chin and looking up. "You know what, I think that's a great name! But you should tell mommy and daddy to name their next baby that instead."
Both Celene and Willow look to Tami excitedly. "Absolutely not. Two of you is enough," Tami says, rubbing both of their heads. We all three whine in unison, to which Tami rolls her eyes at. I know Tami wanted to stop at one, but Trenton wanted three, so they compromised at two.
The girls settle in on either side of me, each taking turns tapping my arm and asking for ice cream, eyes glued to the TV as we all watch Spongebob together.
"I can't believe you're eating that," Tami says, wrinkling her nose as I sit down with another heaping bowl and a fresh jar of pickles.
"What baby wants, baby gets," I say, patting my stomach and shoving a huge spoonful into my mouth. As I kick my feet up on the coffee table, Celene turns to me, on her knees and bouncing.
"Oh! Mama said that Aunt Beth and Uncle Carter are coming over too! When are they coming?" she asks. I shrug my shoulders.
"I didn't know they were coming," I admit. Surely they would be bringing Eric, their four-year-old son along. I wince slightly at the chaos I know is coming. Eric is cute as a button and sweet as pie, but I swear sometimes he gets possessed by the devil himself and is a little terror. From his head to his toes, and all the way through, he is Carter's carbon copy.
"I wanna play with Eric," Celene says, sitting back down and swinging her feet. She has quite the crush on Eric, which I know Tami loves. She hardly wanted the girls to refer to Carter as uncle anyways, but through the years her, Bethany, and I have grown extremely close, so it was inevitable if Bethany was going to be Aunt.
As if hearing our thoughts, the door swings open and the three of them step in. Eric is hanging upside down, laughing loudly as Carter holds him, bouncing him slightly. "Hi!" he shouts excitedly, waving at us.
"Eric!" Both Celene and Willow shout back, abandoning their seats and running to meet them.
"Here we go," Tami mutters, looking at me with a smirk on her face.
"I didn't know you guys were coming," I say, putting my half-finished bowl of ice cream on the table. "Did I miss an important memo or something?"
Bethany, eyes bright, smiles at me as she hugs the girls. "Oh, just thought we'd pop in," she says, a mischevious look on her face. My eyes narrow as my suspicion begins growing and she continues smiling.
"Come on kids, let's go to the game room," Carter says suddenly. "We can all go play in there." He looks at both Tami and me. I start to protest, still not wanting to leave the couch, but before I can Tami is up and pulling me with her. I groan, mad that I have to be walking, but follow the mass of people nonetheless.
We enter the room, Carter holding the door for us. I'm the last one in and expect Carter to follow behind, but he just says "Have fun!" and shuts the door as soon as I'm in.
"Where's he off to?" I grumble.
"Bathroom," Bethany says at the same time that Tami says "Pack business."
I narrow my eyes once again at both of them.
"Bathroom, then pack business," Bethany clarifies.
"Wow, it's a good thing you guys aren't acting suspicious because then I might start to suspect I'm being locked in this room on purpose," I say.
"Good thing," Tami says, pulling me further into the room and onto the couch. Pry further, or accept the comfort of sitting down?
Meh, they're probably not plotting my murder, so who cares.
I hobble over to my seat, sitting down just as I remember my ice cream is still in the living room.
"Oh right, your ice cream!" Tami says. "Well, I'll go get it."
I didn't say that out loud, I think, so I'm even more suspicious.
She's out of the room before I can say anything. Typical.
"Mom said you would play video games with us," Eric says, crawling onto the couch and then making himself comfortable in my lap. It's a bit difficult with the stomach, but he doesn't care and makes himself right at home.
"Oh did she?" I say. "Did she also teach you how to play video games?"
He shakes his head, holding out a controller to me. "You do it!"
Sighing, I turn the TV and console on, instructing Eric to sit beside me. Celene and Willow both demand to play as well, so I give Celene the third controller and Willow a dead TV remote, because I don't think teaching her would go over as well, but she wants to play too.
As everyone is getting into position--Eric on one side, Celene on my other, and Willow at my feet--I hear the sound of the door opening and closing, and I'm happy to finally have my ice cream.
Except when I turn back to look, no one is there. Meaning, Bethany left the room as well.
Jerks, the whole lot of them.
I have half a mind to go find them all, thinking they probably all decided to drink and left me, the one unable to drink, to babysit. But then I look at the three kids eagerly waiting for me to show them what to do, and also the fact that I don't want to get up again and drag them all around the house, and decide to just yell at them later.
So we play for a good two hours. Well, "play." Their attention spans are small, their grasp of the concept of a controller even smaller, so it's more or less on again, off again playing of the same tutorial. I don't particularly mind, but I do have the thought that I would rather be napping now.
Finally, Bethany and Tami come back in, apologetic smiles on their faces.
"Sorry, we got lost," Tami giggles.
"My foot is going to get lost in both of your a--" the three kids look at me wide-eyed, and I stop myself as I remember the Willow-learning-her-first-curse-word incident. "Butts."
"Tell Aunt Macy goodbye girls," Tami says, ignoring my threat and holding out both her hands to her daughters, who happily oblige after giving me big hugs.
"Eric, you too sweetie," Bethany says. He looks at me, gives a quick hug, hands me the controller, and scurries over to his mom, holding his arms out for her to pick him up.
"Leaving so soon?" I ask, trying not to sound bitter.
"Don't worry, we promise to repay the favor when you finally pop that kid out," Tami says. With that, they all wave goodbye once more and head out. The silence immediately sets in, and I take a deep, relaxing breath.
"She didn't bring me my ice cream," I mutter to myself.
You don't need to be feeding our child that trash anyways, Wolfette makes herself known then.
He's not our child until you do all the diaper changes, I say.
Blocking out her opinions, I pick myself up off the couch begrudgingly and head for the door. As I pull it open and start stepping out, I come face to face with a chest. Following it up, I meet Cayton's eyes.
He smiles brightly down at me. "There you are." Nearly five years together and his smile still gets my heart racing. Despite my annoyance at the previous situation, I can't help but smile back. I immediately go in for a hug, and note he smells like wood. Like, wood dust. I catch a hint of paint of some sort as well.
"What have you been up to?" I ask, looking up and quirking an eyebrow. There's excitement in his blue eyes, and the smile never wavers.
"I told you I had a surprise for you didn't I?" he says, to which I nod. Taking a step back, he grabs my hand and beckons me to follow him without saying a word. I don't hesitate to, feeling the excitement rising in me as well.
He leads me through the house and to the stairs. Once we ascend them and hit the top, he instructs me to close my eyes. I do as he says. I feel him come behind me, and he places his hands over my eyes.
"What, don't trust me?" I ask innocently.
"I'd be stupid to," he says, knowing full well I was planning on peeking. He lightly pushes me forward, and I allow him to guide me as we begin walking down the hall. It isn't too long before we stop, and he turns me.
"Alright, open your eyes."
I do, slowly, and my eyes find a door. The same dark door that graces every room in this hallway.
"Oh...new doors?" I ask, unsure. It looks the same to me, but I can't say I've really studied the doors in this house.
"Try opening it," he advises. Oh, right...
I grab the knob, turning it slowly, creating my own dramatic suspense. As I push the door open, I don't see much at first as the light is off. I reach in and flip the switch, and I'm immediately in awe.
I look back to Cayton in disbelief, and he has the largest grin on his face I've ever seen. What was my room when I first arrived here has been completely redone. Gone are the purple walls and the fourposter bed, and in their place is baby green walls and a large, dark wood crib. The room is decorated beautifully, with murals of a cartoon forest adorning one wall, and shelves with stuffed animals and pictures spread about.
In the corner of the room is a rocking chair that matches the wood of the crib. On the opposite side of the room, a changing table and the closet next to it.
I take a step in, examing the room in wonder. It looks straight out of a catalog but still feels so perfect. I approach the crib, running my finger across the smooth wood. In the crib, the mattress is covered in a green sheet, and a small, plush wolf sits in the corner. I smile, reaching in and petting the stuffed wolf.
"How did you do all of this under my nose?" I ask though I'm sure that's where the gang disappeared to today.
"Oh, you know, you've been busy with babysitting and all," he says lightly, coming behind me and wrapping both of his arms around me, resting his hands on my stomach. I lean into him, taking in the room some more. There mobile over the crib has stars and moons hanging from it, and I give it a little twirl.
"I love it," I say, turning and lifting up on my toes to give him a gentle kiss. "He's going to love it, too."
Leaning in again, Cayton gives me a soft kiss, and it makes my stomach fill with butterflies. Still, even after all this time.
"I'm glad you like it," he says. We lapse into a momentary silence as we finish taking the room in. "Now, let's get you two something to eat."
Smiling, I take his hand in mine.
"I think I'm craving some ramen."