Picturing Perfect (31 page)

"Oh really?" he asked, putting his Kindle on the end table.

"Absolutely." I nodded, looking him dead in the eye. There was no room for doubt. He had to know that my conflict had nothing to do with him.

"I know ours isn't exactly the most traditional of scenarios," Jason said, leaning his elbow on the back of the couch and staring me in the eyes, "but I'm ready when you are. And if you aren't ready, then we'll be more careful next time. I don't want to confuse him."

"Me neither," I said, looking over at my boy, just as he smacked an elephant upside the head. Jason took my hand in his and kissed the back of it.

"I'll follow your lead."

"Hey, little guy. You're a droolin' mess."

Marty's bib was soaked completely through. Spit poured from his little mouth. Poor guy. Quickly, I grabbed a fresh bib from the kitchen and placed Marty in my lap. He'd been doing this for over a month. His pediatrician said that he was teething, but there was no sign of teeth. He'd been so miserable the past few weeks—crying uncontrollably and waking up during the night when he used to sleep for ten hours straight.

A year or so ago, the thought of having a baby drool on my arm would've grossed me out. I'm not gonna lie. But, now, as I felt Marty's drool spilling off the side of my wrist, I had to laugh. I'd changed enough diapers in the last few months that a little bit of spit didn't scare me away.

Marty smiled wide as I snapped the new bib around his neck. That grin got me every time. It was impossible not to return a smile from a baby…especially one as cute as
this
baby.
This
baby made me laugh so hard sometimes I snorted. Which was really embarrassing when I did it in front of Haddie. But, I couldn't help it. He was hilarious and he had the biggest smile on the planet.

"Wait, hold up," I said, looking back into Marty's mouth as he smiled. A tiny hint of white was poking out from his gums. "Haddie, c'mere. I think he has a tooth!"

"Seriously?" Haddie called from the washroom where she was applying her makeup. She jogged into the room and looked at her smiling boy. He giggled when his mommy smiled at him, revealing the little tooth making its way through his bright pink gums.

"Did you see it?" I asked in excitement.

"I did," Haddie said, taking Marty in her arms and placing a kiss on his forehead. "You have your first tooth, sweet pea."

Taking in the sight of Haddie, I felt like a teenager all over again. She was stunning, wearing a new sweater dress and leggings. Her hair cascaded past her shoulders in loose waves. Her lips were deep ruby red and her eyes were smoky gray. I'd never seen her look like this. She didn't look like a young mother. She looked like a seductress…and I couldn't stop staring. We were going out tonight while Auden watched the baby.

"What?" she asked when she saw my eyes hadn't left her since she took Marty from my arms.

"You look…gorgeous," I responded, gesturing to her. The apples of her cheeks turned pink as she saw just how taken with her I was. She smoothed down the wool of her dress with one hand as she swayed back and forth with Marty. He reached back for me. Haddie pretended to be irritated.

"You fickle little boy," she said with a tsk. "I have to finish my makeup anyway. Auden will be here any minute." She kissed him on the forehead as she walked back to the bathroom.

Marty and I headed back to the carpet to practice stacking his plastic pots and pans. He was getting pretty good at it. Such a smart kid. Just a few weeks ago, he could barely sit up on his own. But, this week, he was sitting up all the time and stacking toys. Soon, Haddie said, he would be crawling. Something about the way he rocked back and forth and pushed up with his arms while playing on his stomach.

Each time he stacked the pans, they sang to him and he cracked up. It was hilarious. Just as he placed the top on the pans, Auden let herself in.

"Sorry I'm late. Forgot I needed to pick up dinner." She rolled her eyes as she placed a fast food bag on the counter.

"No worries. Haddie's still getting ready."

"Where are you crazy love birds off to?" Auden teased as she shoveled several fries into her mouth.

"We're meeting a couple of my friends for dinner and drinks."

"The photographer and her husband?" Auden asked between bites of her hamburger.

"Kate and Evan." I nodded.

"Sounds exciting." Auden winked as she sipped her drink. For some reason, Auden had always assumed my friends were boring. Even back in school. I'd never been as much of a free spirit as she was, I guess. But, I thought it was funny that she assumed her big brother was dull as hell…even when I was dating her best friend. Whatever.

Haddie joined us, looking even more beautiful than she did a few minutes ago. I had no idea what she did, but my mouth was agape as she walked past me to hug my sister and fill her in on Marty's schedule for the night. Auden listened attentively as she continued to shovel her dinner into her mouth. I spent my last couple minutes stacking pans with the little guy as the two women talked and laughed.

"Ready, Jase?" Haddie asked as she knelt down to hug and kiss her boy.

"Yep, see ya, kiddo." After a quick kiss on top of his head, I followed Haddie out the door, saying goodbye to Auden as she joined Marty on the carpet.

"She's amazing," Haddie said as she zipped up her jacket.

"Yeah, sometimes." I couldn't help smirking when my sister was mentioned. She'd always been a royal pain in my ass. Sometimes, even though I saw Haddie as a grown up woman, it was hard for me to see Auden in the same way. Our dynamic hadn't changed too much since we were kids. And I wondered if it ever would.

An hour drive into downtown Chicago and we arrived at Greek Islands, one of the places Kate had been pressuring us to try. I'd never been a huge fan of Greek food, but Haddie loved it, so I was more than prepared to take one for the team.

"Maxwell, party of four," I said to the lovely woman in her late sixties who stood behind the hostess counter.

"Oh yes," she said, glancing down at her reservation booklet. "The rest of your party just arrived. Follow me, please."

I had to hand it to the owner of the restaurant. The ambiance of the place was awesome. Rustic and European wall coverings, authentic wooden chairs that looked like they were taken directly from a restaurant my family once visited in Mykonos. I hadn't been there since I was twelve, but I honestly felt like I'd been transported as we walked to our table.

Evan and Kate greeted us with smiles and hugs as we arrived at the table. Everyone settled in and Evan ordered a bottle of red wine as we inspected the menu. Immediately, Kate asked if we had pictures of the baby. Giddily, Haddie dug into her purse and retrieved her latest order from the one-hour photo place.

Kate smiled wide as she flipped through the pictures of Marty sleeping, playing, eating and, of course, drooling like crazy.

"He…uh, has a lot of, um…" Kate said as she stared down at a picture of Marty and his soaked bib.

"Drool?" I laughed. She nodded, scrunching her lips and wide-eyed.

"I know absolutely nothing about babies." Kate smiled behind clenched teeth, embarrassed. But, there was something more to her expression. Something I was unable to put my finger on.

"He's teething," Haddie said.

"That sounds like fun," Evan joked as he shifted in his seat.

"It's brutal, man. The poor guy is always in pain. And let me tell you, that goo that's supposed to numb the gums only works for about three minutes."

"And you know this because?" Evan pressed me.

"He tried it," Haddie said, looking at me with pride.

"I wanted to see if it helped him." I shrugged. "No better way than to try it myself."

"And?" Kate asked, all smiles.

"And, it wore off…way too fast. Those commercials are a lie."

"I knew you'd be a natural," Kate said softly, almost to herself. But, I heard her and that compliment was one of the best I'd ever received. I always knew I wanted to be a father and I'd always liked kids. I just never
really
thought about it until Haddie and I fell in love. And by then, I was all in. It was still nice to hear.

The table was quiet as Evan poured wine for Haddie, himself and me. Kate sipped her ice water with lemon and Haddie and I exchanged a suspicious smile. She was hiding something, and I was pretty sure I knew what it was…which would explain the sudden questions about babies. She'd always been sweet with Haddie when it came to Marty and motherhood. But, she'd never seemed as genuinely curious as she did tonight.

Once our food arrived, Evan and Kate exchanged a glance. Evan nodded his head with a lopsided grin. He took her hand and Kate's cheeks turned crimson as she wiped her mouth and cleared her throat.

"We have something to share."

"Oh?" Haddie said, placing her fork down, listening intently.

"We're going to have a baby," Kate said, smiling as she squeezed Evan's hand in her own.

"Congratulations," Haddie and I said in unison. And then she asked question after question like a giddy firing squad.

"How far along are you?"

"Fourteen weeks."

"When's your due date?"

"September 28th."

"Will you find out what you're having?"

"Absolutely. I don't like surprises," Kate said with a laugh. "Neither does Evan."

"You must be so thrilled," Haddie said, looking starry-eyed as she stared at our friends. They were married; they were settled. And we both knew they would love being parents.

"We were a
little
freaked out at first," Kate admitted, as she glanced at Evan. "We weren't exactly trying to get pregnant. It just sorta happened."

"But, it's awesome," Evan said, kissing Kate's hand.

"You'll be great, you guys. Seriously, if
we
can do this, so can you," Haddie said, looking self-conscious after saying the word "we." Our co-parenting of Marty was something we didn't really discuss. And every time I thought she knew just how happy I was in that role, she hesitated like this. Reaching my hand under the table, I gave her knee a reassuring squeeze and instantly felt her muscles relax.

"I'm sure we'll be asking a lot of questions over the next few months."

"Please do," I said with a smile. "We'll be honest…the good, the bad and the disgusting."

"Lovely," Kate said, her words laced with sarcasm, before she turned to Haddie.

"Jason told me all about your job. Do you think you'll go back?"

"I really want to," she said, her head tilted slightly to the side as if she was lost in memories. "Just not sure if I can make it work with the baby."

"That makes sense," Evan said.

"I worry about that, too," Kate said. "I love what I do, it's like it's a part of me."

"I know what you mean," Haddie said. Her face fell and I knew she was missing her clients. They were so important to her. Hell, I missed joking around with Bryce every week, how could she not miss them all?

As our dinner continued, Evan and I joked around as Haddie told Kate all about her pregnancy, birth, and first weeks home with the baby. At times, Kate stiffened up as she listened, but overall she seemed excited. And even though she was trying to resist it, I could see a change taking over in my friend, a softening of Mrs. Maxwell. She always had a tough exterior with softness under the surface, but I knew that tough exterior would crack and fall away, revealing the gentle heart of a woman who'd never been happier. And that made
me
happier than I could ever say. My friends deserved all the happiness headed their way in the months to come.