Pop reached in the box, pulling out the ultrasound photo and bringing it close to his eyes.
“What the hell is it?” Michael asked.
Ma turned the shirt around, a giant smile on her face. “Promise me you two aren’t joking?” she asked, holding the shirt in the air.
“We would never joke about that, Ma,” Suzy said, squeezing my hand and leaning into my side.
The shrill scream from my ma had me covering my ears. She hopped from her seat, coming at us quickly.
“Fuck,” Anthony said, clearly understanding the error of his previous statement.
My ma was so lost in her baby haze that she didn’t even flinch at his statement. She stopped in front of us, tears just starting to stream down her cheeks. “When?” she asked, clutching the shirt in her hand.
Suzy laughed, hopping to her feet. “August,” she said, wrapping her arms around my ma.
“Oh my God, August is so far away, but there’s so much to do,” Ma said, grabbing Suzy and squeezing her tightly.
I stood, walking toward my pop, holding out my hand. “Congrats, Grandpa,” I said, waiting for his response.
He placed his hand in mine, pulling me toward him, embracing me. “I’m proud of you, son. Damn proud. There will finally be someone to carry on the family name... about damn time.” He laughed, patting me on the back.
“Only if it’s a boy, Pop,” I said, sighing and feeling completely content.
“Look around, boys are genetic. Girls are an anomaly in this family.”
Ma grabbed me, pulling me from his arms. “And you, how could you keep this from me?”
“We wanted to be sure, Ma. Don’t be mad,” I said, kissing her cheek.
“I’m not mad. I don’t know if I’ve ever been as happy as I am right now,” she said, resting her head on my chest. “A baby, finally a baby,” she whispered, her tears soaking through my shirt.
Over my shoulder, I could see everyone surrounding Suzy. She beamed, a giant smile on her face and her cheeks slightly pink. She didn’t like attention, but she better get used to it. She’d be the center of attention until the baby arrived.
Anthony touched her stomach. “Wow, it’s going to be like the movie Alien. That’s some scary shit, Suzy.” He smiled, patting it before flailing his arms like the creature that busted out of Sigourney Weaver.
Mike batted his hands away from Suzy, “Stop it, you dumbass. You’re scaring her. Congrats, doll. I’m so excited to finally be an uncle.” He smiled at her, wrapping her into his arms, but holding her like she was breakable.
“Maybe someday Mia can be an aunt?” she asked as she pulled away to see his face.
Mike laughed, nervously looking at Mia. “We’ll see. I’m still trying to figure out if she’s ‘the one’.” He said and laughed.
Mia smacked his ass, causing a loud crack to fill the air. “You could only be so lucky,” Mia said. “Come here, Suzy, give me a hug, Mama. Are you ready for this?”
I watched my family as they showered her with love. We weren’t the main attraction anymore; the world would now revolve around the baby.
Suzy huffed out a breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She shrugged before hugging Mia.
“Congrats, Suzy,” Izzy said, pulling Mia off Suzy. “Remember, that baby better have a vagina.” Izzy poked her in the stomach and bent down next to her belly. “Hey little girl, Auntie Izzy will teach you everything you need to know about life,” Izzy said, rubbing her hand over Suzy’s stomach.
The color drained from Suzy’s face, as her eyes grew wide. “Izzy, we don’t know the sex yet, but boy or girl, they’ll be lucky to have you as an aunt.” Suzy looked at me with her eyes bulging like she was scared to death of Izzy getting her hands on our baby. There were worse things than having Izzy teaching a girl how to be strong. Izzy could be a pain in the ass, but she was a tough cookie. The man that could tame her would have to be a beast, if it was possible at all.
The End ~ For Now.