16. Derek

16

Derek

S ummer was officially over. School was back in session, Halloween was just around the corner, and the weather had already taken a turn straight into fall. This morning, the grass had been crunchy with frost, car windows glittering with silver rime, my breath billowing in a cloud with every puff.

Fannie Mae sat in the car seat beside me, her fists clenched in her lap. Her eyes darted back and forth at every passerby.

“You know, if you’re not ready, you don’t have to do this today,” I told her. The entire car stank of her anxiety.

Go home , my raccoon said. He was in full-on protective mode. His vote was to turn this car around and take her straight home, but Wink and I had both agreed that it might be time to coax her out of her little bubble. But ultimately, it was her choice. I wasn’t going to force her into anything.

“No, no. You and your elf were right,” she said, frowning. “There’s nothing to be scared of, and I know that logically. It’s just…” She tucked her hands between her knees and took a steadying breath. “No, I’ve got this.” She nodded once firmly, then reached for the door handle.

I hopped out and ran around to meet her on the sidewalk. I was going to stay by her side, no matter what. We were keeping it small today, nothing big or scary. Just a trip to The Pie Bar for a coffee and a pastry. She said she wanted to see where Wink and I worked. He was meeting us there.

When I offered my elbow, Granny smiled gratefully and hooked her hand around it, allowing me to lead her down the sidewalk toward the café.

“So this is—” My words were cut off by a giant yawn, and I held my hand up to cover my gaping mouth, halting in my tracks so I didn’t walk into anyone.

Kit , my beast said for the millionth time, as if I spoke raccoon. I rolled my eyes at him.

Granny looked up at me. “Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“No, I slept like a rock. I have all week, in fact, but it’s like I just can’t catch a break. I thought we had this whole fatigue thing figured out. Wink says I’m not sleepwalking anymore, but I’m so exhausted.” I yawned again. “Sleepwalking” was a polite way of saying being hijacked by my raccoon, but I couldn’t very well say that in town.

“And what does your… friend say about it,” she asked, meaning my raccoon.

“When I ask my little buddy what’s going on, he just keeps repeating ‘kit,’ whatever that means.” I shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal, but I felt like I was being super whiny. I hated it.

Granny looked amused though, smirking at me. “You know, I think instead of going to get coffee, we should make a stop at the pharmacy first. I assume this town has one.” She glanced around, up and down the street at the various shops.

“Um, yeah, but why do we need a pharmacy? I don’t think sleep-aids are something I’m interested in trying. I’ll just have some chamomile tea before bed or something.”

She chuckled, tugging me in the direction of the pharmacy she’d spotted. There was no sign of her nerves anymore, now that she seemed to have found a mission. “No, dear, you don’t need sleeping pills. Don’t you know what a kit is?”

“Uh, no,” I said, frowning. “Like a sewing kit? Can I get it at the pharmacy?”

She clucked her tongue at me. “A kit is what raccoons call their babies.”

“Okay, but what does that have to do with…” My words trailed off as I put two and two together.

Kit! my raccoon said again, more firmly, and I swore he was thinking, duh!

“I’m pregnant?” I whispered, leaning in so none of the locals heard me. If even one of them caught a whiff of this, the news would spread all the way to Wink back at The Pie Bar before I could tell him myself. That was just the way of small towns.

“I mean… you are mates,” she said, shrugging. “Is it really such a surprise?”

“Well, I guess not.” Wink and I had been very busy in the bedroom lately.

We slipped into the pharmacy, and Fannie only froze for a moment, caught in the glare of the fluorescent lights, before she let her curiosity get the better of her. She let me find the family planning section, while she wandered up and down the aisles, examining all the products that were brand-new to her .

After discreetly grabbing a pregnancy test, I found Granny in the snack aisle, carrying a full basket of chips, chocolates, and magazines. She waved a box at me. “What do you think of the color red?” she asked, holding the box of dye up to her silvery hair.

“I think you’ll look amazing,” I told her, kissing the top of her head.

I took her basket up to the counter, where the cashier, Sarah, greeted me. “Hey, Derek. Did you see Carter’s new motorcycle? I think he’s having a midlife crisis.”

“Mm-hm,” I hummed, waiting with bated breath while she scanned each item. But then she paused, hand on the pregnancy test, and her eyes flicked up to mine, eyebrow raised in question.

I blew out my breath in a gust. “Can you please keep it quiet for five minutes? Let me be the one to tell him,” I pleaded.

She smiled, her Cheshire grin all teeth. “You can use the staff bathroom if you want,” she offered. I noticed she hadn’t made any promises.

I slapped my credit card on the counter, grabbed the test, and ran for the bathroom. I heard Granny behind me introducing herself, keeping the girl distracted for me, as if she understood the assignment. I peed faster than I ever had in my life, and before the test had given a result, I capped it and was back out the door. I grabbed the bag in one hand, Fannie Mae’s hand in the other, and bid Sarah farewell while we ran out the door, the bell tinkling merrily. I swore I saw that girl reaching for her phone.

“Nothing travels faster than good gossip. How fast can you run?” I asked Fannie Mae, and she cackled.

“Like the wind,” she answered, hiking up her skirt.

We did the 100-meter dash back to The Pie Bar, a burst of adrenaline kicking my body into high gear. My fatigue was long gone, and my raccoon was riled up inside me, pushing me to go faster. I was impressed when my granny kept pace, the two of us bursting through the café’s door.

Wink was behind the counter when we got there, and his face lit up at the sight of me. I felt like a complete lunatic, my hair wind-whipped, my cheeks no doubt rosy from the run. “Hey, babe,” he said, just moments before I heard his phone ringing in his pocket.

When he reached for it, I shouted, “Don’t answer it!”

Behind me and off to the left, I heard more ringing and pings of texts from the customers. Leander was down at the other end of the counter pulling out his phone, and when he looked at it, his jaw dropped, head jerking in my direction. “Don’t. You. Dare,” I snapped, pointing a finger at him in lethal warning.

“What’s going—” Wink started asking, frowning.

“I’m pregnant!” I blurted before he could finish, and I heard a few disappointed grumbles as I beat everyone else to the punchline. Wink’s eyes widened, but before he could say anything, I held up a finger. “I’m probably pregnant…” I corrected, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the test I still hadn’t looked at. Three minutes must’ve passed by now.

Sure enough, two lines.

I held the test up for Wink to see, but he was already bawling, big, fat tears spilling down his cheeks stretched into the biggest smile I’d ever seen. He planted his hand on the counter and vaulted himself straight over, wrapping me up in his arms and swinging me around. “We’re gonna be dads,” he choked out, his face pressed into my neck.

I could feel my beast’s smug “I told you so,” but my absolute joy was front and center.

“Get in here, Granny,” Wink said, opening up our hug to envelop my grandmother, and it made me love him all the more that he thought to include her. She rushed in, laughing with such happiness .

Fannie Mae had thought she’d lost everything, but she was wrong. And now, she would be a part of our family and future too.