3. Jayne

Midnight, 3 a.m., and sometimes five in the morning. Those were generally the times I woke up to use the bathroom. As my eyes opened, I reluctantly glanced at the clock—3:03 a.m. I was nothing if not consistent. I hauled myself out of bed, but in respect for Sin, who was snoring softly, I went out to the powder room in the main area of the RV, closing the sliding bedroom door behind me.

There was no reason for both of us to be awake.

Spider, helpful as ever, trudged after me into the bathroom. His little eyes were half-closed.

"Go back to bed, you silly thing."

"Spider stay with Mama." He yawned. A car went by on the street. My curious nature made me wonder if they were coming home or headed out.

Spider rubbed against my legs, reminding me he was still there and still available for pets and loves and whatever else I might want to give him.

I scratched him, but that was the extent of it. "You're not getting treats."

"Spider loves Mama."

"And Mama loves Spider, but it's bedtime, not treat time." Another car went by, this one slower.

He sat down, licked one paw, and pretended he hadn't heard me. I flushed, washed my hands, and went out to the living area. It was as dark as the inside of a yeti, so I shuffled my feet. I did not want to stub a toe.

Even though my bladder was the reason I was up, I was craving a Dr Pepper. As quietly as possible, I opened the fridge and grabbed one from my dwindling supply of caffeine-free bottles, then took it to the cockpit to sit and drink it. Why not? I was going to be up again in a few hours anyway.

Sin had closed all the blinds, but staring at them wasn't doing much for me, so I opened the ones covering the windshield. Wasn't the most interesting view, but looking at Matt's house was better than looking at nothing.

The Dr Pepper went down cold and sweet, the familiar flavor hitting the spot. Spider climbed into my lap.

"Mama not sleeping."

I petted his soft head. "No, but I will be again very soon." I hoped. So far, insomnia had not been one of my pregnancy symptoms, but anything was possible.

A lot of the lights at Matt's were off, leaving the house mostly dark while the landscaping around it was illuminated. I loved the big trees dripping in Spanish moss. It was so atmospheric. I took it all in, trying to imprint the scene on my mind.

Once we got back to the North Pole, it was going to be nothing but snow for a long time. I figured we'd be up there about six months, minimum. Maybe longer. Really depended on how things went and how well we thought Jack Jr. would do traveling.

Which reminded me that we had yet to put a plan in place for him in the RV. Not really something I had to worry about, as my dad and uncle had promised to get the transportation department working on that.

My craving for Dr Pepper had pretty much been satisfied. I screwed the cap back on the half-full bottle and was about to move Spider when a light came on in the house. It was upstairs and in one of the rear rooms, visible because the RV was parked on the far side of the driveway at the corner of the house, giving me a view of the front, the side, and part of the backyard.

Instead of moving, I took the cap off my soda and had another sip. Spider had already fallen back to sleep so soundly he wasn't even purring. What a life that silly noodle had.

I watched the window. A shadow moved through the light, but I couldn't see much more. Had to be Matt. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who got up in the middle of the night.

A shadow moved through the light again, and the light stayed on until the Dr Pepper was nearly gone. Maybe six or seven minutes. When it went off, I blinked, having lost a little of my night vision from staring at it. I really needed to go back to bed.

I scooped Spider up, left the bottle on the counter next to the sink, and carefully made my way to the bedroom.

Sin was still snoring. I set Spider on the bed and got under the covers. I thought I'd have a hard time going back to sleep, but the next thing I knew, I could smell coffee and hear the shower running.

I looked over to Sin's side of the bed, and sure enough, he was up. It was 6 a.m. Way too early to be awake, but my bladder was screaming at me. No surprise there.

I went back to the powder room again so I wouldn't interrupt his shower. No Spider this time because he was too busy eating the breakfast Sin had put out for the cats.

As I was headed back to bed, Sin came out of the bathroom in a cloud of steam, wearing nothing but a towel and few drops of water. A new sudden craving hit me that had nothing to do with Dr Pepper.

"Morning," he said with a smile.

"Morning to you." He was so pretty.

"Did I wake you? I didn't mean to."

"No, my bladder did."

"You can sleep a little more if you want."

I kind of did, but maybe staying up was better. I took a few steps toward him, close enough to touch him. I traced one of the water droplets down his chest. "Are you coming back to bed?"

He grinned. "Do you want me to?"

"What do you think?"

He came back to bed.

I made it into the shower sometime later. The hot water felt good, and the fruity scent of my shampoo put a smile on my face. Okay, a bigger smile than the one Sin had put there. I had no complaints about anything. Not even about the tiny stretch marks that had started appearing on my belly.

I dressed in black leggings, a black-and-white striped maternity T-shirt, and a plum-colored cardigan with my black ballet flats. It was May, but the heat had yet to hit. I asked Sin to text Matt and tell him we were just about ready for breakfast. By the time my hair was dry and I'd put a little makeup on, I was on the edge of starving.

I went out to see what Sin was up to. He was sitting at the table, having a cup of coffee and reading the paper on his tablet. "What time are we going to breakfast?"

"As soon as you're ready. Matt said just text him again and he'll bring the car up."

I glanced toward the windows. "Is there enough room for him to get by us?"

"Should be," Sin said. "I pulled the RV over to the right as much as the driveway would allow."

"Well, go ahead and text him. I'm starving."

Sin smiled as he got his phone out. "On it."

Matt's dark blue Jaguar SUV was beside the RV in a matter of minutes. He hopped out of the car and opened the front passenger door for me, but I shook my head. "I want to sit in the back, if you don't mind. More room to stretch out."

"Whatever you want," Matt said.

I figured the men could talk more easily that way.

"Hungry?" he asked.

Sin laughed.

I poked my husband in the ribs before getting in the SUV. "I'm starving," I answered. "Does this place have pancakes? I really like pancakes."

"Oh," Matt said with a chuckle in his voice. "They have pancakes." He got in, put his seatbelt on, and shifted into Drive.

We weren't in the car long before Matt was parking. We got out and followed him. I could see a sign not too far ahead.

"Is that where we're going?" I asked.

He nodded. "The Ruby Slipper is, in my opinion, one of the best places in town to eat breakfast. You won't be disappointed. And if you are, then we'll just agree to disagree." He opened the door and held it for me, letting Sin go ahead of him, too.

The place was bustling, and the aromas greeting us filled me with hope. Then a server went by with a couple of loaded plates, and I was all in.

We got a table. Sin sat by me, leaving Matt to the other side. The server brought us waters and menus.

I found the pancake section pretty quick. I read the words in front of me twice to make sure the information processed properly. I looked up. "Is this for real? White chocolate bread pudding pancakes?"

Grinning like he'd just won something, Matt nodded. "Did you see the bananas Foster French toast?"

I shook my head and scanned the menu again. There they were. Snowballs. French toast or pancakes? I was on the horns of a dilemma.

Sin leaned over. "Just get both. You know you want to."

He wasn't wrong.

"And," he said, "it's not like you didn't work up an appetite this morning."

Laughing, I shot him a look. I could feel my cheeks heating up. "Behave yourself."

Smug as all get-out, he went back to his menu.

I put mine on the table. Thankfully, Matt was engrossed in his phone and didn't seem to have heard my naughty husband.

He finally looked up. "Know what you're getting?"

"Yep. Bananas Foster French toast and the white chocolate bread pudding pancakes."

His eyes widened. "Both?"

"One for me, one for the baby."

He laughed. "I will not argue with that. Sin?"

"I'm getting the Spanish omelet. Unless you have a recommendation?"

Matt shook his head. "That's what I was getting, too. It's really good. The chorizo gives it a little kick."

We ordered. Matt and Sin ordered coffee. In an effort to cut back on my caffeine, I decided on an iced decaf mocha cold brew with cream. While they chatted, I scrolled through a few things on my phone.

My dad and uncle had okayed the stop at the toy store and said they'd let the staff know to expect us. They asked if we knew when we'd be able to get over there. I texted back that I wasn't sure but I'd firm it up with Sin and let them know. I kind of figured it would be the last thing we did before we left New Orleans.

With that done, I put my phone back in my purse. Sin and Matt were talking about Matt's SUV.

"It's pretty new," he said. "I've had it about a year, I guess. I had a Mercedes sedan before that, but honestly, it was too big. This car is a little more compact but still has plenty of room."

Sin nodded. "New Orleans does have some narrow streets."

The drinks arrived. I added sugar to mine, then gave it a good stir, stuck a straw in it and tried a sip. The coffee was strong, but so was the mocha part of the drink. I was happy. As happy as I could be while waiting on what I was sure was going to be a very delicious breakfast.

The food arrived not long after, and I inhaled the sweet, sugary goodness wafting off the plates toward me. I had my knife and fork in hand before the rest of the plates were on the table. "This looks amazing."

Matt laughed as he picked up his own silverware. "It better be, or I think I'm going to be in trouble."

I started with the bananas Foster, cutting a piece of the French toast, then spearing it along with one of the slices of banana and a raisin that were drenched in sticky rum sauce. I popped it in my mouth and closed my eyes as the warm, cinnamony taste of it took me someplace else.

This restaurant was not fooling around.

When I finally swallowed, I opened my eyes. "Son of a nutcracker. That might be the best French toast I've ever had."

Sin nodded at Matt. "And she's had some French toast."

I tried the pancakes next, but I was pretty sure they weren't going to beat the French toast. Still, white chocolate bread pudding? I mean, even if it came in second, it was still going to be good. It didn't hurt that a large handful of white chocolate chips had been sprinkled over the pancakes.

I tried a bite, making sure to get a few of those chips. The creaminess of the white chocolate combined with the baked deliciousness of the bread pudding component was a winner. "I have no idea which one is better. They're both amazing."

I picked up a piece of the bacon that had come with the French toast and used it as a palate cleanser.

Matt seemed awestruck. "So … are you going to eat both of those?"

"That's the plan." I grinned at him. "How's your omelet?"

"It's great. But I'm not sure it would interest you after that sugar fest."

I laughed. "Matt, I realize we've just met, but sugar fest is kind of my middle name."

"She's right," Sin said, backing me up. "Just accept it because you can't fight it. There's no point in trying."

Matt forked up some of his grits. "I wouldn't dare. But it does give me a few ideas about some other places to take you."

"I'm in." If they were as good as this one, it was a no-brainer.

His phone went off again. Frowning, he picked it up. "Sorry. I have to take this."

Didn't bother me. I was happily occupied.