Chapter 35

Ricci

Marisol and I are at my apartment, packing my stuff so I can move out to the farmhouse. Since Manny and I are getting married next month, it made no sense to keep going back and forth. Well, that was his logic anyway. He’s downstairs finishing up a tattoo, and plans to let his employee close it down tonight.

I’m about four months along, further than either of us suspected, but after the infection I got when I had the incomplete miscarriage, my period was somewhat sporadic, and since we always used protection, pregnancy was never on my radar.

As I wrap up the glassware, I find myself crying. It seems that everything lately has the waterworks going, and since I’ve never made it this far in a pregnancy, I wasn’t prepared. My emotions have been all over the place with each week that has passed, and I’m pretty sure that I’m driving everyone in my life crazy. At least, that’s how it feels to me. Manny, however, takes everything I say and do in stride, while Mama A and Aunt Juanita have been absolute godsends, allaying each and every fear that pops into my head. I’ve worried about everything from how big the baby is going to grow inside of me, to whether or not the infection from my last miscarriage will cause problems when I deliver. Right now, feeling the fluttering of my baby move inside me, something I’ve never felt before, has me nearly sobbing in gratitude and I can’t wait for Manny to be able to feel it.

“Why are you crying?” Marisol asks, having come out of the bathroom with a box full of towels.

“What if I’m not a good mom?” I reply, crying harder, both of my hands now caressing my growing belly. “I mean, I had Mama B who taught me a lot when I was a kid, and she was the best kind of mom, but I also saw a lot in the homes I was placed in before I moved in with them.”

She wraps her arms around me in a hug and states, “You’re going to be the best mom, Ricci. I miss mine every day, but she was probably one of those people who should’ve never had kids. Yet since you and my dad came into my life, you’ve loved me like I was your own kid. Plus, with all the family my little brother or sister is going to have, how can you even think that? Grandma is so excited and will probably have to be beaten off with a stick so you can do things for the baby on your own. I wish you were mine, actually.” She almost sounds wistful as she rubs my back while I try to control my tears.

I can’t help the giggle that escapes despite my distress because even though she has a boatload of grandkids already, Mama A is beside herself about our baby. She’s been crocheting and sewing since we shared the news. At the rate she’s going, the baby won’t need a darned thing. Plus, Ivy and Lacie have been shopping up a storm in preparation for the baby shower they’re planning, even though it’s at least four months from now.

“Sweetie, I just tried to be to you what my sisters were to me when I first went to live with their parents. What’s not to love about you? You resemble your daddy, your Aunt Luci, and of course, Maribelle and Annabeth. If I denied loving you, I’d have to do the same for your dad and that’s simply not going to happen.”

“Good to know, sweetheart,” he says, having snuck into the apartment during mine and Marisol’s little heart-to-heart talk.

“How long have you been here?” I ask as he gently takes the two of us and tucks us under his arms.

“Long enough to hear what Marisol said,” he admits. Looking down at her, he asks, “Did you mean that?”

“Yeah, Dad, I did. I love and miss my mom, but after being with you, I can see how far off the mark she really was as a parent.”

“I think that probably had more to do with her age than anything,” I state. “She was a kid raising a kid herself.”

Manny glances down at me and winks. “Baby, that there is one of the reasons my girl loves you so damn much. You could bash her for the things she did to me, or didn’t do for Marisol, but instead, you show compassion for her circumstances.”

I shrug. “It’s how Mama B raised me, Manny. I don’t know any other way to be.”

When I feel the fluttering again, I grab both of their hands and ask, “Can y’all feel the baby moving?”

Smiling now, even though a few tears still trickle down my face, I watch the wonder cross both of theirs when they feel the new life my body’s growing move.

“I can’t wait to meet you, little one,” Manny murmurs, kissing my temple.

* * *

Later that night, after a dinner of pizza at the local pizzeria, then a movie complete with popcorn, we’re in bed after a thoroughly satisfactory shower when he turns to me and asks, “Would you be willing to adopt Marisol?”

“Do you think she’d want me to?” I counter. “I don’t want her to think I’m trying to replace her mother.”

“Sweetheart, I heard everything she said to you. I think she’d be thrilled if you legally considered her your daughter.”

“Ask her and if she’s okay with it, then yes. I’ll be glad to adopt her.”

“How much more do you have to get done for the festival?”

I stop and think about all we’ve made so far. “I think we’re pretty much done. I know she’s excited about earning her own money.”

He chuckles then says, “Yeah, I may see if she can pick up something part-time at the diner after school, because she’s determined to save her money like you told her you did when you were a teenager.”

I blush a bit because Marisol and I have had a lot of great talks. I haven’t hidden my past from her, wanting her to know she should always know her value and worth. That particular nugget came about when she shared there was a boy in her class who was picking on her a lot. Some of the other girls had told her it meant he liked her, and I reminded her that if a boy truly did like her and want to date her, he wouldn’t call her names or be mean like he’d been doing. She took that back to her cousins and all of a sudden, the boys had a ‘talk’ with the teen and he’s no longer messing with Marisol.

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders, Manny.”

“Mostly because she practically raised herself. Maybe with a little bit of help from Leanna’s parents while they were alive.”

“But now she’s got you and the rest of the family,” I protest.

He leans in and kisses my nose. “And you. She’s got you in her corner, Ricci.”