All for This
Page 22
“Sure.”
“Hanna’s the friend I was telling you about, Collin. She’s very special to me. Do you know why?”
Collin studies Hanna for a minute then looks up at me. “Because she knows Spider-Man?”
Hanna bites back a grin. “I’m sorry. I don’t know Spider-Man or any of the superheroes, actually.”
“Hmm,” Collin says thoughtfully. “Then it must just be because you’re so pretty.”
I have to bite back a grin of my own. She’s going to think I told him what to say. The truth is, my kid just has really good taste.
“Hanna’s pregnant,” I finally say. This is going to affect Collin’s life, and I have no intention of keeping it from him. “She and Daddy made babies, and those babies will be your little siblings.”
“Really?” Collin asks, staring at Hanna’s belly.
Hanna looks up at me, caution all over her face. “It’s true. They’ll be twins, like your dad and your aunt Janelle.”
Collin’s eyes go big. “I’ll have a brother and a sister?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe. Or maybe two brothers or two sisters.”
“Will you live with us in our house?” Collin asks.
Another look from Hanna, this one less cautious and more apprehensive.
I jump in. “No, buddy. Hanna lives here in New Hope, and we live in Los Angeles.”
“Then we’ll have to visit a lot!” Collin looks at me. “Can I go play some more?”
“Sure,” I reply. “Just stay where you can see me.”
Collin loves New Hope. He’s spent more than his share in the concrete jungle of cities, and he loves walking down to the river or even just going to the park, where the playground is surrounded by trees and filled with kids whose parents have never hired a nanny in their lives.
When he’s across the playground, Hanna expels a long breath. “He’s precious.”
“He’s my world.” I need her to understand. “Or he has been until now.”
She studies me for a minute. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Introduce me to your son. Tell him about my pregnancy.”
“He was my everything, Hanna. But the day I met you, my world expanded.”
“Nate—”
“Whether you’re going to be with me or not, you’re going to be part of my life.” I close the space between us and press my hand to her stomach. “They will be part of my life.”
“At least they’ll have a big brother who loves them.”
I swallow.
“Having three children in two different parts of the country is going to be a lot more complicated than what you’re used to.”
“My invitation stands. I would love to have you live with us in LA. I would give you anything you need, anything you want.”
“Except my life in New Hope,” she says softly. “You can’t give me that in LA.”
“Daddy!” Collin calls from the top of a twisty slide. “Look at me!”
I watch Collin slide down. “When is your next doctor’s appointment?”
She drops her gaze to her hands. “Three weeks.”
“I’ll be there.” And maybe by then she’ll have had enough space and time from her breakup to reconsider my offer. “In the meantime, promise me you’ll let me know what you need. Say the word, Hanna.”
I’VE ALWAYS felt a special bond with my youngest sister. She’s twelve years younger than I am, so we’re not super close the way I am with Liz, but we understand each other in ways our other sisters can’t.
Abby is petite, where I’ve never been, but we’ve both had to contend with the efforts of our fat-phobic mother our whole life. In my case, it was because I was actually overweight, but Abby’s love of dance gives Mom the excuse to harp about calories. We’re both a little screwed up as a result.
I find Abby in the basement doing a Zumba video, which, I must say, is a marked improvement from the running Mom used to make me do. At least Zumba is fun for kids.
“Hi, Hanna!” she says when she sees me. She grabs the remote and clicks off the TV then dries herself off with a towel. “No worries,” she says, still out of breath. “That’s my only workout for today and I ate breakfast.”
“Gotta have fuel,” I say softly.
After collapsing onto the couch, she grabs her water bottle from the end table and unscrews the top. “I hope you’re here to tell me your news.”
Well, I wasn’t planning on having this talk today, but I suppose she’ll want to hear it from me. “Sounds like you already know.”
She rolls her eyes. “I heard Mom crying to Carol about it on the phone. Is it true? Nate Crane is the father of your babies, and that’s why you and Max aren’t going to get married?”
“Nate Crane is the father,” I say carefully.
“How did that happen?”
How do you explain to your eleven-year-old sister that you’re a dirty ho-bag who was sleeping with one man while pretending to be with another?
“It’s complicated,” I answer. “Definitely not the way I intended to start a family.”
She sighs dreamily and leans her head into the couch cushions. “As if Max wasn’t amazing enough, now you have Nate Crane. I mean, come on! How lucky are you?”
“Hanna’s the friend I was telling you about, Collin. She’s very special to me. Do you know why?”
Collin studies Hanna for a minute then looks up at me. “Because she knows Spider-Man?”
Hanna bites back a grin. “I’m sorry. I don’t know Spider-Man or any of the superheroes, actually.”
“Hmm,” Collin says thoughtfully. “Then it must just be because you’re so pretty.”
I have to bite back a grin of my own. She’s going to think I told him what to say. The truth is, my kid just has really good taste.
“Hanna’s pregnant,” I finally say. This is going to affect Collin’s life, and I have no intention of keeping it from him. “She and Daddy made babies, and those babies will be your little siblings.”
“Really?” Collin asks, staring at Hanna’s belly.
Hanna looks up at me, caution all over her face. “It’s true. They’ll be twins, like your dad and your aunt Janelle.”
Collin’s eyes go big. “I’ll have a brother and a sister?”
“I don’t know,” she says. “Maybe. Or maybe two brothers or two sisters.”
“Will you live with us in our house?” Collin asks.
Another look from Hanna, this one less cautious and more apprehensive.
I jump in. “No, buddy. Hanna lives here in New Hope, and we live in Los Angeles.”
“Then we’ll have to visit a lot!” Collin looks at me. “Can I go play some more?”
“Sure,” I reply. “Just stay where you can see me.”
Collin loves New Hope. He’s spent more than his share in the concrete jungle of cities, and he loves walking down to the river or even just going to the park, where the playground is surrounded by trees and filled with kids whose parents have never hired a nanny in their lives.
When he’s across the playground, Hanna expels a long breath. “He’s precious.”
“He’s my world.” I need her to understand. “Or he has been until now.”
She studies me for a minute. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Do what?”
“Introduce me to your son. Tell him about my pregnancy.”
“He was my everything, Hanna. But the day I met you, my world expanded.”
“Nate—”
“Whether you’re going to be with me or not, you’re going to be part of my life.” I close the space between us and press my hand to her stomach. “They will be part of my life.”
“At least they’ll have a big brother who loves them.”
I swallow.
“Having three children in two different parts of the country is going to be a lot more complicated than what you’re used to.”
“My invitation stands. I would love to have you live with us in LA. I would give you anything you need, anything you want.”
“Except my life in New Hope,” she says softly. “You can’t give me that in LA.”
“Daddy!” Collin calls from the top of a twisty slide. “Look at me!”
I watch Collin slide down. “When is your next doctor’s appointment?”
She drops her gaze to her hands. “Three weeks.”
“I’ll be there.” And maybe by then she’ll have had enough space and time from her breakup to reconsider my offer. “In the meantime, promise me you’ll let me know what you need. Say the word, Hanna.”
I’VE ALWAYS felt a special bond with my youngest sister. She’s twelve years younger than I am, so we’re not super close the way I am with Liz, but we understand each other in ways our other sisters can’t.
Abby is petite, where I’ve never been, but we’ve both had to contend with the efforts of our fat-phobic mother our whole life. In my case, it was because I was actually overweight, but Abby’s love of dance gives Mom the excuse to harp about calories. We’re both a little screwed up as a result.
I find Abby in the basement doing a Zumba video, which, I must say, is a marked improvement from the running Mom used to make me do. At least Zumba is fun for kids.
“Hi, Hanna!” she says when she sees me. She grabs the remote and clicks off the TV then dries herself off with a towel. “No worries,” she says, still out of breath. “That’s my only workout for today and I ate breakfast.”
“Gotta have fuel,” I say softly.
After collapsing onto the couch, she grabs her water bottle from the end table and unscrews the top. “I hope you’re here to tell me your news.”
Well, I wasn’t planning on having this talk today, but I suppose she’ll want to hear it from me. “Sounds like you already know.”
She rolls her eyes. “I heard Mom crying to Carol about it on the phone. Is it true? Nate Crane is the father of your babies, and that’s why you and Max aren’t going to get married?”
“Nate Crane is the father,” I say carefully.
“How did that happen?”
How do you explain to your eleven-year-old sister that you’re a dirty ho-bag who was sleeping with one man while pretending to be with another?
“It’s complicated,” I answer. “Definitely not the way I intended to start a family.”
She sighs dreamily and leans her head into the couch cushions. “As if Max wasn’t amazing enough, now you have Nate Crane. I mean, come on! How lucky are you?”
