Forever Bound

Josie

Warren was right, me and his mother were getting along perfectly.

We laughed at each other's jokes, and both picked on Warren to hear him sigh in disappointment or roll his eyes.

He said very little, only when we would talk to him directly.

When we were about to order, I seen how expensive the food was. Warren noticed my reaction and said to get whatever I want, but I refused.

He told me not to get anything that wasn't a full meal, still holding onto the doctor's orders. The cheapest meal was twenty-five dollars, it was some kind of pasta.

Warren ordered a steak, Josie got lamb with a side of rice and vegetables.

"You will do a gender reveal, won't you?" Josie's eyes lit up.

"Of course," I scoffed, sipping on my Root Beer.

"Why do we need a gender reveal?" Warren looked at us both.

"Cause that's the fun stuff," I said. Josie closed her eyes and nodded matter of factly, "the gender reveals, the baby showers..."

His eyes narrowed. "What is fun about telling people what you are having?"

"It's about the games, Warren, it's for the parents to try to figure out what the have. It nice to get everyone together," Josie chided.

"And we don't tell people what we are having," I correct him, "it's for the parents to find out. We ask the doctor to write it down. And for example, your mom would know what color confetti to fill the cannons with."

"And you have to dress in whatever color you think it will be. Pink if it's a girl, blue if you think it's a boy."

"You should probably wear pink, Warren," I snicker.

"You think you are having a girl?" his mom awes, putting a hand on her heart.

"I said 'her' one time," he pressed his lips together.

"It's okay to want a girl, son," she stabs a fork into her green beans, "I think a girl will be good for you."

Her eyes fall in me. "What do you think you are having?"

"I don't really know," I smile, "there's a lot of boys in my family. We can do that at the gender reveal!" I gasp. "We can do the little myth things and see what they say, then see how accurate they are."

"Oh, yes!" She claps her hands, "that will be fun."

I look at Warren and my smile dies. "What's wrong?" Does he really not want a gender reveal?

His face is cold and his jaw clenches. He looks out of it, staring into the distance. We are facing the window...I don't know what he could be looking at. Me and Josie share a look. "Is everything alright, son?"

Warren drops his knife, making it hit the plate. I jump at the loud noise. "I'll be back," he grumbles while he stands up.

"Warren, is everything okay?" Josie's asks again.

"Just stay here," he says, "both of you."

I blink, just watching Warren leave out the restaurant. "I wonder what that's about," I say out loud.

"Me, too..." Josie dabs her face with a napkin. "But let's use our time wisely, hm? Have some girl talk..."

Uh oh, is this the part when the mean mom reveals her true colors and I'm forced to pretend that she is nice to make everything work out? Or she gives me an ultimatum or something?

"Is Warren treating you right?" She puts her hand over mine.

"Huh?" I blurt.

"I know Warren is...well you see how he is," she darts her eyes, "he isn't in tune with his emotions. That's where I feel like I failed. He spent a lot of time with his father and...with the line of...work...they are in, it's all about showing little to no emotion."