Last Turn Home

Chapter 32 - His, Hers, Theirs

CHAPTER 32

CARLY

"Hey guys, Merry Christmas!" Maisy squealed when she opened her mama's door and pulled me into a bone-crushing bear hug. "Oh my God, Car... Look at you, you look pregnant!" she beamed.

"I know! And you too, oh my God, you're so gorgeous!" I gushed.

"Hey! No fair, what about me?" John asked with a playful smile, looking quite ignored with all of the presents and Tupperware containers.

"Don't worry, you don't look pregnant John," Maisy grinned, taking a few things from his arms and ushering us towards the sound of people talking.

The moment John and I entered the room it was like an extreme game of twenty questions, most of which were varying degrees of the same thing: how are you feeling? I had so many compliments on my belly and one of Maisy's younger cousins wanted to know if her cousin's baby and mine were going to be twins. Maisy's mother, looking oddly teary-eyed when she first saw me, wanted to see my first ultrasound and hear the baby's heartbeat, both of which John and I had on our phones.

I answered all of the questions with a proud smile, but throughout the first half hour, during which all of the attention seemed to be directed onto us, John remained very quiet and still, like he was afraid somebody would start asking him questions if he dared move a muscle or speak a word.

Eventually John left me to play a game of pool with Darryl and two of Maisy's male cousins, which was perfectly fine by me. I didn't want him to stay by my side all evening if he was going to be bored out of his mind.

"He seems like a nice man," Janelle, Maisy's mother, smiled, looking towards John and Darryl's retreating forms as they headed downstairs to the rec room. She placed her hand over mine and gave it a light squeeze.

"He is," I replied easily.

"He's the quiet sort isn't he?" Janelle laughed softly.

"Yeah, he's a man of few words," I answered, although that wasn't really the case with me anymore. It was weird being with him in groups, as it reminded me of how he used to be when we first met. "I really love him Janie... I love him so much it hurts sometimes... and he's been nothin' but good to me and the baby," I gushed.

Janelle listened to me as I rambled on about the man of my dreams, a big smile forming on her pink lips. She was like a second mother to me, so I felt like I could talk to her about these kinds of things the way I would've talked to my mama if she were still here.

"It takes some people years to find what you've found sweetheart," Janie said, brushing her thumb over my cheek. "I'm forty and I still haven't found mine. Now don't get me wrong, I love my life and I'm glad I spent it raisin' my daughter. I gave her everythin' I could... but sometimes I wonder if maybe I should've gone on that blind date, or if I should've given that nice fella my number all of those years ago... you know? To me it looks like John is one of the good ones, so hold onto him," she smiled.

"Yeah, I'll hold onto him," I laughed.

Dinner was fantastic. Maisy and I practically ate all of the food on the counter all by ourselves, which was quite the joke around the table that evening. Maisy and I volunteered to do the dishes after dinner; Maisy's mother started making tea, while some of the older folks decided to play a game of cards. About the majority of the young men gravitated outside to see Maisy's Uncle Fred's brand new truck.

"John's mouth is probably waterin' at the sight of that thing. He's had to put in a bit of work on his truck a couple months ago and he was pretty frustrated about it," I giggled, handing Maisy a plate to dry.