One Halloween when we were teenagers, we even dressed up as him just to freak our mom out. The laughter that ensued between the three of us has proven to create one of my most vivid, core memories.
“Thank you. I really appreciate you all having me. It’s been…well…nearly two months since I’ve had a home-cooked meal.”
Winnie laughs. “Oh man, I remember those days. One blending into the next. It’s awful. And worth it.” She pauses briefly. “And awful.”
We both laugh at that.
“Don’t ever hesitate to call me, okay?” she adds then, her voice so sincere I can’t even bring myself to dismiss it.
“Okay. Thanks.”
“No,” she says with a shake of her head and a little grin. “I mean, really call me if you need anything, which is why I’m going to make you give me your phone right now so I can put my number in it.”
Her hand held out toward me, I have no choice but to acquiesce. It reminds me so much of how persistent and determined little Winnie Winslow was back in the day.
“Anytime, day or night,” she says and hands my phone back to me, her contact information now saved. “I remember what it’s like. We moms have to stick together.”
I swallow hard on the word mom. Even though I know it’s what I am—what I have to be for Izzy—it still feels completely foreign coming out of someone else’s mouth.
“Damn, she’s a beauty,” Ty muses as he approaches me with Izzy, and a shallow breath I didn’t know I was holding finally releases. “Rachel, I want to have ten of these cuties after we get married.”
I stretch out my arms to take her back, even get my hands on her tiny baby sides, when his fiancée smacks him on the shoulder softly and chastises, “What? No! If I’m supposed to birth a football team for you, I deserve to be able to hold the inspiration.”
Ty passes Izzy to Rachel before I can even put my hands down from the space where they were prepared to clutch her. And Rachel nuzzles her face against Izzy’s cheek.
My girl appears to enjoy it, her little eyes squinting in comfort, but my heart is still beating a million miles a minute.
Remy is across the room now, finally appearing from wherever he’s been hiding in this beautiful brownstone. I recognize his brother Flynn standing beside him, and I assume the beautiful woman next to him is his wife Daisy. Which means the two adorable-looking boys on their hips must be their twins, Roman and Ryder.
My eyes are wide, and I can practically feel them stretching to the limits of my face as I try to telepathically yell to Remy when Winnie steps into my line of vision and fills it completely.
Her face is a friendly smile full of amusement. She reaches up and squeezes my shoulder comfortingly as she explains, “By the way, there’s a rule here. You never have to take care of your own kids. It’s group-parenting, sister-wife-ing, whatever you want to call it. But there are enough of us, and enough of us who get it. Take the break and enjoy it. I promise Izzy will be in good hands.”
“Okay,” I reply as calmly as I can manage, trying to squash the overwhelming need to hover obtrusively.
Winnie giggles. “Man, Maria, I’m impressed. Not many moms pretend not to be shitting themselves as well as you.”
I slam my hands into my face and groan before smiling back at her. “Am I that obvious?”
“Only because I’ve been there,” she says. “I can remember when Lexi was that age, and I felt like someone had removed my arm whenever I wasn’t holding her. You’re doing great. I promise.”
“Thanks,” I murmur, surprised by how nice it feels to have that kind of encouragement. “Truth be told, I kind of feel like I’m bumbling my way through this whole motherhood thing.”
Winnie nods supportively. “That means you’re doing it right.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah,” she enunciates. “We’re all big fakers without a flipping clue.”
“Yo, Ty, when are you going to pay up, bro?” Jude shouts so loud from the other side of the kitchen that it startles Winnie’s and my attention. He slaps Ty in the stomach with a hard hand. “You still owe me fifty bucks for Phillips’s TD.”
“Ow, you fucker,” Ty grunts, and Wendy steps between them with a stern face.
“Knock it off, you two. I brought you into this world, which means I can take you right back out if I want.”
“Mom, how many times do you think you’ve said that to us?” Jude asks, grinning like a real smartass.