Page 107 of Slap Shot Surprise
“No rush. I’m going to warm up the car.”
He helped me up from the couch and went to find his keys while I made my way to the first floor bathroom. The door was open, but I heard girls’ voices coming from inside. As I got closer I realized it was Claudia and Gabrielle.
“Today I want to go for a natural look,” Claudia was saying. “Not like too bronzed, but more like sun-kissed, you know?”
“I’m gonna use this pink blush,” said Gabrielle.
When I reached the doorway, I discovered them standing in front of the mirror applying the makeup they’d gotten for Christmas and narrating the process, as if they were giving a tutorial. I hid a smile at the garish amount of blush on their cheeks, their thick black eyebrows, and the extreme highlighter usage.
“Oh hi,” said Claudia, catching my eye in the mirror. “We’re just making a ‘get ready with me’ video. Except we don’t actually have a phone, so we’re just pretending it’s a video.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said.
“Are you having a baby?” Gabrielle asked out of the blue.
I laughed and touched my belly. “Yes.”
“With Uncle Joey?”
“Um, yes.”
“But you’re not married,” she said, her expression perplexed.
Claudia slapped her sister’s shoulder. “Gabby, Mom said not to talk about that.”
“But I don’t understand,” the little girl said. “I thought you had to be married to have a baby.”
“You don’t.” Claudia applied more bronzer. “You just have todo it.”
“Do what?”
Claudia sighed heavily. “Never mind.”
“But how did Uncle Joey get the babyin there?” Gabrielle demanded, pointing at my stomach. “I want to know.”
“Um, is there another bathroom I could use?” I asked, eager to escape this conversation.
“There’s one upstairs,” Claudia said.
“Okay.” Turning around, I headed for the stairs and ran into Joe coming in the front door, stomping snow from his boots.
“Ready?” he asked.
“No,” I said, flustered. “Your nieces are in the downstairs bathroom putting on makeup and talking about how babies are made, so I ran away.”
Joe laughed. “How babies are made?”
“Yes! Gabrielle doesn’t understand how you got the babyin there.” I pointed at my stomach. “And I didn’t want to be the one to explain it to her.”
“I don’t blame you.” He took my elbow and guided me toward the steps. “Second floor. First dooron your right.”
“Thanks,” I said, heading up the steps. “I’ll just be a minute. Then I want to say goodbye to your parents.”
“Okay.” He waited at the bottom of the stairs a moment. “Hey, Mabel?”
“Yes?”
“I was wondering. Would it be okay if I stayed with you tonight?”
