I don't know how our mothers managed it, but the lunch was scheduled for the following Sunday, less than a week away. I don't know what my mother threatened my brothers with to get them to agree, but I knew threats had to be involved. Sundays were usually lazy days for them and they didn't like having loud family events with mandatory attendance.
I was also worried that we would arrive and there would be over-the-top pink decorations on everything. I loved that my family wanted to celebrate the new addition, but I didn't want to walk into an explosion of Pepto-Bismol either.
But, since I couldn't control the moms, I decided to just roll with it. If they wanted to hang pink streamers off every available surface, I would be grateful. It could be worse, my family could be the type who didn't care.
With that thought on my mind, I got ready for lunch on Sunday with a smile on my face.
I was going to have an afternoon with my entire family before I had to go to work at Crave, something we hadn't done since Mom's birthday earlier in the year. Both my nephews and my niece would be there and I would get to see my sisters-in-law.
"You realize this is going to be mass chaos, right?" J.J. asked as we walked out to the car.
"Yes, why?"
"Because you're smiling."
I laughed, partly because he was funny and partly because he wrapped an arm around my waist and guided me to the passenger side of the car rather than letting me go to the driver's seat like I wanted.
"I love my family, even if they're loud and obnoxious. And I don't know why you're grumbling, you came over all the time when you were in middle and high school. You know exactly how they are."
"Yeah, but I'm older now and my tolerance for noise has dropped considerably." He helped me settle into the passenger seat and closed the door, so I had to wait before I could voice my response.
As soon as he settled into the driver's seat, I said, "Then, you're in trouble because babies make lots of noise."
I put my seatbelt on as he started the car.
"Yeah, but how noisy can one baby be?" he asked.
I laughed. "Just ask D.J. I'm sure he'll tell you all about when his oldest was born. I don't think that boy stopped crying the first three months of his life."
J.J. stared at me in horror, his hand resting on the gearshift. "Three months of non-stop crying? Do all babies do that?"
I shook my head. "No, but some do, and I just want you to be prepared."
He put the car in reverse. "Maybe I need to invest in some good earplugs then. That way I can sleep at night."
I swatted his arm. "Don't think for a minute you're getting out of nighttime diaper duty."
He grinned at me. "But honey, I need my sleep so I can go off to work and make money for our family."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, brother. That's fine, invest in the earplugs. I'll find other ways to wake you up." I chuckled to myself as I thought about it.
"Oh, that laugh just sounded evil. You know what, you're right, I shouldn't wear earplugs at night. Maybe just when the baby won't stop crying and I'm holding her. That's acceptable, right?"
This time my laugh was normal.
We were the first to arrive at my parents' house, which didn't surprise me. If you told my brothers to be somewhere at noon, they would assume any time between twelve and one was an acceptable time. At least when it came to family events. They were always on time for work.
It was something I never understood about the four of them.
"Didn't your mom say to be here at eleven-thirty?" J.J. asked.
"Yeah, but she told my brothers eleven."
"Why?" he asked, unbuckling his seatbelt.
"Because if she told them we were eating at noon, they'd roll in at twelve-fifty-nine and wonder why everyone was pissed at them and the food was cold."
J.J. laughed and climbed out of the car. By the time I'd unbuckled my seatbelt and opened my door, he was standing next to the passenger side.
"So we're eating at noon?" he asked.
"Yep. Though Mom usually has some kind of snack tray or dip and veggies set out beforehand. With four boys and their assorted kids, my mother learned to have at least some food available otherwise she'd have someone whining in the kitchen about how hungry they were and why did they have to be here at eleven-thirty if we weren't eating until noon anyway."
J.J. laughed again and put an arm around my waist as we headed up the front walk toward the porch.
"Well, I'm relieved because I'm already kind of hungry."
We were just about to go up the front steps when a sleek black sedan pulled into the driveway. We stopped and watched as Dr. and Mrs. McClane got out of the vehicle. Mrs. McClane had a cake carrier in her hands and Dr. McClane carried a big glass bowl of salad.
"Hi, Mom. Dad," J.J. greeted them as he released me to step forward and relieve his mother of her burden.
She kissed his cheek. "Hi, honey. How are you today?"
"Good. Hungry," he answered, eyeballing the cake carrier as if he could see through the dome lid.
"You carry that inside and put it in the kitchen, Jackson James McClane. It's for everyone, not just you, even if it is your favorite."
His eyes lit up. "You made red velvet cake?"
"In. The. Kitchen," she repeated.
"Yes, ma'am."
He winked at me and bounded up the porch to open the door for his father and they disappeared inside.
Mrs. McClane took my hands and looked me over. "You look beautiful, Lee. You just glow."
"Thank you, Mrs. McClane."
She gave me a narrow-eyed look. "I'm Colette."
"Yes, ma'am."
"I'm your mother-in-law and the grandmother to your daughter, so you will call me by my first name," she continued. "And I know my husband will feel the same about you calling him Malcolm."
"Yes, ma'am," I said with a smile.
"Oh, stop that and come here." She held out her arms and pulled me in for a tight hug. "A little girl. I'm so excited that I'm going to have another granddaughter."
I loved that she considered Jacks her granddaughter even though they weren't related by blood.
We heard more cars arrive and turned to see Cam and Brody pulling in behind her parents' car. Sierra and Ben were right behind them.
Jacks jumped out of her dad's SUV and skipped toward us. "Coco! Auntie Lee!" She stopped in front of me and looked carefully at my barely noticeable baby bump. "You don't look pregnant, Auntie Lee. Your belly isn't very big."
I smiled at her. "It's still growing, just like the baby. Right now, the baby is only the size of an orange. In another couple of months, she'll be the size of a cantaloupe and my belly will be a lot bigger."
She nodded.
"Speaking of growing, you look like you've grown two or three inches since the last time I saw you," Colette said. "Come give your Coco some sugar."
My heart melted at the sheer joy on Jacks' face when she hugged Colette. I'd gathered from listening to Cam talking about Brody's mother and his ex-wife, that Jacks didn't have a lot of affectionate women in her life.
It seemed that had changed now that Cam and Brody were married.