"I will, too," J.J. answered.
They did some weird man-nod at each other and Robert disappeared.
It seemed that my mother had put out the call because D.J. was next to come into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Leelee," he said as he came to a stop in front of me. He looked down at the toes of his boots and I half-expected him to kick at the linoleum on the kitchen floor. "I don't have the right to talk to you like that and I deserved it."
I bit back a laugh because I was pretty sure those were Letitia's words and not his own. But he obviously meant them because when he looked back at me, I could see the regret all over his face.
"I just want you to be happy, honey," he whispered.
"Stop making me cry!" I hissed, letting go of Jay's hand so I could hug my oldest brother.
He held me back. "I'll do my best, but you are pregnant, so no guarantees."
I leaned back and tugged his chest hair where it stuck out of the neck of his t-shirt. "That's how you got in trouble the first time, mister," I said.
He chuckled. "I know, but you ladies need to take pity on us poor men. We have no idea how to handle the mood swings when you're pregnant, so we try to lighten up the situation when you get all teary."
"Choose something less chauvinistic next time," I replied, sniffing.
"As I said, I'll do my best."
He escaped before I could smack his arm like I wanted to.
Clayton came over and gave me a hug. "I'm sorry, too."
I hugged him back. "You weren't the one who did anything," I said.
"I should have listened," he whispered in my ear. "I'll talk to Danielle when I get home. I promise."
I hugged him tighter. "Good. She needs you right now and it's okay for you to need her back, you know. You don't have to be Superman. Just be her man."
"Stop with the words of wisdom," he grunted as he let me go and stepped back. "You're the youngest of us. You shouldn't be smarter than us."
I glanced at J.J. and the ghost of a smile crossed my lips. "I'm not always smarter than you." I looked back at Clay. "Just ninety-nine percent of the time."
He grinned and shook his head before he went the way of my other two brothers.
I took J.J.'s hand again and we walked into the dining room. I stopped next to my new in-laws and said, "I'm so sorry that y'all had to witness that."
To my surprise, it was Malcolm who got to his feet and embraced me. He always gave me a hug, but usually it was one per day. Cam liked to joke that her dad had a hug quota with his family because he got so many of them from his patients at work.
"You're among family. If you're going to yell and get upset, there's no better place," he murmured in my ear. "And I have brothers of my own and two kids, so I know exactly how they can be."
I giggled. He released me and I ended up right in Colette's embrace.
"Honey, that was nothing compared to some of the knock-down-drag-outs that Cam and J.J. used to have. There's no need to be embarrassed with us."
"Thank you," I whispered.
She let me go and I turned to Cam, Brody, Sierra, and Ben.
It was Brody who lifted his hands and spoke. "Don't apologize to us. I always used to worry that Cam and Sierra would run roughshod over you but now that fear has been appeased. In fact, feel free to practice on them."
Cam and Sierra were sitting on each side of him and they simultaneously socked him in the shoulders. "Ow! What was that for?" he whined, crossing his arms so he could rub both of his opposite shoulders.
"You know what you did," Cam said darkly.
"Still, I'm sorry you had to see it anyway," I interrupted. "I don't like it when I act like that so I try not to do it more than once every two or three years."
With the apologies out of the way, the rest of the meal went by quickly and with a lot of laughter. Despite my earlier fears about pink streamers and bunting on every available wall or hanging space, there were only three small bouquets of pink flowers on the table, pink lemonade in our glasses, and a chocolate cake with pink-tinted vanilla icing, made by Colette.
All in all, it was fairly tame in terms of decor.
My fears were reignited however when Colette said, "Lee, dear, your mother and I would like to plan your baby shower. Could you please put together a list of people you'd like to invite?"
I glanced at the two of them. "Uh, a baby shower?"
My mother ignored my question and picked up right where Colette left off. "Oh, and be sure to create one of those Amazon wish list things for the baby so people know what you'll need. And don't forget to put different sized diapers on there because you won't believe how fast that baby is going to grow."
"Baby shower?" I repeated.
My mother gave me a droll look. "Yes, Lee, a baby shower. A lot of people are going to want to do something for you and the baby and this will let them feel like they contributed somehow."
I gave J.J. a pleading look but he didn't seem to understand why I was freaking out.
I turned back to my mother and Colette. "I really appreciate it, y'all, but I'm not sure I want to have a shower."
My mother opened her mouth to argue with me but Colette spoke first. "Why not, sweetie?"
J.J.'s hand squeezed my leg gently in support.
"Being the center of attention makes me a little uncomfortable," I admitted.
Colette's answering smile was sweet. "Then, we'll keep it small, mostly family and a few friends. No more than twenty people. We'll have it at my house instead of a party room or something. And not too many games. Does that sound okay?"
I nodded.
My mother didn't add anything, just nodded her head.
"Just don't plan it during her Christmas break from school," J.J. said.
Everyone looked at him, but he turned to Cam. "Do you think you can give her the week after her finals off of work at Crave?"
It was my turn to grab his leg, but it was in more of a futile gesture to get him to stop. He covered my clutching fingers with his but otherwise ignored me.
"Sure," Cam said. "She's already got finals week off."
I started to argue but she just lifted a finger at me. "No arguing. You need to focus on your finals and not work."
I closed my mouth and Cam looked back at J.J. and asked, "Mind if I ask why?"
He grinned. "We're going on our honeymoon then."
Cam squealed and clapped her hands. "Yay! I'm so glad you're taking her somewhere. Be sure it's warm and sunny there, though. And definitely a beach."
Um, why were they planning the honeymoon I was going on without my input?
J.J. seemed to sense my thoughts because he looked at me. "I don't know, Cam. I think it's more important I ask Lee where she wants to go, don't you?"
His sister sighed, this time happily. "Good plan, big brother."
"A warm, sunny beach sound good to you?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know. I'll probably be a lot bigger by then. I'm not sure I want to walk around in a swimsuit with a huge belly."
"You'll be adorable," Mom said. "We'll find you a bikini so you can show off the baby bump! Isn't that the thing on social media now?"