Watermelon

Snow Angels

[spicyyy]

"Are you ready?"

"I think so. What about you?"

"I'm ready...I think." Chloe's thumb shook as it hovered over the 'post' button. The decided to just rip off the bandaid and post the image to her Instagram. She held her breath until she saw the image of her and Jace and the sonogram pop up on her feed, the caption reading 'the best little surprise'. "No turning back now."

Jace rubbed his hand over his girlfriend's back while his other hand opened his own Instagram and liked the post, sharing it to his story with a couple heart emojis.

Chloe's baby bump was getting harder and harder to conceal. They didn't want something as sacred as this pregnancy to be tainted by rumors and gossip; they wanted to take control of the narrative — so they did. Both of their phones started buzzing with notifications, but they decided to ignore the messages for now, both of them turning their phone onto 'do not disturb' mode.

"What now?" Jace asked.

"I want hot chocolate."

"I can make you a hot chocolate!" He quickly offered, standing up from the couch where they had been lounging in the living room. To Jace's surprise, his letter to Chloe's parents actually worked...kind of. They still weren't thrilled about their relationship but they did understand that it was important for the father of the baby to be present during the pregnancy. So they loosened the reins a little bit. They still had several boundaries and rules in place but that was okay with Chloe and Jace — they'd take what they could get, and Chloe would be eighteen soon enough anyway.

Jace stood in the kitchen making his girlfriend and himself a cup of hot chocolate while Chloe sat on a stool at the kitchen island.

Meanwhile, Camila was outside with Maggie who had been desperate to go out and play in the snow since she saw the white blanket that covered their backyard that morning. Camila didn't do well in the cold weather. Having lived in Miami her entire life, her body wasn't accustomed to any temperatures below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The list of people who could convince her to play in the snow was short, but at the top of that list was Maggie.

"Mommy! Make a snow angel with me!" The little girl fell directly back into the snow, her arms and legs outstretched. She started sliding her arms and legs back and forth, creating a tiny snow angel. Camila quickly took a picture on her phone before making a matching snow angel next to Maggie's. "Take a picture for daddy!" The toddler squeaked as she stood up and admired her work proudly. Camila stood up too, taking a picture of the two side-by-side snow angels and sending it to Shawn. He responded within seconds.

S: my angels made angels !!! I'm surprised you were willing to lay down in the snow LOL

C: I'm freezing my butt off 🥶

S: I'll get it nice and warmed back up as soon as I get back home 😏

C: LOL I'm sure you will 🤍🤍

S: I'm heading home soon...anything else you need to add to the list?

C: Yes! More apple juice for the little one

S: You got it 😘

"When is daddy coming home?" Maggie asked, staring up at Camila from where she stood in the snow.

"He'll be home soon," she assured her, squatting down to be eye-level with the little girl. "He's out grabbing some groceries for us."

"Gross-ees?"

"Groceries," Camila repeated with a soft smile. No matter how many times she heard her soon-to-be daughter mispronounce words, she never found it any less cute. "He's getting you some more apple juice."