I Don't Belong To You

Chapter 28

"So...how's the whole 'we're just co-parenting, not dating' thing going?"

She sips on her non-alcoholic moscato and shakes her head.

"We are just co-parenting. The problem is not falling harder for her along the way."

"Mmm. And how's that going?" Belle asks as she takes a sip of her mimosa.

"Well let's see...she's made us a family playlist on Spotify, she calls twice a day religiously to check in on me and Mango, she calls our baby Mango, aaaand she has a certificate in swaddling now."

The whole group coos. She rolls her eyes. As sweet as it all is, it doesn't make getting over Becky any easier.

"Wow, I'd pay money to see Becky Armstrong swaddle a baby."

She laughs sardonically. "5 more months and you will, no payment necessary," she shakes her head again thinking back to their 3 hour class on proper swaddling techniques.

At the end, the instructor had invited anyone interested in what he defined as a 'Swaddle-Off' to the front of the room. Fastest and most precise swaddle wins and no one was more surprised than her when Becky volunteered, but she was downright speechless when Becky won.

And thus she had received a silly, paper certificate and a $20 gift card to Carter's.

"How excited are you?!" Aurora gushes and she can't help but blush and do the same.

"More excited than I ever thought I would be. I've always wanted kids but this has been an experience I never could've imagined so far. My doctor is a life saver, Becky's been the best partner so it's all been great. Though, I am not looking forward to being the size of a hot air balloon during summer."

"Good news is though, we just changed to a nine month calendar year at the academy, finally, so you'll have the summer off."

She nods, relieved. "That's true. I haven't had a summer off in years. Our due date is August 12, but I'm hoping they arrive early, that'll help me get the most out of my maternity leave since school starts the 21st."

"Oh, were you planning on still teaching next year?"

She shrugs. "Of course. After all of these bills are paid for, I don't have the money to take any more time off. I'd love to be a stay-at-home mom, but that's just not feasible. At least not right now."

"I'm sure Becky wouldn't mind contributing more to make that happen, if it's something you'd want to do. Have you two talked about it?"

"No, our most pressing issue right now is paint color. Speaking of...," she checks her watch, "we're supposed to be heading out to shop at 1 so I should get the check."

"Oh no, don't worry about that. This is one me," Belle eagerly chimes in. "Or...shall I say Irin."

They smirk at each other, knowing how well she has Irin wrapped around her finger.

"Thank you. Also, I do want to put together a small baby shower so be on the lookout for invites. I just need to get done with school before I can even think about that."

Aurora sits her glass down and leans forward. "Oh my God. Let us plan it!"

Ashley jumps in enthusiastically, "Oh hell yeah! We live for this kind of stuff. I literally do this for a living, I can't believe we hadn't thought of it."

Before she can even get a word in edgewise, Aurora waves her off. "Perfect, it's settled. You tell us a few good dates and we'll set it all up. Don't you worry about a thing."