15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

A waitress comes over to take our drink order. I order red wine,
and as soon as I do, Marshall practically jumps out of his seat. “Wine?”
he yells. “You’re in a onesie! You don’t get free wine with a onesie!”
He tells the waitress to bring me a beer, instead. Ryle tells her to
bring me wine. Allysa wants water, and this upsets Marshall even
more. He tells the waitress to bring four bottles of beer and then Ryle
says, “Two beers, red wine, and a water.” The waitress is very confused
by the time she leaves our table.
Marshall throws his arm around Allysa and kisses her. “How am I
supposed to try and knock you up tonight if you aren’t a little
wasted?”
The look on Allysa’s face changes, and I feel instantly bad for her. I
know Marshall only said that in fun, but it has to bother her. She was
just telling me a few days ago how depressed she is that she can’t get
pregnant.
“I can’t have beer, Marshall.”
“Then drink wine, at least. You like me more when you’re tipsy.”
He laughs at himself, but Allysa doesn’t.
“I can’t have wine, either. I can’t have any alcohol, actually.”
Marshall stops laughing.
My heart does a flip-flop.
Marshall turns in the booth and grabs her shoulders, making her
face him straight-on. “Allysa?”
She just starts nodding and I don’t know who starts crying first. Me
or Marshall or Allysa. “I’m gonna be a dad?” he yells.
She’s still nodding, and I’m just bawling like an idiot. Marshall
jumps up in the booth and yells, “I’m gonna be a dad!”
I can’t even explain what this moment is like. A grown man in a
onesie, standing up in a booth at a bar, yelling to whoever will listen
that he’s gonna be a dad. He pulls her up and they’re both standing
in the booth now. He kisses her and it’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever
seen.
Until I look at Ryle and catch him chewing on his bottom lip like
he’s trying to blink back a potential tear. He glances at me and sees
me staring, so he looks away. “Shut up,” he says. “She’s my sister.”
I smile and lean over and kiss him on the cheek. “Congratulations,
Uncle Ryle.”