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

His mother reaches for me and pulls me in for a hug, and her
laughter is everything I need to get me through this moment. “Lily!”
she says, pushing me out to arm’s length so she can get a good look at
me. “Sweetie, I don’t think you’re a blasphemous whore. You’re the
angel I’ve been praying would land in Ryle’s lap for the last ten years!”
She ushers us into the apartment. Ryle’s father is the next to greet
me with a hug. “No, definitely not a blasphemous whore,” he says.
“Not like Marshall here, who sank his teeth into my little girl when
she was only seventeen.” He glares back at Marshall, who is sitting on
the couch.
Marshall laughs. “That’s where you’re wrong, Dr. Kincaid, because
Allysa was the one who sank her teeth into me first. My teeth were in
another girl who tasted like Cheetos and.. .”
Marshall doubles over when Allysa elbows him in the side.
And just like that, every single fear I had has vanished. They’re
perfect. They’re normal. They say whore and laugh at Marshall’s jokes.
I couldn’t ask for anything better.
Three hours later, I’m lying on Allysa’s bed with her. Their parents
went to bed early, claiming jet lag. Ryle and Marshall are in the living
room, watching sports. I have my hand on Allysa’s stomach, waiting to
feel the baby kick.
“Her feet are right here,” she says, moving my hand over a few
inches. “Give it a few seconds. She’s really active tonight.”
We remain quiet while we both wait for her to kick. When it
happens, I squeal with laughter. “Oh my God! It’s like an alien!”
Allysa holds her hands on her stomach, smiling. “These last two
and a half months are going to be hell,” she says. “I’m so ready to
meet her.”
“Me too. I can’t wait to be an aunt.”
“I can’t wait for you and Ryle to have a baby,” she says.
I fall onto my back and put my hands behind my bed. “I don’t
know if he wants any. We’ve never really talked about it.”
“It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t want any,” she says. “He will. He
didn’t want a relationship before you. He didn’t want to get married
before you, and I feel a proposal coming on any month now.”
I prop my head up on my hand and face her. “We’ve barely been
together six months. Pretty sure he wants to wait a lot longer than