Page 178 of Maple Mountain
When he fell silent, I glared at him into continuing.
“Lenni?”Archer asked.
“Yeah?”
“How do you feel about babies?”he asked.
I mentally smacked my forehead.
“They’re cute,” she said.“I’m excited for Hadley to have her baby.She says she’s due on Christmas.Wouldn’t that be fun?A Christmas baby?”
“Yeah, that would be swell,” he muttered.He raked a hand through his hair.“Do you know where babies come from?”
“Oh God, you are theworstat this,” I snapped at him.
“Yeah?”He glared at me.“You think you can do any better?”
“Yeah, I can do this better,” I informed him.
Lenni looked at her father, and then she turned her head to peer at me.“What’s going on?You guys are being weird.Like, weirder than normal.”She snorted.“Parents.”
“Yes, parents,” Archer blurted out.“We are parents.And, ah, well, we’re going to be parents again.”
“I’m having a baby,” I stated, ripping off the Band-Aid.“You’re going to have a sibling.”
It seemed as if Archer and I were collectively holding our breaths, waiting for Lenni’s reply—or meltdown.
“Do I have to share my room?”
“No,” I replied.
“Do I have to change diapers?”
My lips flickered with amusement, but I dared not smile.“No.”
“Do I have to share Mildred with her?”
“I had to share Mildred withyou,” I pointed out.“Don’t you think your brother or sister would like a dog?”
“Sister,” Archer said.
I looked at him.“I thought you wanted all boys.”
“I changed my mind.”
“Why?”Lenni’s eyes dimmed.“Why do you want this baby to be a girl?”
I reached over and took her hand.“Because he knows how much I love Hadley, Salem, and Poet, and I think of them as my sisters.And your father wants that for you too.”
Lenni’s expression brightened as she looked at her father.“You do?”
“Yes,” he said.“That’s exactly what I want for you.”
Lenni squealed.“Wyn!You’re having a baby!”
She squeezed my hand.
“This doesn’t change anything,” I informed her.
