Page 155 of Over the Line

“Okay, true.” He rolled his shoulders and exhaled. “Thanks again for staying with her.”

“Of course. How’s she doing, anyway?”

“The doctors say she and the baby are doing great. The baby’s dropped, so she can breathe a lot better.” He paused. “She’s been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions all week, though.” He made a face. “She’s so miserable.”

“Yeah, the last few weeks are pretty rough. On the bright side, it means she’s getting close to the end.”

“Let’s hope. I think she’s ready for it to be over.”

“That’s on-brand. Your mom was ready to evict you the day after she found out she was pregnant.”

“What?” he scoffed, though he was laughing. “She was not!”

“Ask her yourself.” I clapped his arm. “Trust me—you’re lucky you showed up ten days early.”

He just chuckled. “Was I really early? Or was the math just off?”

“Probably a bit of both. And you’ve been making up for it ever since.”

“Hey! I’m not always late! I picked you up on time from the airport!”

“Uh-huh. And that makes up for all the times⁠—”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”

I couldn’t lie—it was good to be back in this groove of good-natured father-son banter. It was one of the millions of things I’d missed while we’d been in bad shape.

I wasn’t too late, I told myself for the millionth time.

By some goddamned miracle, I wasn’t too late.

“Do you want to watch the game tonight?” Jasmine gingerly eased herself down in an armchair. “They’re playing Denver.”

“Sure. Is Denver any good?”

She wobbled her hand in the air. “They’re one of those teams that either stomps the other team, or they get stomped themselves. There’s like no middle ground.”

I laughed. “So it’ll be an interesting game either way.”

“Pretty much.”

“Sounds like fun. Do you want me to make something to eat?”

She pursed her lips. “Eh, maybe later? My stomach’s been a little…” She made a face.

I frowned. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just lots of heartburn and kind of feeling like shit.” She absently rubbed her belly. “My mom said that’s pretty normal at this stage. Which… it seems like after the second trimester, everything that sucks or hurts is normal.”

“Kind of seems that way, doesn’t it?”

She grunted in agreement. “Don’t let me keep you from eating, though. The smells don’t bother me like they did early on.”

“All right. Just let me know if you want anything.”

“Unless it’s a way to teleport to and from the bathroom…”

I just laughed, and I kept my dinner simple. Just a bowl of cereal and a soda. Though smells weren’t bothering her these days, I remembered how easily and suddenly that could change, so I didn’t want to push it.