stayed absent too long Kim would surely make some raucous remark at dinner…not that she wouldn’t do that anyway.
“I want to tell everyone tonight,” Lily said. “Right now.”
“I thought we were going to wait until we all sat down to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.”
“I can’t hold this in another minute. Kim talked about babies all the way up here and I was practically hyperventilating.”
“But we haven’t told Andy yet.”
“So go wake him up!” Lily emphasized her eagerness by shaking Anna’s shoulders.
“Okay, okay.”
Hal and Kim were settling into their room, Martine was preparing dinner and Jonah was playing a board game with his grandfather.
Anna scooped Andy into her arms and jostled him awake. “Have a nice nap, pal?”
He grunted and laid his head on her shoulder as she carried him up the stairs.
“Look who’s here.”
Lily tenderly brushed his hair off his forehead, and seeing his waking smile, held out her arms to take him. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
He was a bear to rouse in the morning but naps seemed to leave him feeling as if he had missed something, and accordingly he snapped himself awake. Today he had missed his mama’s arrival, and he fell into her arms to tell her at once of his adventures on the plane. Anna winced when he got to the part about riding with Jonah on the luggage carousel.
“It was only five seconds—tops!” She and Hal had turned their heads to collect bags. “It crossed our minds to act like we didn’t know them.”
“And then we rode on the suitcases,” Andy added. “Mom pulled me and Uncle Hal pulled Jonah.”
Lily looked at her pointedly. “How will I be able to trust you with a stroller?”
“What can I say? I’m the fun parent.” She followed them to the bed, where Lily had positioned Andy on her lap.
“Andy, speaking of fun, Mom and I have something fun to tell you. Would you like to hear our big news?”
He wiggled from her lap and began to stomp from side to side on the air mattress at their feet.
Anna tugged at his arm until his feet stilled. “Andy, this is important. Mama and I called you up here to tell you something special and we want you to listen. Will you come back and sit in her lap?”
It wasn’t like him to be insolent, but after a day with his cousin all bets were off. They had recently seen signs of a mild stubborn streak, which they agreed was typical for a five-year-old testing his limits, but nothing to cause alarm. If either of them grew stern, as in an urgent situation or when his behavior was affecting others, he would grudgingly fall in line, but their preferred approach was to make their expectations clear and ignore his antics until he came around.
Once he settled again on her knee, Lily ran her fingers through his curly hair. “Andy, when you first came to live with us your mom and I were so happy because we had a new person to love. Remember that?”
Anna wagged her finger between her and Lily. “And you were happy because you had both of us to love. And then there’s Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Kim, Uncle Hal…”
“And Jonah,” he added.
“Who else?”
“Alice.”
Anna nodded, recalling all the tips they had read on how to break the news of a new baby to a child his age. What mattered most was that he not feel displaced. “And we have enough love for everybody in our family without ever running out.”
“That’s right,” Lily said. “The more people you have, the more love you feel. Your mom and I wanted even more love in our family, so we decided we’d have a little baby too, a baby that can be your little brother or sister.”
He showed no reaction at first except to demonstrate that he had been listening. “Alice is Jonah’s little sister.”
“That’s right. We don’t know yet if we’re going to get a baby girl like Alice or a baby boy. But we do know that all three of us are going to have someone else to love as much as we love each other.”
Anna poked him in the rib.
“I want to tell everyone tonight,” Lily said. “Right now.”
“I thought we were going to wait until we all sat down to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.”
“I can’t hold this in another minute. Kim talked about babies all the way up here and I was practically hyperventilating.”
“But we haven’t told Andy yet.”
“So go wake him up!” Lily emphasized her eagerness by shaking Anna’s shoulders.
“Okay, okay.”
Hal and Kim were settling into their room, Martine was preparing dinner and Jonah was playing a board game with his grandfather.
Anna scooped Andy into her arms and jostled him awake. “Have a nice nap, pal?”
He grunted and laid his head on her shoulder as she carried him up the stairs.
“Look who’s here.”
Lily tenderly brushed his hair off his forehead, and seeing his waking smile, held out her arms to take him. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
He was a bear to rouse in the morning but naps seemed to leave him feeling as if he had missed something, and accordingly he snapped himself awake. Today he had missed his mama’s arrival, and he fell into her arms to tell her at once of his adventures on the plane. Anna winced when he got to the part about riding with Jonah on the luggage carousel.
“It was only five seconds—tops!” She and Hal had turned their heads to collect bags. “It crossed our minds to act like we didn’t know them.”
“And then we rode on the suitcases,” Andy added. “Mom pulled me and Uncle Hal pulled Jonah.”
Lily looked at her pointedly. “How will I be able to trust you with a stroller?”
“What can I say? I’m the fun parent.” She followed them to the bed, where Lily had positioned Andy on her lap.
“Andy, speaking of fun, Mom and I have something fun to tell you. Would you like to hear our big news?”
He wiggled from her lap and began to stomp from side to side on the air mattress at their feet.
Anna tugged at his arm until his feet stilled. “Andy, this is important. Mama and I called you up here to tell you something special and we want you to listen. Will you come back and sit in her lap?”
It wasn’t like him to be insolent, but after a day with his cousin all bets were off. They had recently seen signs of a mild stubborn streak, which they agreed was typical for a five-year-old testing his limits, but nothing to cause alarm. If either of them grew stern, as in an urgent situation or when his behavior was affecting others, he would grudgingly fall in line, but their preferred approach was to make their expectations clear and ignore his antics until he came around.
Once he settled again on her knee, Lily ran her fingers through his curly hair. “Andy, when you first came to live with us your mom and I were so happy because we had a new person to love. Remember that?”
Anna wagged her finger between her and Lily. “And you were happy because you had both of us to love. And then there’s Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Kim, Uncle Hal…”
“And Jonah,” he added.
“Who else?”
“Alice.”
Anna nodded, recalling all the tips they had read on how to break the news of a new baby to a child his age. What mattered most was that he not feel displaced. “And we have enough love for everybody in our family without ever running out.”
“That’s right,” Lily said. “The more people you have, the more love you feel. Your mom and I wanted even more love in our family, so we decided we’d have a little baby too, a baby that can be your little brother or sister.”
He showed no reaction at first except to demonstrate that he had been listening. “Alice is Jonah’s little sister.”
“That’s right. We don’t know yet if we’re going to get a baby girl like Alice or a baby boy. But we do know that all three of us are going to have someone else to love as much as we love each other.”
Anna poked him in the rib.
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