A Lie for a Lie (All In) - Helena Hunting Page 0,92
came out looking just perfect right from the start. We knew we weren’t going to have any more kids after Lainey, so Elaine asked the midwife to fix things up a little.” He makes a hand motion below his waist.
“Oh my God, Dad! Are you serious?” Lainey looks mortified.
In Simon’s defense, people have been handing him beers steadily for the past three hours, and I’m about to offer him one more.
Violet doesn’t seem bothered in the least by this discussion. “Did it work? Alex wants us to have a hockey lineup, thanks to that one.” Violet thumbs over her shoulder at Sunny, who is also Alex’s younger sister. “I told him three is my max, because after that point I think they just kind of slide right out on a sneeze, you know?”
Simon chuckles. “It was like we were newlyweds again.”
And that, right there, is far more information than I ever needed about my future father- and mother-in-law. “Anyone need a refill?” I ask, sounding a lot like a prepubescent teenager.
Simon and Violet startle a little, possibly at my squeaky voice. Violet takes the glass from me and drains it in two long gulps. “I’m so freaking thirsty all the time, but this kid is trying to use my bladder like it’s a trampoline.” Violet pats Simon on the shoulder and then gestures below her waist. To Simon’s credit, he keeps his eyes on her face. “Thanks for the reassurance that my lady bits won’t be permanently ruined, but if you could avoid sharing that story with Alex, that’d be great. I’d rather he not know I can have six kids and still be a size extra small.” Violet waddles off toward the main-floor bathroom.
“She’s a lot of fun, isn’t she?” Simon tips the bottle back and takes a swig.
“She certainly can be. Pretty much always says exactly what’s on her mind.” Kody bumps up against the gated barrier, but when Lainey tries to move him back to the center of the circle, he squawks his irritation and reaches for me.
“You want to hang out with me and your gramps, little man?” I take him from Lainey, lifting him high in the air before I bring him in for a raspberry on the tummy. He giggles loudly and flails. Another, less adorable sound comes out of the back end.
Lainey glances at the clock. “I should feed him soon, or he’s going to get fussy.”
“How about I give him a bottle, and you can have a real mimosa and enjoy your time with the girls instead?” I offer.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I kiss her on the cheek, get her a mimosa, and warm up one of the bottles from the fridge so I can feed Kody. At first he used to balk when I’d try to give him a bottle, but now he’s used to it. Lainey being sick, while not great for her, has been helpful in getting Kody to take a bottle easily from me. I get comfy in one of the lounge chairs, and Kody settles right in, sucking loudly.
Simon drops into the chair beside mine.
“You know, Lainey never really used to speak her mind, not until last summer. And I have to say, I think it’s a good change, even if it was hard to get used to at first.” Simon taps the arm of his chair and surveys the living room. “Your friends tell me a lot about who you are as a person, RJ.”
“They’re like a second family. Lainey won’t ever be alone—even when I have to travel, she’ll have people she can rely on.”
Simon nods, his attention shifting from Elaine in the kitchen, trying to help Randy take the hairnet off his beard—that he let her put it on in the first place is a miracle—to Lainey and the wives laughing with each other while they take turns tickling babies. “I can see that, and as hard as it’s been giving her space and independence, it’s clear that it’s been good for her. You’re good for her.” He says it almost reluctantly but with a smile that tells me I’m finally winning him over.
“She and Kody are the best thing to happen to me.”
The dinner party seems to be a turning point for me and Simon. After that he loosens up and lets his guard down. We talk baseball and farming, and I take him and Kody to the arena one afternoon while Lainey and her mom are at the spa getting pedicures together.