“I HAVE BAD news,” Justin says, coming into the bedroom, and my heart drops into my stomach.
“Bad news?” I repeat, studying him as he takes Jenna who is asleep in my arms and moves her to the bassinet.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“Okay.” I wait for him to say more, but he doesn’t. “Are you going to tell me what the bad news that’s going to be okay is?”
“My parents will be here in half an hour.”
My head jerks back and I stare at him in shock. I really hope my foggy brain imagined what he just said. Even with all of the help he’s giving me, I feel exhausted. Jenna barely cries, but she only catnaps on and off between feedings every hour and a half, so I’m not getting much sleep. “I’m sorry, but did you just say your parents are coming over?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t put my mom off any longer. She’s been calling me at least twice a day, asking if we’re ready for visitors yet. This morning, I guess she decided to skip the call, because my dad just sent me a text to let me know they’re on their way.”
I get up, taking the baby monitor with me, and leave the room, knowing he’ll follow. I hear him shut the door softly behind us and go to the kitchen, setting the monitor on the counter before I turn to face him.
“I’m not ready for visitors.”
“Stella stopped by yesterday afternoon,” he points out, grabbing my hand and leading me to the couch, taking a seat before pulling me down onto his lap.
“Yeah, but that was just Stella. I don’t need to impress her, because she already knows me. She doesn’t care what I look like. Your parents are a different story.” I blow out a breath. “The last time I remember brushing my hair was a few days ago when I was still in the hospital. I’ve taken a couple quick showers, but I haven’t had time to shave my legs. I’m in no way prepared to meet your parents.”
“Baby, relax. I’m sure my mom and dad remember what it’s like to have a newborn. They’re not going to judge you for being a new mom.” I snort, and he tugs me closer and rests his chin on my shoulder. “Trust me. You couldn’t look bad if you tried.”
I melt against him. “There’s no way I’d feel comfortable meeting your parents without at least taking a shower, washing my hair, and changing into my own clothes. So if they’re really on their way over here, I better get moving.”
He loosens his hold on me, and I slide off his lap.
“Go on,” he urges. “I’ve got Jenna covered if she wakes up.”
I pause in the doorway when I see the time out the corner of my eye. “It’s almost time for lunch. Do we have anything besides sandwiches that we can make for your parents?”
He waves off my concern. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure my mom will have it covered. No matter how many times I tell her not to, she stocks my fridge whenever she comes over, and I highly doubt today will be any different. If anything, she’ll probably go even more overboard than usual, because she’ll be nervous about meeting you and excited about finally getting to hold Jenna.”
It’s hard for me to believe she might be as nervous as me, but for all I know, it’s normal. I’ve never had a boyfriend before, so I haven’t experienced the whole meeting the parents thing. “You really think so?”
He nods. “After a week of waiting, she’s probably a mess of nerves by now.”
“A week, huh?” I shake my head. “It feels like it was just yesterday that I gave birth.”
“Yeah, time seems to be flying by,” he agrees then tips his head to the side. “Go shower, baby.”
“Right.” I turn and head down the hall then check on Jenna before I get into the shower. Dressed and waiting in the living room forty minutes later, I jump slightly when there’s a knock on the door.
“It’s going to be okay,” Justin reassures me with a quick kiss before he opens the door.
“There’s my baby boy!” His mom tackles him with a hug before she even makes it all the way into his apartment, and I smile at how tiny she is in comparison to him.
“Mom.” He bends to kiss her cheek, and her eyes lock on mine.
“And you must be Aubrey!” She leaves his side and rushes toward me, wrapping me in a tight hug. “Look at how gorgeous you are.” She leans back to study me then shakes her head. “No wonder my boy is so smitten.”
“Jesus, Mom,” he grumbles, and his dad claps him on his back and chuckles.
“Don’t act so surprised. You know how she is.”
“Maybe, but I wasn’t expecting her to practically attack her.” He shuts the door and moves close, wrapping his arm around me. “She’s still recovering from having Jenna.”
“Stop. I’m fine.” I look up at him, leaning into his side, and I swear I hear his mom sigh.
“I can’t wait to meet your baby girl,” his mom says, gaining my attention. “But first, since my son seems to have forgotten his manners, I’ll introduce myself. I’m Cora, and this is my husband Jasper.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
I smile at how quickly he apologizes and wonder if he’s had a lot of practice doing that.
“Cut the boy some slack, Cora. I’m sure he isn’t getting much sleep, and he’s probably wondering if we’ll be on our best behavior around his girl or if we’ll do our best to embarrass him,” Jasper says, setting two large tote bags on the kitchen counter before turning our way.
“Oh!” Cora grins at her husband. “You should’ve reminded me to tuck one of his baby albums into the bag. Then Aubrey could’ve seen how adorable he was when he played pirate in the bath—”
“Jenna is in the bedroom, Mom,” Justin cuts her off. “She should be waking up any minute now to eat, if you want to go check on her.”
“Ooh, can I?” She turns to me, and I nod. I follow her into the bedroom and smile as she lifts Jenna, who’s blinking her eyes open, out of the bassinet. “It looks like I have perfect timing.”
“She’s on a pretty set schedule now. I swear she wants to eat every hour and a half. She’d probably eat more if I fed her.”
“I remember those days. They lasted a long time with Justin, since he was such a greedy little boy.” She heads toward the recliner in the corner of the room that Justin had delivered yesterday. “Do you mind if I sit with her for a minute?”
“Not at all. I’ll be back in a minute to change her diaper and feed her. I’m just going to grab the stuff from the living room.”
“Take your time.” She doesn’t even bother looking at me and I smile. I head into the kitchen to grab a glass of water, since I always get thirsty when I breastfeed, but Justin’s already poured one for me.
“You doing okay, sweetheart?” he asks, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.
“Yeah,” I whisper back. “It’s not as bad as I thought.” I blush when I hear his dad’s deep chuckle behind me. “Sorry.” I turn to face him. “That sounded worse than I meant it.”
“No apology needed, Aubrey. I’m not offended at all—more the opposite, actually. I wouldn’t have liked you half as much for our boy if you weren’t at least a little worried about meeting his parents.”
“Well then, you should like me a ton, because the only reason I’m not a nervous wreck is because I didn’t have enough time to get all worked up about your visit,” I say, and he smiles right as Jenna’s hungry cry rings through the air. “Duty calls.”
I hurry back to the bedroom and hear Jasper say, “You did good, son. Pretty and sweet is a hard combination to find.”
It feels good to get the stamp of approval from Justin’s dad, and judging by the smile on Cora’s face when she hands Jenna over to me before she leaves the room, I figure I have it from her too. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and I’m much more relaxed when Jenna and I join everyone in the living room, where I discover Justin was right about his mom bringing over a ton of food.
I settle on a roast beef sandwich and chips, and while I eat, Jenna falls asleep in Cora’s arms.
Twenty minutes later, she stands and hands Jenna over to Justin, announcing, “We’re going to go so Aubrey can take a nap. The best advice I can give you, honey, is to sleep whenever Jenna does. It’s the only way you won’t feel exhausted all the time.”
“I’ll try to remember to do that,” I say, and she smiles, walking toward me, and I stand to give her a hug.
“I’m just a phone call away if you have questions or if you just need me to come over so you can have a break.”
“Thank you.” My arms tighten around her and my eyes fill with tears. I pull in a deep breath to get myself under control, more thankful than she could ever know for her offer. I always expected to have my mom at my side to offer advice or just to lean on when I had my first child, and it’s difficult when I remember she’s not around.
Once they leave, I head into the bedroom for a much-needed nap, and it doesn’t take me long at all to fall asleep. A half an hour later, I hear Justin’s deep rumble in the other room, and since Jenna is still asleep, I start to roll over to try to go back to sleep, but stop and jerk upright when I hear Jenna’s father’s name come out of Justin’s mouth.