The freakiness of losing my feet was one thing, but losing the private part of me was another. That had disappeared earlier, but it was still traumatic. Jack laughed at me when I told him I had no idea what was going on down there. He promised to keep an eye on it for me. How comforting.
The sound of someone shuffling to the seat next to me stopped me from feeling sorry for myself. I turned to see a girl I didn’t recognize. The poor thing, she looked terrified.
“Hi,” she said softly, her long brown hair falling in front of her brown eyes as she directed her gaze toward the field in front of us.
“Hi. You must be new.” I hesitated, wondering if this girl was actually the girlfriend of someone on the team, or just a weekend fling. I’d seen enough girls come and go over the years that I finally understood why the other wives tended to keep their distance, but it still didn’t explain the outright nastiness once they knew the girl belonged to one of the players. There was no acceptable reason for that kind of behavior.
She nodded. “My boyfriend just got called up from the Salt Lake City team.”
“What position does he play?” I hoped he wasn’t a pitcher. Don’t ask me why, since I knew the team’s roster carried more pitchers than any other position on the team. I think it boiled down to my being scared for Jack. The whole thing with the Mets had scarred me. I’d learned the hard way how disposable and replaceable the players were once they no longer fit the team’s long-term goals.
“He’s a catcher,” she said, and I recognized the pride beaming in her eyes.
“How long have you guys been dating?” I asked. She looked so young. A lot younger than I knew I looked when Jack was called up.
“A few years. We’re high school sweethearts.” A breath escaped as she glanced down at my belly. “And you? Who’s your husband?”
“Oh, I’m Cassie,” I answered, extending my hand toward hers. She grabbed it for a firm shake. “Jack Carter’s my husband. And he did this to me.” I looked down at my monstrosity with chagrin as she giggled.
“I’m Shawna. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Cassie? Cassie!” Ashley’s voice interrupted our conversation and I turned my sunglass-covered face toward hers.
“Yeah?”
“Why don’t you come sit next to me,” she said coyly, patting the empty seat to her right.
“I’m okay, thanks,” I told her. “I probably won’t stay the whole game.” I’d stopped sitting for Jack’s entire games as soon as it got too uncomfortable to stay in those chairs for almost three hours. A few times I’d snuck downstairs into the tunnels, where it was cool, to wait for Jack. Even if the weather hadn’t warmed up entirely, this baby kept me plenty heated.
“Are you going to switch seats?” Shawna asked.
“Nah. I’m fine right here. A word of advice—don’t take it personally if the other wives don’t go out of their way to play nice at first. It’s just what they do until your boyfriend has paid his dues to the team.” I wanted to warn her that the other women wouldn’t be as kind as I was. And since she and her boyfriend had been together since they were kids, I feared she wouldn’t be strong enough to handle it.
She glanced past me at the rows of other women and shrugged. “I’ve dealt with worse. The girls that tried to come on to Bryce while he was playing in the minor leagues were disgusting. They were relentless and disrespectful. At least these women aren’t trying to take him away from me.”
I nodded in understanding. “Oh, Shawna, you have no idea. Remind me one day to tell you our story. But not now. I’m way too tired.”
She flashed a pretty smile at me. “I’ll hold you to that.”
During the seventh inning stretch, I stood up and walked around the stadium. My aching feet were no match for my lower back; I needed to walk it off. Heading down the stairs, I marched through the concrete hallway toward the locker room. Hoping that Jack would shower quickly and not leaving me standing out here for long, I rubbed my back and concentrated on breathing. Robert, the security guard, sat on a metal folding chair, watching me.
“Any day now, right, Mrs. Carter?” he asked as he removed his ball cap and scratched the top of his balding head.
“With any luck,” I said, smiling.
He nodded. “Well, you look fantastic. Absolutely glowing.”
“Thank you, Robert. That’s kind of you to say.” I continued to smile, but doubted his words. I knew I looked like a freaking cow, and who knew what my feet looked like since I’d lost them.
The quiet tunnel became noisy as the rest of the wives and girlfriends started to file in around me. A moment later, Jack burst through the doors and headed right for me.
“Hello, Kitten,” he purred in my ear before falling to his knees and kissing my belly. “Hello, baby.” He had started doing this after every game and I loved it; we didn’t care who watched.
“Did you shower? The other wives just got here.”
“No need, since I didn’t play today, and I know how uncomfortable you are. I don’t want you sitting out here waiting for me when I can shower at home.”
“Thank you,” I said with relief, sincerely happy with his thoughtfulness.
“Anything for my girl. And my boy.” He smiled, his dimples appearing. “How are you feeling?”
“My back hurts, but otherwise I’m okay.”
He grabbed my hand in his and I waddled a step behind him. Yes, I waddled; my new form of locomotion could no longer be considered walking. Once we entered the parking lot, Jack slowed his pace before popping the trunk of our black BMW and unlocking the doors. He opened the passenger door for me and helped me inside before tossing his bag into the back of the car.
“Do you want me to stop anywhere on the way home?” he asked, referring to my frequent late-night cravings.
Lately, I’d become obsessed with a very specific kind of Popsicle. I think I started eating about ten a day. And then there was the phase where I had to have cereal for every meal.
I reached for his leg and placed my hand on his thigh. “We have a freezer full of popsicles and a pantry full of cereal. I think I’m good.”
“All right then,” he said before stepping on the gas.
Jack’s free hand moved from holding mine to resting on my giant belly. He rubbed in slow, circular motions and the heat that radiated from his hand to my stomach soothed me. A swift kick caused Jack to pull his hand away.
“He kicked me!”
I laughed. “I know. I felt that.” I glanced down and noticed the baby inside me moving parts of his body. He twisted and turned as my stomach took on odd shapes to accommodate his growing length. “I know it’s supposed to be miraculous and stuff, but seeing a body part poke out of my stomach is weird. And kind of creepy. I feel like there’s an alien inside me.”
Jack glanced at me before turning onto the freeway. “I think it’s awesome. Do you have any idea how cool it is that you get to grow a person inside you? Guys can’t do that.”
“No shit, they can’t! Guys couldn’t handle it,” I teased.
He nodded and raised his eyebrows meaningfully as he said with complete seriousness, “No guy wants to birth a bowling ball out of his penis.”
I muffled a giggle. “Did you just say the word penis?”
“I was trying to watch my language in front of the alien baby, okay? No guy wants to birth a bowling ball out of his dick. Better?”
“Much.” I sighed, and angled my body toward his as the car raced toward home.
I must have fallen asleep on the short ride home because when I opened my eyes, Jack was carrying me up the stairs.
“Babe, you’re going to break your back.” Embarrassed, I tried to wiggle out of his arms but he tightened his hold.
“Can you not try to jump out of my arms while I’m walking up the stairs? Jesus, Kitten.” Once we reached the top, he gently placed me on my feet. “I didn’t want to wake you.”
“Thank you.” I attempted to wrap my arms around him, but couldn’t reach anymore. The size of my stomach had grown so large, it stopped me from getting close to anyone.
“He’s cock-blocking me already,” Jack said with a smirk.
“I’m sure it won’t be the last time,” I teased.
Jack smacked my ass and I yelped. “Go get in bed. I want you off your feet. Carter’s orders.”
“Yes sir.” I gave him a snappy salute before disappearing into the bedroom.
I woke up with Jack’s hand firmly on my side. The last few weeks I’d been sleeping fitfully, waking up every few hours to pee and adjust the plethora of pillows stacked around my body. Trina had been right about them and they were lifesavers, tucked underneath my stomach, between my legs, and behind my back.
Standing to walk to the bathroom, I felt water dripping down my leg.
Shit.
I tried to hold my bladder, but I couldn’t. Shuffling into the bathroom, I sat down on the toilet and the water gushed. My heart started to race as I realized that I wasn’t peeing at all—my water had just broken.
“Jack,” I yelled from behind the bathroom door. I heard him rustling in the bed, but he didn’t respond. “Jack?”
“Kitten? Where are you?” His voice sounded groggy.
“I’m in the bathroom, Jack. It’s time. I’ll be out in a second.” I waited for the water to stop flowing as thoughts of this is really happening flooded my mind. When I walked out of the bathroom, I found Jack dressed and sitting on the bed, waiting for me.
He immediately hopped up and rushed toward me. “Are you okay? Are you sure it’s time?”
“My water just broke. We should go. Can you grab the overnight bag?” At my doctor’s insistence, I had a bag packed for weeks now that included some clothes for me as well as clothes to bring the baby home in.
He lifted an arm and proudly displayed the packed bag, “Already grabbed it.”
“You seriously impress me,” I said as a contraction tore through my insides. Bending over and grabbing at my stomach, I groaned and breathed through the pain.
Jack was instantly behind me, rubbing my back. “Kitten, are you okay?” He dropped to his knees to look up into my eyes. “You’ll be okay. I promise. What can I do?”
He didn’t like to see me in any kind of pain, and the hurt it caused him to be unable to help made me feel even worse. When the contraction passed, I stood up straight and nodded at him. “I’m not going to change. They’ll make me get out of all this anyway.” I waved a hand over my pajamas.
“You look beautiful. Let’s go as soon as you’re ready.” He tugged at his hair like he always does when he’s nervous, pulling at it.
“I’m ready.” I forced a smile to help ease his nerves.
Jack’s hand found my stomach as he whispered, “Please stop hurting your mommy. Daddy can’t take it and it’s making him crazy.” His lips found mine and he pressed the softest kiss against them. “Let’s go have this baby.”
