“I know.” I kissed her forehead and then swallowed back the huge lump growing in my throat.
The doctor visit was short. She just reminded Mia to take her prenatal vitamins and then gave us a bunch of packets of information.
Back at home, lying in bed, Mia and I swept through the endless pamphlets and information booklets, periodically asking each other questions.
“Oh, look, we can tour the hospital. You’re not thinking you’re gonna have the baby at home, are you?”
“Martha suggested it, but I’m not crazy.”
“Good. That would make me a nervous wreck.”
“If it’s a girl, I want to name her Grace.”
“Okay, if it’s a boy, I think we should name him Hamsel,” I said, straight-faced.
“What?” Her tone was not nice.
“Yeah, I’ve always loved the name Hamsel, or we can name him Wilbur Jr. and just call him Junior for short.” I finally had mercy when Mia’s eyes were open as wide as they would go. “I’m kidding. What names do you like?”
“For a boy, hmm. I don’t know; we’ll have to think on it. I really like Birch or Branch, you know something earthy…maybe Webb.” I laughed but she deadpanned, “What? I mean if you don’t like those, I also really like Stream or Haze.”
Oh my God, she’s serious.
She tilted her head to the side, smiled, and cackled like a witch. “Ha, ha, Will. Two can play this game.”
“Thank God, I thought you were serious. Shit.”
She socked me in the chest. “See, it’s not fun being messed with it, is it?”
“You can mess with me anytime.” I grabbed myself.
“Will!” She screamed and then jumped out of bed. As she exited the room, I heard her quietly mumble, “You’re a pig.”
TRACK 7: Wedding Bands
The morning of our wedding, Mia slipped out and went to Jenny’s with her mom, Martha, and Sheil to get ready while I entertained the massive number of family members who’d come into town. Along with Mia’s step-dad, my parents, my brother, and six of my sisters and their families flew in for the ceremony. Our plan was to have the short-but-sweet ceremony at the pier and then everyone would go back to a local restaurant for a wedding dinner. We didn’t do the reception thing. I honestly didn’t think Mia would feel up to that much commotion, and it would have cost us a fortune. Since Mia didn’t want to go out of town after finding out she was pregnant, I reserved a suite at the Ritz-Carlton for our wedding night.
Tyler and I dressed in simple black suits and skinny ties that Jenny picked out. I couldn’t resist the temptation—I had to hide a silly T-shirt under my dress shirt to give Mia a laugh. When I showed it to Tyler, he said she was going to kick me in the balls and then kill me. “You better not reveal that T-shirt in front of any of the family members.”
“They’d get a laugh, but I’m not going to. I’ll save it for later for Mia.”
“What did you get her for the wedding gift?”
“Dude, I bought her a f**king Steinway.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, I had to. She saw it in a store and played it in the showroom. The entire staff gathered around to watch her. She kept her eyes closed and wept while she played “Isolde’s Love Death” from Tristan and Isolde. She played the whole f**king thing without any sheet music. The crowd clapped and whistled. I offered to buy it on the spot; I said we could write it off, but she said absolutely not. She wouldn’t let me.”
“How much was it?”
“A lot.”
“Dude, tell me, how much?”
“A hundred.”
“A hundred what?” Tyler said in disbelief.
“A hundred f**king shillings. A hundred thousand dollars, you moron.”
“You bought her a hundred-thousand-dollar piano?”
“Well, technically, Alchemy Sound Studios bought it for her, but yeah.”
They’d delivered it late last night. I planned to take her there before we met everyone at the restaurant.
“Maybe you guys can do some baby-making business on there while you’re at it.”
I tightened my skinny tie in the long mirror nailed to our closet door, and then I turned toward Tyler. I put my hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been an awesome friend to me, man. I love you—that’s why I don’t want to lie to you.”
“What?” he said, looking innocently at me.
“Mia’s pregnant. We found out for sure a couple of days ago.”
He gave me the biggest bear hug and lifted me off the ground in the process. “Oh, man, that’s awesome news, bro.”
A bear hug from Tyler truly felt like a bear hug. Being six foot myself, I was rarely picked up and twirled around by others. I was surprised by his reaction. I thought it would be upsetting to him.
“Tyler, Jen already knows. Mia told her.” I’m not positive, but I thought his eyes looked a little watery after I made that comment.
He continued smiling. “Jenny will be okay. She’s tough as nails, man.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Anyway, it’s about you guys today. I promise I won’t make a huge fool out of myself like you did at my wedding.”
“Hey, I was heartbroken.”
We trotted down the stairs from my loft with my sisters and a bunch of kids in tow. We got to the Fulton Ferry Landing early. The day was perfect: sunny, crisp and clear. Even from the other side of the bay, all the way across the choppy water, the New York skyline was grand. I stood against the railing next to Tyler and my brother while I watched my mom and sisters chase my nieces and nephews around. I wondered what Mia would look like, how she would be feeling, and if she would make the announcement right there on the pier or if she would wait until later at the restaurant.