Free A Mingled Yarn by Melissa F. Miller Page A

her last week of work interviewing receptionist candidates.
    Naya shrugged as if it to say it was a mystery to her, too. “Maybe that’s what Will wants to talk about.”
    “Maybe.”
    Just then, Caroline yanked open the conference room door and ushered Sasha inside.
    “Surprise!” a chorus of voices shouted.
    Sasha looked around the crowded room, taking in the pastel green and yellow balloons, the banner, the cupcakes, and the people. So many people beaming at her. Her parents, her sisters-in-law, Will, Hank, Daniel and Chris, Naya’s boyfriend Carl, the crew from Jake’s … the list went on. From the corner near a credenza piled high with brightly wrapped packages and colorful gift bags, Connelly materialized.
    He walked over and handed her a glass of water then kissed her chastely. “Here, have some water. You look flushed. Are you in shock?” he asked.
    She gulped the water down while Naya answered for her. “Nah, just homicidal. Your wife wants to kill a sitting judge.”
    Connelly threw her a curious look.
    “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later,” she said out of the side of her mouth. Then she took another sip of water and asked loudly, hoping she’d be heard over the din, “What’s all this?”
    Her mother looked up from a conversation with Will’s wife and answered. “I know you said you didn’t need a baby shower. But my only daughter’s about to bear my grandchild. It’s my prerogative to throw one for you and Leo,” a beaming Valentina said. She crossed the room to hug Sasha—or at least, try. She had to struggle to get her arms around her daughter.
    Standing a hair under five feet tall, Sasha felt that she was now almost as wide as she was high.
    “Wow, thanks, Mom,” Sasha managed. A surprise baby shower wasn’t really her mother’s style, but she seemed to be in her element, laughing and joking. Over her mom’s shoulder, Sasha met her father’s eyes. He looked mildly bemused by the whole scene. She knew the feeling.
    “So, Daniel tells me you didn’t find out the baby’s sex.” Roberta Steinfeld asked, pressing a cupcake into Sasha’s hands. “I had to choose a neutral theme.”
    Sasha looked down at the confection. A fondant diaper pin rose from the frosted cupcake. “You made these, Bertie? This is adorable.”
    Her Krav Maga instructor’s mother waved the compliment away with her hand, “Pshaw, it was nothing. Literally, a piece of cake.”
    Sasha smiled at her then pulled back the wrapper and took a big bite just as a flash went off and someone snapped a picture.
    She surveyed the friends and relatives who jammed around the conference room table, laughing and eating, and rubbed her protruding belly. This baby was going to be born into the arms of a loving community. Then she cut her eyes toward Connelly and wondered what he was thinking. The only child of a single mother, he had no living relatives—at least none that he knew of. He’d never met his father. Was this display poignant for him? Or painful?
    He seemed to read her thoughts and reached for her free hand. “Our baby’s one lucky kiddo,” he said, pulling her close.
    She was just about to agree when her sister-in-law, Riley, rushed over. “Time for games!” Riley trilled loudly, clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention.
    Games? Baby shower games? And why was Riley holding a roll of toilet paper?
    Riley waved the Charmin in the air. “Okay, we’re going to guess how many squares it’ll take to get all the way around Sasha’s belly. Closest without going over wins!”
    Sasha flashed Naya a look that said ‘this can’t be about to happen.’ Naya flashed one back that very clearly said ‘I told you to be nice.’

2
    C onnelly deposited the last armload of gifts on the kitchen island and dusted his hands on his pants. “That’s the last of them,” he announced.
    Sasha looked up from the floor where she was sitting lotus-style with Mocha’s slobbery dog head resting on her thigh and