Until December (Until Her/Him #8)(22)

“Umm… are you forgetting something?” Sejla asks his back, and his shoulders sag as he turns to face both his aunts, who are looking at him expectantly.

“Sorry.” He holds up his hand for a high five, and my sisters take that as a challenge and rush him at the same time. Once he’s stuck between them, they begin to hug and kiss him.

“Dad!” he yells, looking at me for help, and I hold up both my hands and laugh while he groans and grumbles, trying unsuccessfully to dodge them.

“Now, you can go.” Selma laughs, releasing him at the same time as Sejla.

I hear him growl under his breath as he adjusts his clothes and fixes his hair, and I smile as he glares at me before stomping away, disappearing back into the house.

“He’s growing up too fast,” Sejla says, and I feel pain slice through my chest. She’s right. I try not to think about it, but I know it’s only going to be a few years before we’re searching for colleges. And on the heels of that, he’ll move out, eventually find someone to spend his life with, and start a family of his own. And not long after he’s gone, Max will do the same and begin his own life. It feels like it was just minutes ago that I was holding each of them against my chest, marveling at the fact that I created them. And now they are on the cusp of becoming men of their own.

“Both my boys are growing up too quickly,” I reply, watching my sisters’ faces soften in understanding. “I’ve loved watching them grow and become their own men, but—”

“You miss your babies,” Sejla says quiet, cutting me off.

“Yeah.” I rub the tension from the back of my neck.

“Maybe you’ll have another baby one day,” Selma says, and I shake my head in denial.

“No sleep, bottles, and endless amounts of diapers? No thanks. I did that twice, and I’m not going back.”

“You’re still young,” Sejla points out, like that’s reason enough to have another kid.

“I have my boys. I’ve done the baby thing and enjoyed every second of it, but I’m not interested in going through that again,” I say, then watch my sisters share a look of disappointment. “What?” I ask, looking between the two of them.

“You’re young,” Sejla repeats, then holds up her hand when I start to open my mouth to reiterate my earlier statement. “Whoever you end up with will most likely be young too, so what will happen if they don’t have kids and want to start a family with you?”

My chest tightens as I fully comprehend the point she’s trying to make. Still, I say, “Whoever I end up with will have my boys and me.”

“Okay, I get that, but maybe you shouldn’t completely close the door on the idea of having more children,” she tells me, then continues with her voice dipping to a solemn tone. “With both Mitchell and Max, you were a single dad doing all the heavy lifting alone. It would be different if you found the right woman, someone who wanted to be a mom. Someone to share things with, who’d stick around even when things got hard.”

I want to tell her I’d be open to the idea of more kids with the right woman, but in all honesty, I don’t know if I would be.

“Please, please don’t shut that door,” she pleas, reading my expression.

“I won’t shut that door,” I agree just to get the look of concern out of her eyes, and she lets out a deep breath before she looks at Selma then back to me.

“We’ve both met December. She’s sweet, and her family is awesome, and I think I speak for the two of us when I say we’re happy you’re finally dating.”

Shit.

“You deserve someone like her,” Selma adds, and I realize at that moment exactly why Sejla was so adamant about me being open to the idea of having more kids.

December is young, she doesn’t have children, and if she’s like most women, she’s probably thought about having kids of her own. It’s not a subject I’d broach tonight, but it’s definitely something we will have to talk about if things between us progress.

“Just have fun tonight.” Her lips tip up into a smile then she looks at Sejla. “We need to go if we’re going to make it to Nashville in time.”

“Nashville?” I ask, wondering why they’re heading into the city.

“One of our favorite authors is signing at the bookstore downtown,” Selma says, and I roll my eyes. My sisters are both avid readers. If they aren’t working, they’re traveling to reader events all over the world to meet their favorite authors and hang out with their book friends.

“You can bore me with the nerdy details later,” I tell them, and they both laugh as I walk the two of them into the house. I stop in the kitchen to take a frozen pizza out of the freezer, and while I put it on a pan and place it in the oven, they go to say goodbye to their nephews. I meet them at the front door a few minutes later and hug each of them before they leave. Once they’re gone, I knock on Mitchell’s door then Max’s, telling them to keep an ear out for the timer I set for the pizza, hoping one or both of them will hear it.

Getting grumbled agreements from both boys, I go to my room and hop in the shower. Forty minutes later, dressed in dark gray slacks and a burgundy button-down shirt, I head toward the sound of voices in the living room. I find both boys on the couch and the pizza I placed in the oven earlier between them on the coffee table. I start to open my mouth to ask how their homework is coming along, but I freeze when I hear Max ask, “But what if Mom comes back?”