“What sort of ‘something else’?”
“I’d just told Simon that I was pregnant.”
Wait—what? Sidney blinked. “Oh my god.”
A smile peeked at the corners of Isabelle’s mouth. “That was pretty much my first reaction. Simon’s, too.”
Wow. Her sister—her little sister—was pregnant. Sidney didn’t know where to start, she had so many questions. “So this was obviously unplanned, then.”
“Um, yeah. Three weeks ago, I’d decided to give Simon a drawer of his own in my bedroom. You know, so he could have a place to keep his things when he slept over. We’d opened a bottle of champagne to celebrate—because at that time, that was a big step in our relationship—and we got a little tipsy. The details are somewhat fuzzy, but I’m kind of thinking we didn’t get the condom on fast enough.”
Oops.
Sidney reached for her sister’s hand, still getting up to speed. “How are you feeling about all this?”
Isabelle took a deep breath and exhaled. “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since I found out, and I’ll obviously have to juggle some things around with my clients once the baby comes,” she said, referring to her social work practice. “But I think Simon and I are starting to wrap our minds around it now.”
“Is this why you want to get married so quickly? Because—not to sound all big sister here—you don’t have to get married just because you’re having a baby, Izz.”
“I know.” Isabelle looked at her earnestly. “But the thing is, I knew I wanted to marry Simon after our second date. He’s the one, Sid. And getting married before the baby comes is really important to him. So, sure—maybe things are happening faster than I’d envisioned, but we’re rolling with it.”
Sidney searched her sister’s face for any sign of uncertainty. “You’re sure this is what you want?”
Isabelle nodded, without any hesitation. “Positive.”
Sidney’s big-sister protective instincts relaxed a bit. “Okay, then. I guess we’d better get going on those wedding plans.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “What do we have? Eight months to pull this off? Maybe seven, to be safe?”
Isabelle pursed her lips. “Well, see, here’s the thing about that. Apparently, Simon’s mother is a very traditional Catholic. He’s worried she’ll be disappointed if she knows that I’m pregnant before we get married, so we’re kind of hoping to have the wedding before we tell her about the baby.”
“Oh. So you’re eloping?”
“I threw that out as a possibility, but Simon says his parents would be crushed if we did that. So, instead we’re thinking about having a wedding here before I start to show.”
“That’s great, Izz. But I’m thinking Simon’s mom is going to figure out the situation when—hello—a baby shows up five months after your wedding. Unless you’re planning on telling her that the stork now offers expedited shipping?”
Isabelle threw her a look. Ha, ha. “Obviously, we’ll have to tell her before that. I just don’t want her to be upset before the wedding.” She paused. “I mean, I’ve never met the woman, and I don’t want her first impression of me to be that I’m the girl who trapped her son into marriage by getting pregnant after dating him for only three months. That’s not how it’s supposed to go the first time I meet my future mother-in-law. My in-laws are supposed to be happy that I’m marrying their son, and my mother-in-law is supposed to . . . I don’t know . . . pass along family recipes to me, and maybe show me how to make a perfect piecrust, and help me pick out the baby’s baptism gown, and just . . . do all those things that moms do.”
Sidney’s throat suddenly felt a little tight, knowing exactly where Isabelle was coming from. Both of them had missed out on so many of those kinds of moments, since their mother had passed away from breast cancer when Sidney was nine years old and Isabelle only four. And since their father was . . . well, their father, he hadn’t provided much by way of a “typical” nuclear family experience.
“I just really want Simon’s parents to like me.” Isabelle smiled cheekily. “Once they see how adorable I am, and how perfect Simon and I are together, we’ll spring the news on them. And, in fairness, it’s not just Simon’s parents. This pregnancy is something special, something personal between Simon and me. I don’t want a bunch of people talking about how I got knocked up before getting married. They can say what they want after the wedding—but for now, Simon and I want to keep this between us. Well, and you.”
Sidney squeezed her sister’s hand. “You know what I think? I think it’s nobody’s business whether you’re pregnant. You tell people when you’re ready. When Trish was pregnant, she waited until she was out of the first trimester to tell anyone. You’re just extending that a little.”
“Exactly,” Isabelle said emphatically.
“So, three months, huh? It’s going to be tight, pulling that off.” Sidney winked. “Lucky for you, you happen to have a kick-ass maid of honor to help.”
Isabelle bit her lip, suddenly looking hesitant for the first time that evening. “So here’s the part where you need to be totally honest with me. I looked everywhere in the city for availability in the next three months—but not surprisingly, things are booked. I did find one venue that happened to have an opening the Saturday before Labor Day. It’s a beautiful place, too.”