A Puzzling Plot in Hillbilly Hollow by Blythe Baker

Author:Blythe Baker [Baker, Blythe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-15T05:00:00+00:00

Within the next half an hour, everyone had finished eating. I went around with a black garbage bag and collected up the plates and food scraps. Suzy kept catching my eye and mouthing “hurry up” with a twinkle in her eye.

When everything was cleared away, I moved over to the present table.

“Suzy is going to come on up here now and make a speech,” I said. “And then it’s time for the best bit. Presents.”

Suzy whooped and made her way over to me.

“You didn’t tell me I had to give a speech,” she whispered.

I laughed.

“I’m pretty sure you’ll be okay without any practice,” I teased her. “Speaking isn’t exactly something you shy away from.”

“True enough.” She laughed.

I was right. She turned to the women gathered before her and gave a moving speech thanking them all for coming and for being there for her. She talked about how much it meant to both her and Brian that everyone was being so supportive and she talked about her excitement at being a mom. She finished up with a joke about a signup sheet for babysitting duty.

I got her a chair and stood to one side and handed her the first present. She looked at the gift card.

“This one is from Anna,” she said.

She tore the paper open and her face broke into a wide beam when she saw what was inside. A soft-looking white blanket and a gorgeous, white leather-bound baby book.

“Thank you, Anna, I love it.” Suzy smiled.

Next up was Suzy’s mom’s present. It was a photo album. Inside where photos of Suzy as a baby labelled with things such as, “Suzy with her first tooth” or “Suzy taking her first steps.” Next to each photo was a space.

“The spaces are for you to fill with your own baby’s milestones,” her mom explained.

Suzy’s eyes filled with tears again.

“Oh Mom, it’s beautiful. You and Dad have already given me so much.”

“And one day, when your own baby is expecting their first child, you and Brian will be right there doing exactly the same,” her mom replied.

Suzy wasn’t the only one with a tear in her eye by that point. I handed her the next gift. She paused for a moment, wincing again and pressing her hand to her side. She laughed, a laugh I could tell was forced.

“Baby is obviously as excited as I am about these gifts,” she said. “Because he or she is having a real old wriggle in there.”

She went on opening gifts and thanking people. She received blankets, vests, an adorable little outfit, and pacifiers, bottles, rattles and teething toys.

She was about halfway through the pile of gifts when she winced again. This time, she gritted her teeth and moaned slightly. She groped out with her hand and I took it, letting her pull herself to her feet by my hand.

“I think the baby is resting on a nerve. I just need to walk around for a minute,” she said.

I was worried now, and I pulled her to one side.

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