He offers it to her for approval. “Make sure you don’t go too fast or you’ll lose count and go too far. Careful! Don’t let the yarn tangle.”
“Like this?”
“No, no.” She snatches the growing messy bundle of yarn from his hands. “Here give that to Rosie, you’ll just make it worse.”
He raises his hands with an amused grin tugging at his lips. “Maybe I should start off with something simpler.”
Nanny reaches into her basket and pulls out a large hook and a ball of chunky green yarn before putting a loop in the end, “Here, hold the hook in your right hand and weave the yarn through your fingers like this…” Turning his hand, she brings the yarn over the inside of his pinky finger and back around his index. “This will help you keep the tension…”
I settle on the end of her bed as Jackson listens intently to his crash course in crocheting. I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips as he patiently listens to her instructions and teases her until she lets out a bit of that girlish giggle I have never heard before.
He’s so good with her, she’s half in love with him already. I feel my eyes start to water as my hand comes to my stomach. He’s going to be such a good dad.
“I don’t see you fixing that over there,” Nanny barks and I jump to attention with a laugh, unpicking the stitch.
“Betty, you’re running a sweatshop over here. How much are you selling these for?”
Nanny laughs again. “Don’t be silly, I don’t sell them.”
“You should consider it, especially with all the free labor you’ve got. You’d make a fortune.”
Nanny waves him off. “I just like making these for my family and my friends. I made Rosie’s blanket when she was a little girl.”
“I still have it,” I say with a smile. Granted, it’s in tatters and stored carefully in the drawer where I keep my pajamas,but it’s one of my most prized childhood possessions and I’ve always wanted my child to have one of their own. Glancing at Jackson, I can almost read his mind as he sends me an encouraging wink.
“Nanny, I need to tell you something.”
I take a deep breath and stand from the bed, resuming my position on the floor. Jackson’s behind me, his knee gently resting against my arm, and I use his strength as I turn to my grandmother. “Nanny, I’m uh…that’s to say, we’re–”
Nanny glances between us both, her thin brows quirking. “Spit it out, sweetheart.”
“I’m pregnant,” I say with a rush.
Silence. I bite my lip as I wait for her to say something.
She glances between the two of us before letting out a shocked squeal. “Are you really?” She clutches my hands in hers, bringing them to her chest as she clamps her mouth shut, holding back tears.
“Yeah,” I nod, tears brimming in my eyes.
“Here,” Jackson says, pulling the sonogram out of his pocket. “We got this a few days ago.”
Nanny gasps in delight as she pulls the picture closer to her, a lone tear dropping down her cheek. “Oh my Rosie. A baby.”
She tugs me to her and I try not to collapse against her familiar weight. I have to remind myself that she’s more fragile now than she was when I was a child but I can’t help burying my nose in her neck, her perfume stinging my eyes. She rocks me back and forth gently. “You’re going to be an incredible mother, sweetheart.”
Pulling me back, she wipes the tears from my cheeks. “This baby is going to be huge,” her eyes widen as she glances at Jackson.
Jackson hollers as I bark a wet laugh and wail, “I know!”
“Well, I better get started on your blanket! Oh and a hat and booties and a little jacket.”
“She’s going to be head to toe in Betty Taylor originals.”
Nanny squeals. “It’s a girl?”
“Yes,” Jackson says firmly.
I roll my eyes. “We don’t know yet but he’s convinced.”
