The house fills with warmth as my parents and grandparents’ step inside, smiles lighting up their faces as they greet us. My mother’s eyes immediately find my belly, her face softening with the kind of affection only a mother can have. She rushes to hug me, enveloping me in her familiar embrace, and then pulls back just enough to study my belly with a look of wonder.
“Tess, you look radiant,” she says, her voice full of emotion. “You’re about to become a mother.”
Her words send a ripple through me, a mixture of excitement and fear. I glance at Ryan, who gives me a reassuring smile. We exchange a silent understanding, this is big, this is everything, and we’re in it together.
As we move into the dining room, the atmosphere shifts, becoming cozy and intimate. Ryan’s mother, Helen, flutter
