Chapter 143 - Trinity- Shopping With Juniper (VOLUME 2)
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Trinity
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The next day I was feeling a little better. Perhaps it was knowing what the cause was that made me feel slightly better. And, to top it off, ever since Reece had made me aware of the tiny life growing inside of me I could feel a sort of warmth emanating from inside. A sort of light inside of me that I just knew was the baby.
I couldn't help it, I was excited. I had to share the news. I knew just who to tell first. I didn't want to just tell her outright though, I wanted to make it a surprise when she finds out.
"Hey." Juniper's voice was full of fun and excitement like always when I called her.
"Hey Juniper, what are you doing today? Any plans?"
"None whatsoever. Why? What do you have in mind?"
"I want to go pick out a birthday present for Lila. I was wondering if you'd go with me."
"Of course, I'm always down for a shopping trip."
"Great, let's have a little lunch first then go shopping."
We went to a small cafe for a quick lunch. I knew I wouldn't be very hungry when it came time to eat, but I still wanted to try. We sat and ordered our food, I chose a simple vegetable soup and BLT while Juniper ordered a lot more food than me, also more complex food.
"Why aren't you getting more?" She asked me, confused.
"I'm just not all that hungry."
"You're sick?" She looked at me worriedly.
"No, just wedding jitters." I smiled through the lie hoping she wouldn't call me out on it.
"I can understand that. I remember my wedding, I was so scared and nervous."
"Nervous doesn't even begin to describe it."
"You'll be alright. You have all of us here for you." She smiled. "Paul and Cedar are so excited for the wedding too, though they won't ever admit it to you." She was smiling happily. I knew I made the right choice to come out with her today.
We continued to chat, talking about wedding plans and gossiping about what had happened in the pack recently. All in all it was a good lunch with my best friend. That is until my stomach flipped and I felt queasy.
"Are you feeling ok?" She asked me, clearly suspicious again.
"Yeah, I'm alright." She didn't push the matter, I just hoped she wouldn't get mad later when she found out that I lied to her.
After lunch we went to a plant nursery. I wanted to get something special for Lila's birthday. I knew that she would love anything to do with gardening, something to add to the solarium and garden outside. I wanted to get her some beautiful and rare flowers. I chose some rare breeds of roses and an array of orchids that would form a rainbow. Lila and I both had a fondness for orchids. I also got her some new gardening tools and supplies. I was certain that she would love all of it.
I had other plans for the day as well. I asked Juniper to come with me to the mall, I knew they would have the things that I wanted there. I wanted a way to break the news to everyone. I knew it was a bit cliche but still, I wanted to do it.
The first stop we made at the mall was to a custom printing shop. I picked out three baby onesies, two white and one green. I had the staff print something onto all of them. DADDY'S LITTLE PUP on the green one. I LOVE MY GRANDPA on one of the white ones. And lastly, I LOVE MY GREAT-GRANDPA on the last one. None of these would have given my secret away just yet, as I could have been buying them because Nikki was pregnant.
Next I took Juniper to a jewelry store. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted. I browsed through the section with engravings and novelty sayings. I chose two necklaces that said GRANDMA inside of a beautifully designed heart surrounded by gemstones and diamonds, one for Lila and one for Aunt Eve. Again, this wouldn't seem overly suspicious as Nikki could be giving these to her mother and Aunt Eve.
I found two that said AN AUNT'S LOVE IS FOREVER. One was a necklace, the other was a bracelet. The words were engraved in a heart surrounded but pink and blue gems as well as diamonds. They were lovely and would be perfect. I was totally playing up the cliche of the gifts a little but I didn't care.
"Hey, Juniper, which one do you think I should get?" I asked her.
"Hmm." She said as she came to look at the bracelet and necklace I was holding. "Well, personally I prefer the bracelet, but you're not the type that wears bracelets so I say you should go with the necklace."
"That's true, I personally would prefer the necklace." I smiled at her, she knew me so well already. "What about Nikki? Which do you think she would prefer?"
"I don't know Nikki all that well. But I'm sure she would want you to wear what you're most comfortable wearing."
"What do you think she would like to wear?" I asked her as I tried to press the issue a little more.
"Why would it matter what she would want to wear?" Juniper asked as she started to think. She then saw that I had already placed the bracelet on the counter to buy. That's when her face exploded with excitement.
"No." She breathed, her voice weak but filled with restrained excitement. "Trinity are you?" She asked me with a big grin on her face. I just smiled at her. "The onesies, I should have known when you bought the green one, but I was deluding myself. The grandma necklaces aren't for Nikki's mom and Eve, they're for Lila and Eve, and the aunt necklace is for Nikki, not you." She was grinning happily.
"And you." I told her. "I'm getting the bracelet for you silly."
"Me?" She seemed at a loss as her eyes teared up. "Why would you get that for me?" She was actually crying now.
"Because you're my best friend, and the closest thing to a sister I have ever had besides Nikki." I put my love for her into those words.
"Oh, Trinity." She hugged me tight, sniffling just a little. "Just you wait, I'm going to be the best aunt ever. This kid is going to be so happy. And when I finally have a kid, they will grow up to be the best of friends. Wait until I tell Paul. He's gonna be an Uncle and I'm gonna be an Aunt. Oh wait, is Cedar gonna be called Uncle Cedar?" She tilted her head in confusion at the end.
"Yeah, if he wants to be. He's like a brother to me too. He's always protecting me anyway."
"He will love that." She smiled while jumping for joy, holding my hands in hers.
Suddenly, though, her face fell and she seemed worried.
"But wait, what about your dress?" She asked me, worried about the wedding dress.
"I'm getting married in three weeks. I don't think it will affect the fit that much, but we can ask them to allow for a little extra maybe." I tried to calm her. "Though, if I keep getting queasy like I have since yesterday, then I will probably weigh less than I do now. I don't think I have anything to worry about."
"I'm gonna have to make sure you stay healthy and eat properly for the two of you."
"Ok, now you're starting to sound like you're my mom or something. Just be my bestie, ok."
"Nope, I'm gonna watch you like a hawk, someone has to protect you outside of scary situations. I'm not your guard, but I am personally invested in this now." She just smiled at me and hugged me again. "I'm so happy and excited for you Trinity."
"Thanks Juniper." I hugged her back.
"Oh, one last thing." She glared at me, angrily. "How many people already know? I'm not the last to find out am I?" She was not really mad but she was clearly hoping to know before anyone else.
"Juniper, I'm literally buying gifts for everyone to tell them. Do you really think that I told them already?"
"Good point. But still, answer my question."
"As far as I know, Reece is the only other person who knows, unless he's told someone else already."
"So, beside the father I'm the first to know?" She seemed elated. I laughed at how she worded it, it was actually pretty funny.
"Well, actually Reece truly was the first to know."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She looked at me with confusion.
"He's the one that enlightened me. He noticed before I did."
"Well, that's usually how it happens though, isn't it? The father can detect the scent change in the mother."
"Yeah, I know, but it had never even crossed my mind that it was a possibility until he told me."
"Girl, with the way you look at each other, we've all just been waiting for this news." She laughed at me.
"We're not that bad, are we." That seemed to make her laugh harder.
"Seriously Trin, have you not noticed how obvious you two are around each other since you got back?"
"No." I shook my head. "Are we awful?"
"No, it's really sweet and makes all of us happy for our Luna and Alpha."
"God, I might just die of embarrassment now, if everyone knows that much about my sex life that is."
"No one knows details, well besides me and the tidbits you've shared." She grinned. "But we can tell how much in love the two of you are, and everyone can tell you've definitely mated for real now."
"No, Juniper." I covered my face in embarrassment.
After my mortifying talk with Juniper, I got small gifts for Paul, Cedar, Carter and Noah as well. I just hoped Noah didn't get too angry with Reece, he's been super protective for the last few months.