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She wasn’t sure if it was just because she was in her last trimester of pregnancy and her due date was coming soon, or if it was the fact that her in-laws were there, which was the reason she was feeling this way. It’s not that she hates them, but her mother-in-law can be overbearing at times, and she also has an opinion about Phoenix. That’s one of the reasons why she and Bob don’t visit them on the East Coast, other than giving the excuse of work. They, especially Bob, did not want to deal with the coddling his mother gives him when they visit him. Phoenix understood why, given that he was her only son out of five children. On top of that, she would leave passive-aggressive comments about the nursery, which was perfect in Phoenix and Bob’s opinion.
“Is it bad that I question how your dad puts up with your mom sometimes?” Phoenix asked as she slipped on the red cardigan over her cream dress.
“No, I ask myself the same thing,” Bob reassured her feelings as he buttoned up his dress shirt.
They were getting ready for the Christmas party/dinner that Ice and Mav are hosting. Thankfully, Bob’s parents were staying at a hotel nearby since their guestroom turned into the nursery.
“Well, we need to head out so we can beat traffic and pick them up,” Bob said.
Nodding her head, Phoenix and Bob went to the car and packed up the gifts before getting into the car with their recently installed car seat. Their Christmas playlist played throughout the car while they talked about the last-minute things they needed to do before their daughter arrived. Pulling up to the pickup area of the hotel Bob’s parents were staying at, they greeted them and soon drove to Mav and Ice’s house.
“Merry Christmas y’all!” Rooster greeted the Floyds. “Come in, grab some drinks.”
Greeting Rooster, they heard Christmas music playing throughout the house as Bob and Phoenix saw their squadron enjoying the drinks and appetizers that were provided. The Flyboys were also around the house, chatting with each other as they helped out with the food.
“So, any bets of you having a Christmas baby?” Slider asked as Phoenix walked into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools.
“Yeah, she is not leaving anytime soon,” Phoenix chuckled as she rubbed her bump.
“How are you and Bob doing with his parents?” Ice asked as he greeted his daughter with a kiss on the top of her head before rubbing her bump.
He and Mav knew about how her mother-in-law felt about Phoenix. Everyone in the squad and the Flyboys know about her mother-in-law at this point.
“We’re alright,” Phoenix sipped on her drink.
“Do you have a name picked out yet?” Goose asked, wearing a Hawaiian shirt with surfing Santas printed all over it. “Nichola is a great girl's name.”
“Or Petra,” Mav said, slapping Slider’s hand away from the pot. “Slider, I swear if you dip the bread in there one more time, we won’t have enough sauce for everyone.”
“Ice, tell your husband to stop slapping me,” Slider pouted at his pilot.
“I’m not taking part in this,” Ice raised his hands in defense before leaving the kitchen.
Following Ice’s move, Phoenix headed back to the living room to see an open spot next to her husband. She sat down next to him, and Bob pulled her closer as he continued his conversation with Fanboy. Soon, Mav announced that dinner was ready, and everyone sat around the huge convertible table that he and Ice bought for occasions like these.
“Well, first of all, Pete and I would like to thank you for coming here today,” Ice started his speech. “It’s been a while since we had a huge party like this, and we are surprised we managed to fit all of you in this room, minus the kids' table.”
Everyone around the table laughed.
“Again, thank you, and we would like to express our greatest gratitude to our guests, Patricia and Christian Floyd, for coming,” Mav added as he held his drink. “You two have raised an amazing son and are lucky to have him and Natasha in your family.”
Phoenix tensed up a little as she felt the look Patricia was giving her. Sensing his wife’s energy, Bob squeezed her hand and kissed the back of it to calm her down.
“Bob, Phoenix, Ice, and I wish you two a safe, healthy pregnancy and delivery,” Mav smiled at the couple. “Look Petra and Thomasina are good names. To Baby Floyd.”
“To Baby Floyd!” Everyone held up their drinks.
After clinking their drinks, everyone started to make their plate. Along the middle of the table, Maverick, Ice, and some of the Flyboys/Daggers made/brought dishes. Some of them ranged from pasta, salad, cultural food, and the Christmas ham and turkey Ice made. Carole made some of her favorite pies that she sells at the farmers market booth that she and Goose have during the spring/summer.
Throughout the table, everyone conversed with each other. Everyone in the Daggers was questioning Bob and Phoenix about who the godparents are, but they told them they would find out when she is born. Bob and Phoenix have also noticed that some of them were gone from the dinner table, but ignored it, thinking they had headed to the kitchen to get some dessert.
“Alright, you two come with us,” Hangman said as he and Halo stood behind their chairs.
“What’s going on?” Bob asked.
“Just follow us to the living room,” Halo told them.
Following their two friends, they froze in their spot as they saw two decorated chairs with sashes, along with baby shower decorations, scattered around the room.
“Surprise!” Coyote cheered. “Welcome to your surprise baby shower!”
“You guys didn’t have to do this,” Phoenix smiled at her friends and family.
“We wanted to,” Penny smiled at the expectant parents. “Now go sit and get showered with gifts.”
Chuckling, Bob and Phoenix sat down in the chairs and were given gifts. All of the gifts ranged from clothes to toys to books. The gift that took the cake was the gift from Ice. Since Bob and Phoenix had announced that they were pregnant, he had spent every other weekend with Slider in his garage learning how to work with wood. His main goal was to make a crate for Baby Floyd to use as she grows up. Once Ice got the hang of it, he used all of the free time he had to start building it. The only person who knew about it was Mav, since he watched his husband make it, and his gift was in it. The crate matched the animal theme of the nursery, along with the little wooden toys he made for it.
“Wait Mav, you made this?” Phoenix pulled the knitted blanket out of the crate.
“Tom is not the only one who has a hidden talent,” Mav chuckled.
“Thank you,” Bob looked up at the couple. “She’s going to love it.”
Smiling, everyone soon moved from the baby shower gifts to exchanging Christmas gifts. Bob and Phoenix laughed at the gift their friends gave them. They had made a coupon book where they could cash in one of the coupons anytime. Some of the coupons mostly consisted of babysitting opportunities, but some were paying for a date night or a guys'/girls' day out. They also offered home-cooked meals coupons, just in case they weren’t feeling like cooking.
“I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t need those. Natasha would be cooking fresh meals for my little Robert,” Patricia commented, which made everyone uneasy.
Everyone tried not to rebut the comment, even Penny and Carole fought the urge not to bite back since they knew raising a newborn is hard. All of the energy will be drained after giving birth and waking up at all hours of the night to feed the baby. Ignoring the comment, more gifts were opened.
The party soon ended as people started to leave to head back home. The Daggers started to sleep over at Ice and Mav’s house since they had been drinking. Ice and Mav didn’t mind since they loved having their kids over at the house. Bob and Phoenix, on the other hand, would’ve loved sleeping over at the house, but they had to take Bob’s parents back to the hotel.
“You okay?” Bob asked Phoenix as he wrapped his arms around her waist and bump.
“Yeah,” Phoenix simply answered, wiping off her makeup. “Just tired.”
“Okay,” Bob hummed and kissed her bare shoulder. “What if we had little contact with my mom?”
“Like go no contact with her?” Phoenix looked at her husband. “Why?”
“No, more like talking to her a few times a year. We tell her that baby girl is here, but after that, it’s up to our discretion,” he explained. “I’m tired of the comments she’s been making about you or towards you. I need to protect you and baby girl.”
“Bob, this is a big decision. What about your dad?” Phoenix cupped her husband’s face.
“We’ll talk to my dad as often as we can, but we’ll tell him that we’re not talking to my mom as often,” he sighed.
“Look, this is a big decision and we need to think about it, okay?” Phoenix and Bob touched foreheads.
“Okay,” Bob whispered and nodded his head.
Humming in agreement, Phoenix continued getting ready for the night while Bob got into their bed to read his book, but the thought kept on running in his mind.
Was he making the right decision?