When I saw the tears filling his eyes, I jumped up and walked over to him. “Layton, you’re married to the woman you’re going to spend the rest of your life with. You’re going to be a father, and you and I both know that you will be a damn good dad. Nothing in this letter will change any of that. Do you understand that?”
He slowly nodded his head and gave me a weak smile. “This is why you’re my best friend. I need you to do it though. I need to know what he wanted to say to me and why he felt like he had to wait until I was going to be a father.”
I turned and sat back down on the bench as I began to open the letter. I took a deep breath and looked up at Layton. “You ready?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
I cleared my throat and began to read the words Layton’s father had written down on paper.
I looked up at Layton and had to catch my breath. He was leaning against a stall…crying. I quickly wiped away the tear slowly making its way down my face. I waited a few minutes before I said anything.
“Layton? You okay?” I asked as I stood up.
He looked at me and slowly smiled as he nodded his head. “Yeah, I’m more than okay. That’s all I ever wanted, Reed. I only wanted him to say he was sorry and that he loved us.” He looked down and kicked the dirt. “That’s all I ever wanted,” he whispered again.
I walked up to him, grabbed him, and pulled him in for a hug. “I love you like a brother, Layton. I’m always here for you.”
“I know, Reed. Thank you for always being there for me. It means more to me than you know. You know I love you like a brother, too.”
“Am I interrupting some bonding time here with you two pussies?” Kevin said from behind us.
After slapping each other’s backs harder than we needed to, Layton and I stepped back and shook hands as we smiled at each other.
“Fuck off, Kevin,” I said as I handed Layton the letter.
He pushed it into his back pocket and started laughing. “You want a beer, Kevin?” Layton asked as he reached into the cooler and pulled one out.
“Hell yeah, I do. So, what’s going on? I got your text, Layton, saying you had something to tell me. I rushed over, but I’m not so sure I want to know what it is after walking in on the two of you…sharing a moment.” He rolled his eyes and then let out a chuckle.
I laughed as I sat down on the bench and downed my beer. I glanced up, and the smile on Layton’s face had me smiling. I knew exactly what he was going to tell Kevin—Whitley was pregnant.
“I’ve got some good news, dude, but you can’t tell Whit that I told you,” Layton said.
I started laughing. He’s worse than a girl.
“Oh, hell no. I don’t want that girl getting mad at me. You just keep your secret to yourself until the girl says you can spill the beans on whatever it is.”
Layton shrugged his shoulders and sat down next to me. “Okay, but Reed knows.”
Kevin was about to take a drink of his beer but stopped right at his lips. “Reed knows the secret you’re not supposed to be telling?”
I nodded my head and laughed. “Yep, I sure do. It’s a good one, too.”
Kevin dropped his head back and let out a sigh before looking back at Layton. “Shit. I promise not to tell Whitley you told me. What’s the damn secret?”
Layton smiled bigger, if that were even possible, and said, “Whit is pregnant.”
Kevin slapped his leg, jumped, and yelled out, “Damn, I knew it! When I just saw her, she looked different! She looked so happy. Ah hell, Layton.”
He walked over toward Layton as he stood up. They shook hands and then hugged quickly before Kevin pushed Layton back. Layton threw his head back and laughed.
“Congratulations, dude. You must be over the moon,” Kevin said.
“Oh, man, you have no idea. I’ve never been this happy before in my life. I honestly don’t think I could be any happier,” Layton said with a goofy-ass grin on his face.
“This is the best news. Y’all, we need to celebrate this shit!” Kevin said.
“Celebrate what?”
All three of us turned to see Whitley and Courtney standing there. The moment I saw Courtney, my stomach did that same damn funny thing it had been doing for the last year.
This girl drives me crazy.
“Uh…” Layton said as he looked at me and then at Kevin, willing one of us to help him out.
I glanced over toward Whitley, who now had her hands on her hips with her head tilted, giving Layton a look. Courtney was trying to hold in her laughter as she looked everywhere but at us.
“Layton, did you tell them? You promised,” Whitley said with a little bit of a whiny voice.
“You told Courtney,” Layton said.
I closed my eyes and waited.
“Reed Nickolas Moore, you weren’t supposed to say anything!” Courtney said.
I peeked over at Courtney, only to see Whitley staring at her now.
“You told Reed?” Whitley asked Courtney.
“Um…wait, this is not about me. This is about Layton telling all of his friends and planning a party to celebrate,” Court said as she pointed to Layton.
“Hey!” Layton said as he pointed to Kevin. “The party was his idea.”
Kevin began laughing as he walked over to Whitley. He grabbed her and spun her around. “Girl, congratulations. Now, let’s get down to business. We have a damn party to plan.”
Whitley smiled and then looked at me and winked. “We have more than one reason to celebrate.”
Kevin stepped back and looked around at everyone, stopping at Courtney. “Is someone else pregs?”
Courtney and I both said, “No!”
Whitley grabbed Courtney’s hand and held it up, showing the engagement ring. Court and I had decided not to tell anyone at the barbeque yesterday.
“Holy shit.” Kevin turned and looked at me with a stunned expression on his face. His mouth dropped open. “Reed, you’re getting married to my girl?”
Courtney started laughing as she made her way over to me.
I grabbed her and pulled her next to me. “I’m afraid I am, dude. You moved too slow.”
Kevin looked down at Courtney and then back at me. He shook his head and stuck out his hand. “Damn, y’all. It’s about fucking time.”
I reached for his hand, and he pulled me in for a hug.
He leaned in toward my ear and whispered, “I’m so happy for you, Reed.” He slapped me on the back and stepped back, and then he looked down at Courtney. Kevin pulled her into a hug and said, “Damn, girl, I thought we had something. I guess I’ll let you go, but only because I love this guy like a brother. I’m happy the two of you finally got your shit together.”