Jaxi glanced around the room. “We’ve been blessed, yeah.”
Rachel snickered. “The Coleman family is funding Doctor Kincaid’s retirement all by ourselves.”
“He has delivered just about all of our babies, hasn’t he?”
“Here’s an opening if I ever heard one.” Dare got to her feet. She grinned as she checked around the room, little Joey playing some game with stacking blocks with two of his cousins. “Becky here is on the calendar for a March baby. Melody and Anna are using June for a second round of ‘let’s have our babies on the same day and give them incredibly similar nicknames.’”
“I had Jay picked out for a long time,” Melody insisted.
“Kay was born first. That’s all I’m saying.” Anna folded her arms over her chest. “You’re such a copycat.”
Melody proved she was one hundred percent Coleman at this stage of the game. She stuck out her tongue at her sister-in-law.
“So far you’re only telling us things we already know,” Jaxi pointed out. “Unless you’re ready to add to that list?”
Dare grinned. “We’ve booked a mid-July appointment. This time it wasn’t an oops.”
The laughter and congratulations had barely begun when Vicki stood, her smile brilliant. “Joel and I are excited to let you all know baby number two is on the way, also expecting mid-July.”
Dare’s jaw dropped. “No way.”
“Way.” Vicki threw her arms around Dare and squeezed tight. “I’m so happy we get to do it together this time.”
“Because synchronized vomiting is such a good thing to share.” But her obvious excitement was clear. Dare pulled away and offered a wink. “I can’t think of anyone I’d prefer to share that experience with.”
“Awwww.”
As the room quieted, Auntie Kate got to her feet and turned to the rest of the older generation. “I’m going to take a wander over to the other house,” she announced. “Marion? Dana? Want to take a peek and see if the guys are holding it together?”
“We might need to stop in the office for a few minutes,” Marion said with a smile. “I know where Mike hides the good hootch.”
“I’m all for that,” Auntie Dana said. She pointed a finger at her daughter-in-law, Laurel. “You’re my designated driver, right?”
The blonde-haired woman grinned. “Because you’re always such a party animal? Go on. Drink away.”
Jaxi waited until the door was firmly closed behind her mother-in-law and aunts before turning to the group and rubbing her hands together. “Okay, ladies, put your thinking caps on. I’ve got an idea.”
A chorus of groans mixed with a lot of snickering greeted her announcement.
“Why does it sound as if I should be worried?” Julia asked quietly from where she’d settled between Beth and Becky.
“Because you have good instincts. Jaxi’s been itching to do something grandiose ever since last year with Marion and Mike’s fortieth anniversary.” Beth glanced at Jaxi over the top of her teacup. “I don’t think you’ve recovered from that disappointment yet.”
Jaxi threw her hands in the air. “It’s not fair. It would’ve been a perfect time to do something up, family-wise.”
Beth turned to the newcomer in the room “Jaxi likes to organize things.”
“This is true.”
“Gospel truth.”
“Not a word of lie in it.”
The words echoed on the air without anyone taking credit for calling out the quick phrases.
Well, now.
Jaxi folded her arms over her chest then took the mature route. It was her turn to stick out her tongue at the gathered women.
Beth continued her explanation, amusement tingeing her voice. “Only Marion said that she wanted their fortieth to be about where they were now, not what had been, so all of Jaxi’s plans to put together some kind of family history were dashed because—well, you just don’t give somebody a present they don’t want.”
“That makes sense.” Julia still looked a little wide-eyed, glancing around the room that was filled with Colemans and kids. “Also, wouldn’t that have only been the Six Pack history? And there are four families, right?”
“Actually, there were six brothers. One passed away, four still live here in Rocky, plus Uncle Mark, who’s sort of like my guardian angel,” Becky said. She turned her gaze on Jaxi. “I’m on your side if your idea is to make some sort of overall family record.”
“Only, it’s got to be something that the next generation will actually want. Straight-up journals are boring.” This from Rachel, who was cradling her sleeping daughter. “Think about who will want this fifty years from now.”
Dare was nodding slowly. She’d run a successful blog for years at that point, and Jaxi was curious what she’d suggest to make this idea better. “Turn the spotlight on any event. It doesn’t have to be only the big occasions like weddings or that kind of stuff. It’s more important the events have solid memories attached. Happy, or sad, or something that changes you.”
“So, you’re saying we need…the feelings?” Laurel wrinkled her nose. “Pictures aren’t enough?”
“I’m saying it’s got to have context. Baby pictures are great if we know who they are, but the background is important. The ‘why I took this picture’ background.” Dare smiled. “For example, Marion gave me a shot of Jesse as a toddler making a terrible face. It’s funny on its own, but it’s even better when she told me that was the first time Jesse tried ice cream, and he hated it. He refused to try any again for years.”
“Really?” Jaxi laughed. “I didn’t know that.”
Dare grinned. “The picture triggered the memory. Stories make it special.”
Lisa chuckled, just loud enough to have all the heads in the room swinging in her direction. “This one is easy. Get the uncles into one room and pass around some pictures. Then record what they say. Trust me, you’ll get the stories.”
“You know what, that’s it.” Jaxi snapped a finger at Lisa. “But not just the uncles, all of us. Everybody’s memories—at least one from each family member—the good ones, the ones that are real, even the bad things.”
“The ones that involve food, which means mostly good, especially if I’m involved.” Vicki offered a wink as laughter rippled around the room. “Well, it’s true.”
“If you include recipes, I can guarantee the guys will crack the family history open,” Dare said with a nod.
“A joint family memory book,” Jaxi said. “With pictures, but more importantly, the stories and the recipes that go with them.” She glanced around the room, excitement rising as a ton of ideas rushed into her head. “What do you guys think? We could take our time on it, but if everyone helped, we could put it together in digital format for us and print for the older generation.”
“Take our time?” Ashley grinned. “So, like, you want our essays of what we did over the holidays on your desk January fifth?”
“Of course not.” Jaxi rolled her eyes dramatically before teasing back. “You can have until the beginning of February.”