“Do what?” Alex asked, trying to eavesdrop.

“Use cloth diapers,” I replied. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, and I nodded.

“Just worry about getting rest and eating healthy,” Morgan said. “The rest will come in time. Everything happens in stages, you know? You don’t have to figure it all out at once.”

“Thanks,” I said, making a mental note to call Morgan the next time I was freaking out. She seemed to know exactly what questions I had without me asking.

“I’m really happy for you guys,” Morgan said. “Crap, Etta let the puppy out of his crate. We’ll talk soon, okay?”

“Okay.”

She hung up, and I set the phone down on the table in front of me.

Now that we were done calling Alex’s family, it was time for me to break the news to my family, and I had a feeling that the congratulations were over.

“You want me to grab the laptop?” Alex asked. “Is it in your bag?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’ll just call this time, okay?”

“Whatever you want to do, baby,” he replied, dropping forward so the legs of the chair thumped back onto the floor.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and stared at it for a moment before calling. The minute it began to ring, I felt my heart start to race.

“Hello?” my aunt answered, her voice subdued.

“Hey, Auntie,” I replied. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. “How have you been?”

“Good,” she said. She didn’t elaborate or offer any more information.

“Is Uncle Isaac home?” I asked. “I wanted to talk to you both.”

She didn’t reply, but I heard her calling my uncle. A few seconds later, his voice came through the line.

“Sarai,” he said. “Hello.”

“I was calling”—I forged on before I lost my nerve—“because I have some news.” I paused, but they didn’t respond. “I’m going to have a baby. Me and Alex, we’re going to have a baby.”

The silence was deafening.

“I’m due in July,” I rambled on, afraid of the silence. “So I won’t have the baby until after I graduate. The doctor said that everything looks good, but I have to go back next week.”

“Mazel tov,” my aunt replied stiltedly.

“We were just headed out, actually,” my uncle murmured uncomfortably. “Thank you for calling, Sarai.”

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “Of course,” I whispered. I wanted to say something else, anything that would keep them on the line. I wanted to fix what was broken, but I had no idea how. Hanging up, I set my phone down carefully next to Alex’s on the table.

I stared at the two, side by side, marveling at how the phones looked so similar but had caused such opposite feelings when we’d used them tonight.