They all just looked at me with a bit of pity like women do when dealing with such things, and then Mama said, “Mr. Jim, baby Layla she’s so excited to meet you!”

They all laughed, while I realized I’d stopped breathing.

“Mama and Myra we gonna be right there with you and Layla and Maggie. Don’t you worry, we gonna be right there with you.”

I glanced around the table at their beaming faces and felt like a trapped animal. Why wasn’t I feeling better? I thought.

Finally Maggie came to my rescue and said, “It’s okay, honey, everything is going to be okay. Mama and Myra have done this hundreds of times. Why don’t we finish our coffee and move into the bedroom? Maybe Mama can give us a little demonstration.”

I tried to stay focused on the coffee but my mind was racing and at this point all I could muster was, “That sounds great!”

The committee went back to girl talk, while I sat there wishing I was somewhere else.

Maybe Pierre and Daniel could use some help in the bakery.

As we finished off the coffee and pastry, the conversation moved towards the “preparations.”

“Let’s take a look at the bedroom,” Mama said as Maggie began to clear the table.