I picked up my cell phone off the nightstand and pressed in her speed dial. The phone rang for a while before Hannah answered it, sounding grumpy.
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she said.
“Then why did you answer?” A brief stretch of silence followed.
“I don’t know,” she said finally.
“Hannah, I’m sorry.”
“You left, Lainey. I get that you and Adam are really serious now, but you left. We were supposed to survive the reign of my mom together.” Her voice was accusing, but there was a hint of that same Hannah humor in there. I smiled to myself.
“I know, and I’m sorry, but I didn’t have a choice. My dad even agreed with it, and I didn’t exactly hear Nora protesting.”
“They’re both jerks. How am I supposed to survive the next two and a half years without you here? I won’t, that’s how.”
“You’ll be fine. And it isn’t like I’m far. Julia said you can spend the night whenever, even after the baby gets here.”
“I don’t want to spend the night there,” Hannah argued grumpily. “I just want things to go back to normal.”
“But things will never go back to normal,” I said softly. “Even if I moved back in, I’d still be having a baby in five months.”
Hannah sighed. “Growing up sucks.”
“I know. Do you want me to come over for a little? We can exchange gifts, if nothing else.”
“Would you?” She asked, her voice sounded more upbeat now, almost chipper.
“Of course. I’ll ask Julia to drive me over. I’ll see you soon, okay?” We hung up and I hurried downstairs to find Julia. She took one look at me, smiled, and grabbed her car keys.
“What time do you want me to pick you up?” She asked as we got into her car.
“Is seven okay?”
“Perfect. Sylvia froze some sort of casserole for us before she left, so I was planning on serving that around seven.” Sylvia was the Montgomery’s housekeeper. I’d met her on a few occasions, but only in passing.
We got to Bella Vista and Julia parked the car. I turned to her. “Thanks so much for driving me over here,” I said.
“You don’t have to thank me for anything, Lainey. I wanted this for you. Try to have a good time, and if you need me to come earlier or later, just call, okay?”
I agreed, and gave her one last smile before getting out of the car and heading to the front of the house.
It had only been two days since I was last there, but I was still overcome with nervousness as I reached for the doorknob. Did I just walk in? It was never locked during the day, in case of surprise guests. But I wasn’t a guest, and I wasn’t completely sure I was welcome.
The door opened before I could decide, and Nora stood there, looking as shocked to see me as I was to see her. She was a little dressed up, like she was headed out somewhere in particular.
“Lainey,” she said.
“Hi.” I had no idea what else to say; even ‘hello’ seemed like a struggle.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Hannah. We’re going to exchange gifts.”
“Fine. She’s upstairs in her room.” Already it had become her room, and not ours. Nora stepped past me.
“Where are you going?” I asked, unable to stop myself.
“I don’t believe that’s any of your business, Lainey,” she replied, and continued her trek to the car. I stood there, watching her go and feeling alone and a bit rejected.
My dad was nowhere in sight, which was actually a relief, and I hurried up the steps and to Hannah’s door. I debated on whether or not I should knock yet again, and decided it was probably safer that way. Hannah opened the door and raised her eyebrows at me.
“Why are you knocking?” She asked.
I sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Whatever. Get in here.”
I stepped into the room and pulled my jacket off, tossing it onto the bed. I noticed Hannah had pressed the two together, making one big bed. “Where was Nora going?” I asked.
“I didn’t know she left.” Hannah got onto her knees and started digging around under the bed, pulling out a few packages. “Don’t get mad, but I already opened the stuff you got for me. I was really mad when you moved out.”
“I’m not mad,” I said, smiling. “Did you like them?”
“Yeah, they were all great.”
I’d gotten her a pack of different perfume samples, a sweater she had been drooling over since seeing it at the mall on Black Friday, and a gift card. I’d spent more money on her than I had on anyone, but that was pretty much normal.
“Here,” she said, taking one of the packages and handing it to me. “Open that one first, and don’t yell at me.”
I raised my eyebrows and opened it slowly, almost scared to see what was inside. Under the wrapping paper, there was a white box. I opened the box and immediately laughed.
“Oh, Hannah,” I said, pulling the miniature ballerina outfit from the box. “I can’t believe you actually bought this.”
Hannah grinned, looking pleased with herself. “I couldn’t help it. I know it’s going to be a girl, and every little baby girl needs to have a ballerina outfit.”
“What if it isn’t?”
“Not possible. It’s going to be a girl; you can quote me on that.”
I grinned. There was nothing quite as endearing as Hannah’s overconfidence. She had no proof whatsoever what gender this baby was going to be, but she wanted it to be a girl, and therefore, it was. No questions asked, no arguments accepted.
“Okay, I will then. Thank you.” I folded the outfit carefully and placed it back in its box.
“You’d better let her wear that,” Hannah said in a warning tone. “Just because we don’t live together anymore doesn’t mean I’m not going to be checking up on these things.”
“She will, I promise.”
We smiled at each other, and I instinctively reached for a hug. We held each other for a few moments, until I felt sure I was going to start crying. I couldn’t believe how emotional I was starting to become.
“Open the rest!” Hannah urged, pulling away from me. I put the ballerina outfit off to the side, and opened the remaining two gifts. Both were for the baby; another outfit, this time a pajama set, and a soft, lilac-colored blanket that looked handmade.
“Did you make this?” I asked, fingering the soft material in awe.
Hannah shook her head. “No, I found it at some stand when they had that flea market thing on the beach a few weeks ago. Doesn’t it feel amazing?”
“It really does,” I agreed.
“They have blue, green, and this color, but I’m pretty much positive you’re having a girl, so I decided to take a risk. I can’t take it back if I’m wrong, though.”
I smiled. “It’s okay,” I said, holding the blanket to my chest. It was possibly the softest thing I’d ever felt, and gave me the urge to curl up and fall asleep. I looked over at Hannah, feeling almost overwhelmed.
“These are the best gifts ever, Hannah. Really.”
She shrugged, as if it were no big deal, but I was pretty sure she felt a certain sense of pride knowing she’d chosen well. “I know you’re supposed to wait until the baby shower to start giving you all this stuff, but I didn’t know if you were even planning on having one, and I know you’re way too practical to want other stuff, so yeah. You really like all of it?”
I hugged her again. “I really do,” I said, and this time didn’t try to stop the tears from falling.
As crazy as things had gotten in the past few months, at least I knew one thing for sure. No matter what happened, I was always going to have Hannah by my side, and that meant so much more than she even knew.
Chapter Twenty
Christmas Day was on its way to becoming the best in recent memory, all up until the very end. That was when all hell broke loose.
It started off good enough, with Adam waking me up earlier than I wanted t
o be awake, and whisking me downstairs where we found a pancake breakfast and a smiling family greeting us. Adam and Greg didn’t speak at all, but their silence was welcoming compared to the bickering that had been going on the past few days. Apparently their parent’s attempts at forcing them to reconcile weren’t going so well, but that morning it didn’t seem like a big deal. Everything felt civil, and that was good enough for me.
After breakfast we exchanged gifts, and I was surprised to find Julia and Ned had gotten me a gift certificate to a local store that specialized in lotions and bath soaps. “So you can spoil yourself a little before the baby gets here,” Julia explained, and while I’d never been the type to go out and buy things like that, the Jacuzzi style bathtub in my new bathroom made me willing to change my mind.
Adam bought me a few books I had wanted to read, which made me really happy because it showed he’d actually been listening to me all those times I rambled on about them. I’d picked out a few new shirts for him, which felt like a very ‘girlfriend’ thing to do, but he seemed happy.
Once everyone’s presents were exchanged and opened, we all went to do whatever we needed to do for the day. Greg left to visit some friends he hadn’t seen in a while, Ned headed to his office to make sure he was up to date with all the work he didn’t want to have to worry about for a few days, and Adam headed up to his room to try out a new video game Greg had gotten him, surprisingly enough. I followed Julia into the kitchen, insisting I wanted to help her get ready for dinner that night.
Dinner parties on Christmas were a tradition the Montgomery’s had started years ago, when Adam and Greg were still little. Julia’s only immediate family was an older brother, who had an ex-wife and two kids that lived in another state, and Ned’s siblings all lived north and had their own busy careers, so it didn’t make for too many family gatherings outside of Christmas. They also invited some of their closest friends and business associates Ned had worked with over the years. I was a little nervous about meeting so many people all at once, but Julia seemed to think everything would be great, and that I’d be received warmly. So far, she hadn’t been wrong about too much, so I didn’t have many reservations about trusting her.
Julia admitted she wasn’t much of a cook, so most of the food she was serving were simple recipes, or already prepared and frozen by Sylvia before she left to visit her own family for Christmas. I helped her by cutting up vegetables and cheeses and fruits and arraigning them on trays. It took us a few hours, but we kept the conversation going, and it went by quickly.
“It’s a shame you won’t be able to meet Ned’s parents,” Julia remarked at one point. “They were such wonderful people. They died a few months apart, you know. It was like his dad just couldn’t bear to live after his mom died.”
“That’s sad,” I commiserated. I wondered what it was like, loving someone so much for so long and then losing them. The pain was probably tremendous.
“What about your parents?” I asked. A look of sadness crossed Julia’s face and I immediately regretted my words “I’m sorry,” I said quickly.
“Don’t be,” she said, smiling reassuringly. “They’ve both passed on, as well. My mom died when I was twelve, and my dad a few years after I married Ned. Before Adam was even born, actually.”
“That really sucks,” I said, because I had no idea what else to say.
“It does,” she laughed. “It most definitely does suck.”
“Did you dad ever remarry?” I asked.
“No. I’d hoped he would, after I moved out and married Ned, especially since Paul, my older brother, was already long gone by then, but he didn’t.”
“I guess we have that in common, then. Growing up without moms, even if the situations were really different.”
Julia glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “We do,” she agreed. “But sometimes you can find surrogates, if that makes sense. Even though Sylvia has been hired by us to help maintain the house, she’s been around so long and I’ve grown so close to her that at times I feel myself thinking of her in a motherly way.”
“I used to feel that way about Nora,” I agreed. “But I can’t anymore, and I don’t think I ever could again.”
“Well, if you ask me, she doesn’t deserve to have you feel that way about her,” Julia said, reaching over and squeezing my hand. “But you know I’ll always be here for you, right? No matter what.”
I smiled in response. I was starting to believe that.
We finished all the food preparation around five, and then headed to our respective bedrooms to shower and get dressed. By six, most of the guests had arrived. I went to Adam’s room before going downstairs.
“Know what sucks most about holidays?” He asked after I stepped into his room. “Wearing suits. Seriously. I don’t get why my mom insists I get dressed up for these things. It’s not like they’ve ever seen me dressed like a normal human being.”
I stepped over to him and pulled his hands away from his tie, fixing it for him. “I think you look great in a suit,” I said with a smile.
“You think I look great in anything,” he countered.
“Not true.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him on the lips. “Mostly true, but not entirely. I think you look especially great all dressed up.” I brushed my hands over his arms, smoothing his sleeves.
Adam slid his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. “Let’s just skip the party and hide out in here,” he suggested. “You can keep telling me how attractive I am all night.”
I laughed and tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. “I don’t think so, Adam.”
“It could be my other Christmas present.” He kissed me, and then scooped me up and tossed me onto the bed.
“Adam –” I protested, but he kept kissing me, and I felt myself beginning to give in. Our relationship had remained pretty innocent since I’d moved in with him a few days ago, surprisingly enough, and I could feel how much he wanted that to change.
I kissed him back, running my hands through his hair, pressing my body as close to his as I could, and then jolted away from him.
“What’s wrong?” He asked, looking surprised. I glanced over at the door, and heard it again.
“Someone’s knocking,” I whispered. Adam frowned and then pulled himself up off the bed, and headed to the door. Sure enough, Greg was standing on the other side. He glanced over Adam’s shoulder and spotted me. He didn’t look impressed.
“What?” Adam asked, clearly irritated.
“Mom and Dad want you downstairs, now. People are here and they want to see you.”
“I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Now.” Greg insisted. “You can continue whatever the hell you’re doing later.”
I got out of bed and smoothed my dress, hurrying towards the door before Adam could start arguing with him. “Come on, Adam,” I said, entwining my arm in his. I smiled at Greg, but he just stared at me for a second before turning around and heading back down the stairs.
“I swear sometimes I think I hate him,” Adam grumbled.
“He’s your brother,” I protested. “Don’t say that.”
“Well, brother’s suck,” he replied.
I said nothing, because I didn’t know how true that was or wasn’t. I thought of Mason, miles and miles away in Delaware, celebrating his Christmas with his mother and stepfather and fiancée. I wondered if he were happy, but assumed he probably was. I didn’t even know if he knew I was pregnant. I’d thought to call him a few times over the past few weeks, but things had just been so strange, I didn’t want to risk another relationship.
We went downstairs, and I was immediately intimidated by how many people were there. I flashed back to the fundraiser Nora had thrown all the way back in the beginning of November. This dinner party probably wasn’t any bigger, maybe even a little smaller, but I’d been so distracted back then it hadn’t really dawned on me. Now I had nothing to distract me. I held onto Adam tighter.
He walke
d me around the room once, introducing me to everyone, who all smiled when they greeted me and mentioned they knew about our news, and asked if we were ready. I didn’t really know how to answer that question, so I just smiled at everyone and moved on to the next. Before long, Adam and I had managed to get separated from each other, and I found myself standing with Julia.
“How are you feeling?” She asked sympathetically, rubbing my back.
“Okay,” I said with a smile.
“Overwhelmed?” She asked.
“No,” I shook my head. “Not really. There are a lot of people but everyone seems really great.”
“They are,” she agreed. “Do you want something to drink? I’d like you to meet my brother, he’s in the kitchen.”
“Sure.” I accepted Julia’s hand and followed her into the kitchen, where a few of the guests appeared to be parked at the breakfast bar, sipping drinks.
“Paul, this is Lainey, Adam’s girlfriend. Lainey, this is my older brother, Paul.” Paul appeared to be a six foot, male version of Julia, with the same kind blue eyes and honey-blonde hair, though his was noticeably thinning. He stretched out a hand.
“It’s great to finally meet you, Lainey. I’ve been hearing about you for a while now.”
I smiled and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Paul owns a construction company in town,” Julia explained. “He repairs damaged homes and builds new ones.”
“Whatever needs to be done at the time,” Paul put in with a smile. “I’m thinking about offering Adam a job with me once he graduates, if he doesn’t come up with anything else. It’s hard work, but it will pay well. Enough to support the three of you, at least for a while.”
“That would be great,” I said. “I’m sure he would appreciate it.”
Paul grinned. “Well, you can be the one to convince him of that if he doesn’t.”
Julia turned to me. “Paul is the reason I met Ned,” she said. “They were working together on a project, and Paul got the idea to try and set us up.” She grinned at her brother. “I bet you never thought it would actually work out, did you?”
Paul shrugged. “I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try, and it would keep you from dating those losers you favored back in high school. Ned is a good man.”
The Consequences of Forever (Lainey) Page 20