The Truth About Ever After (Three Girls)

by Rachel Schurig

  With a hefty sigh, I pulled myself from a lounging position and crawled over to the TV stand. “Okay,” I said, grabbing a few DVD cases and holding them up for her to see. “What next?”

  “Little Mermaid,” she said. “Definitely.”

  I smiled. I loved when Jen let her guard down like this. So much of the time she came off as being so professional, so together and in control. But it made me ridiculously happy when fun, silly Jen came out to play. She was a blast to be around.

  I started up the DVD and settled back into my nest of pillows. For a minute, as the opening credits rolled, I allowed my mind to wander. It had been a long time since I’d relaxed like this. With the wedding, and everything happening with Eric (I suppressed a small shudder at the thought), things had just been too crazy. Too crazy to even process. I felt like I had been operating on autopilot for the last few months, just trying to get everything done, just trying to get by.

  Behind me on the couch, Jen was singing softly to herself as Ariel wished to be part of the human world. I was so relieved the wedding was over. No more running myself ragged, no more dealing with Sarah effing Vandermark. It was a relief to be able to move on.

  And yet… what would I do now to occupy my time? What would fill the long stretches of my waking hours? I pictured myself, alone in my empty condo after work, struggling to find something to do, anything to keep my mind off the mess that was my family.

  A voice on the screen snapped me out of my reverie. “Eric!”

  I froze. Eric. How stupid of me, to forget that this was the movie with Prince Eric. And now I had to sit here for the next hour, listening to that name, his name, said over and over.

  “Kiki, what’s wrong?”

  Suddenly I was crying without even knowing why. “Eric,” I gasped.

  “Oh, sweetie, do you miss him?” Jen asked, leaning over awkwardly to pat my shoulder. “You should have used this time off to fly over to Chicago to visit.”

  “He probably wouldn’t even want to talk to me,” I sniffed, wiping at the tears that now flowed freely down my face. “God, Jen, I’ve screwed up so badly.”

  “What are you talking about? Why wouldn’t he want to talk to you? Kiki, for God’s sake, turn off the movie and tell me what’s going on.”

  I did as she asked, flipping the movie off and rummaging through our mess on the table for a tissue. Once I was together a little bit more, I moved up to the end of the couch, pulling her feet onto my lap and snuggling down into her blanket.

  “Things have been awful, Jen,” I told her. “Just awful. We were fighting all the time, about the stupidest stuff. There was just so much tension after… after I…”

  “After the baby?”

  I looked at her gratefully, relieved she hadn’t made me say it myself. “Yeah. God, we were even fighting about money. I never thought something like that would come between us. Right before we left we had this huge fight, about his job and my family.” I felt a familiar flush, remembering his words, remembering my anger.

  “When he left I think we both considered it a… a break, I guess. We don’t really talk much, not even on the phone.” I caught sight of Jen’s horrorstruck expression and it reiterated what a big deal this was. We were practically separated, but I don’t think I’d realized it until I saw it in Jen’s face.

  “Holy crap, Kiki. This is really serious.”

  I nodded, feeling the tears start to threaten again.

  “Well,” she said, drawing herself up the way I had seen her do a million times when she was ready to tackle a problem. “What are we going to do about it?”

  I looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “This is your marriage, Kiki. It’s your family. You can’t just let things slide. You can’t play it by ear. You need to fix this. We need a plan.”

  I felt helpless in the face of her efficiency. “I just don’t know, Jen,” I sighed. “You didn’t hear him, the things he said about my family. He must really hate us.”

  Jen snorted and I looked up at her in surprise. “Give me a break, Kiki. He doesn’t hate you. He’s crazy about you. Anyone can see it. God, haven’t you ever seen the way he looks at you? So he freaked out about the millionaire family thing. Big deal. It was bound to happen sooner or later. He’ll get over it, you’ll move on.”

  “Do you really think it’s that simple?”

  “There’s nothing simple about it,” she said firmly. “Marriage is complicated and it’s hard work. But he’s your family, Kiki. You promised to love him forever, not just until things got crappy.”

  “But what if he doesn’t love me anymore?” I whispered, my darkest fear. As I said the words I realized that there was a part of me that had always been afraid of it, afraid that one day he would open his eyes and I would be the annoying, ditzy, spoiled rich girl again, the girl he didn’t even want to spend a single night with back in college.

  “He does,” Jen said firmly, grabbing my hand. “I know he does, Kiks. And deep down, you know it too.”

  I smiled at her weakly, feeling a little better, but Jen winced in response.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” she said, rubbing her belly. “I think I ate too much.”

  “I shouldn’t be upsetting you with all this crap,” I said. “Let’s just turn the movie back on and you can relax.”

  “No way,” she said, shaking her head. “No way are we gonna sit here and watch the Little Mermaid right now. You need to get on a plane and go see your husband.”

  I laughed. “Jen, I have to work tomorrow.”

  “The wedding is over, Kiki,” she said. “We don’t have anything big booked for weeks.”

  “Yeah, but the office is a complete disaster. We’ve just put everything on hold for ages now, waiting for the wedding to be over. God, I don’t even know what’s on my desk—”

  Suddenly Jen was clutching my hand hard, her face screwed up in pain.

  “I think that was a contraction!” she gasped. I felt the blood drain from my face. Holy crap! Was Jen having the baby? Wasn’t it way too early?

  “Don’t panic,” she said, releasing my hand. It felt like she had broken several fingers. “The doctor said this could happen and it didn’t necessarily mean anything. I should probably start to time them though, just in case.”

  “Okay.” I said shakily, reaching for my phone. “We can do that.”

  I watched her face, anxious for any sign of pain. I felt completely out of my element. Shouldn’t I be calling Matt? Hell, shouldn’t I be driving her to the hospital?

  “Are you sure we shouldn’t take you in?” I asked. “Just to be sure?”

  “No,” Jen said dismissively. “The contractions aren’t regular or close together. I’m sure this is just pre-labor stuff. No biggie.”

  We waited for a few more minutes. When no contraction came, I allowed myself to relax. “Maybe it was just a false alarm,” I said, relieved.

  Jen smiled at me, then gasped.

  “Another one?” I asked.

  “No,” she whispered, her eyes bright with terror. “I think my water just broke.”

  We stared at each other, wide-eyed and silent. I had absolutely no idea what to say, what to do. Jen was looking at me as if she wanted me to make some kind of decision, but I didn’t know what.

  “Well,” I said finally, when it was clear she wasn’t going to speak. “I think we should probably take you to the hospital then.”

  “This wasn’t the plan,” Jen whispered, looking pale. “I had a plan, Kiki. And this wasn’t the plan.”

  “What was the plan?” I asked, feeling alarmed.

  “Well my fricking husband was supposed to be here, for one thing,” she said, her voice rising in both volume and pitch. I thought I caught sight of tears gathering in her eyes. “I was supposed to be able to enjoy some time at home first. I was going to have a bath. I even bought a new bottle of bath oil!”

  It suddenly dawned on me that Jen, usually so ca
lm and in control, was the verge of hysteria. The realization snapped me out of my own panic. I had to get her relaxed and to the hospital.

  “Okay, Jen,” I said calmly, as tears started to stream down her face. “Everything is going to be fine. Why don’t you call Matt and see where he is, okay?”

  She just stared at me, crying and taking huge gulping breaths. “Or I could call him,” I said, looking down at my own phone. I pulled up Matt’s number and dialed. It rang and rang before switching to voicemail. “Hi, Matty,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “This is Kiki. I’m with Jen and I think she might be in labor. So, uh, call me, okay?”

  I hung up, knowing it was the most moronic message I had ever left, but what else could I say? “I was supposed to have three more weeks,” Jen whispered. “I had a plan.”

  She looked even more panicked now. Her breathing was getting irregular. “Jen, you need to calm down,” I said firmly. “Everything is fine. I have my car here and I can get you to the hospital in about ten minutes. Just relax.”

  I got up from the couch and searched through the mess on her coffee table for her phone. “Jen, what’s your doctor’s name?” I asked, scrolling through her contacts. When she didn’t answer I raised my voice. “Jennifer Thompson, you get it together this minute,” I said, my voice commanding. She blinked rapidly and looked at me. At least she had snapped out of it a little bit. “What’s your doctor’s name?”

  “Cartwright,” she whispered. I found the contact and hit dial.

  “Do you want to talk to them?” I asked. She nodded and I handed her the phone.

  Jen explained to the nurse what had happened, then closed her eyes and nodded her head. She hung up the phone and looked at me, the panic still clear on her face. “They want me to go right to the hospital,” she said, her voice shaking.

  “Okay,” I said brightly. “We’ll go then. Where’s your hospital bag?”

  “Hall closet,” she whispered. “Where’s Matt? Where is he?”

  “He’ll meet us,” I assured her. “Do you want to change your clothes before we leave?”

  “And the girls. The girls are at work. What am I going to do?”

  “The girls will leave work,” I told her, my tone like a mother explaining something to a very small child. “They’ll meet us, too. Jen, do you want to change your clothes?”

  Jen nodded. “Can you get me something? My sweats are in the bottom drawer.” I rushed up the stairs to her room. Once I was out of sight, I let my panic to the surface. What if Matt didn’t show up? Would I have to help her in the delivery room? I hadn’t been to any of her Lamaze classes! Or what if she went into full-out labor in my car? I couldn’t deliver a baby on the side of the road. Didn’t you need hot water and towels or something?

  You’re spiraling, I told myself. You’re being ridiculous. Women have babies every hour of the day.

  I found a pair of maternity yoga pants and grabbed some clean underwear, then headed back downstairs. I hoped I was looking sufficiently calm and in control, as Jen still had that panicked look on her face. I helped her to her feet and walked with her to the bathroom. “Do you need help?”

  She shook her head mutely and I stepped out into the hallway, leaving the door ajar in case she needed me. As I stood waiting, I had the terrible feeling that the hall around me was moving. Before I could fall over I braced myself with my hands on the wall, willing the dizziness to pass, feeling scared. The last time this had happened it was because I hadn’t eaten. The same could definitely not be said today.

  Too much sugar, I told myself. And stress about Jen. The dizziness passed and I was able to stand up straight. I wondered briefly if I should be driving, but my fear for Jen pushed that thought away. I would be fine.

  Jen moved surprisingly fast for a woman in labor; in just a few minutes we were heading back to the living room. I grabbed my purse and walked Jen to the front door, stopping to pick up the hospital bag from the closest before we stepped out into the muggy August heat.

  Just as I was helping Jen into the car, she frowned. “Oh no.”

  “What is it?” I asked, feeling a flash of fear. What if the baby came right this second?

  “We left the Coke out,” Jen said. “It will go all flat.”

  I stared at her. “Jennifer, you’re about to have a baby,” I said, making every word distinct. “I don’t give a flying fuck about the Coke. Now get in the car please, sweetie.”

  She did as I asked and I hurried around to my door, shaking my head. Only Jen would care about wasting pop at a time like this. As I started the engine I looked down at my phone. Still no call from Matt.

  You better hurry up, buddy, I thought to myself as I pulled out of the driveway. I love you both, but I really don’t want to have to do this without you.

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  Lucy Kimberly Thompson was born eight hours later. I was in love with her from the moment I laid eyes on her. She was a gorgeous baby, all soft and pink, with the most delicate, feminine little features I’d ever seen and a shock of black hair on top of her head.

  “She looks just like you,” Annie whispered, leaning over my shoulder to stare down at the baby. “She’s like, mini-Jen.”

  “Lucky her,” Matt said, rubbing Jen’s shoulders. She smiled up at him, looking more tired and more beautiful than I had ever seen her. Matt had arrived at the hospital only moments after us, leaving me to wait, relieved, in the waiting room. Ginny and Annie had arrived soon after that, and the three of us had celebrated the impending birth with vending machine snacks and a bottle of wine that Annie had snuck in in her purse.

  “How’d you do, Mama?” Ginny asked, finally tearing her eyes away from the baby to go and sit on Jen’s bed.

  “She was amazing,” Matt said firmly. “I’m officially in awe.”

  “It was really, really hard,” Jen said, as Ginny put her arm around her shoulders. “Sorry for telling you to suck it up all those years ago.”

  Ginny threw her head back and laughed. “You never once told me to suck it up. You were wonderful when I had Danny.”

  “Where is he, anyhow?” Jen asked.

  “The kids are with Josh. They can come and meet the baby tomorrow.”

  “I want her,” Annie said. “It’s my turn, Kiks. Gimme.”

  I handed the baby off to her auntie and went to sit with Jen and Ginny. “Have you called your parents yet?” I asked Matt. “Is Mom freaking out?”

  “Yeah, she’s pretty much beyond all sense,” Matt said, grinning.

  “I’m amazed they’re not here,” I said, looking down at my watch.

  Jen shook her head firmly. “No grandparents tonight. They can all come up tomorrow. Tonight is just for me and my girls.”

  I smiled at her, touched I was included in that. It probably helped my case that I had been the one to get Jen to the hospital in the first place.

  “When’s Eric getting here?” Matt asked, looking at me. I felt some of my joy slip. I had no idea when, or if, Eric was coming. I had called to tell him about the baby, but got his voicemail. I hadn’t tried again. But of course Matt would assume that I would be the one to share the news with his brother.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I couldn’t get ahold of him, and then it kind of slipped my mind. I don’t know if he even knows.”

  “I talked to him,” Matt said, looking at me oddly. “He was getting on a plane right away.”

  I breathed out a sigh of relief. At least I wasn’t responsible for Eric missing the news of the birth of his brother’s first child. Matt was still watching me with a funny expression on his face, but I ignored it. I was certainly not going to fill him in on my marital problems right now.

  “Speak of the devil,” Jen said, her face lighting up. I turned and saw Eric standing in the doorway, still in his suit and tie and looking decidedly rumpled.

  “Hey, brother,” he said, moving forward to wrap Matt in a huge hug. I felt a lump form in my throat at the sight of them. Jen reached ou
t and took my hand, and I squeezed it back, grateful.

  “Come meet my girl,” Matt said, his voice sounding much huskier than normal. Annie grinned up at Eric and handed him the baby. I watched as Eric reached out and took Lucy in his arms, staring down at her tiny form with a look of absolute awe. The lump in my throat grew. Suddenly, Eric looked up and met my gaze. I was shocked at how tired and gaunt he looked. Had he been sick? But he smiled at me and I smiled back, determined to focus on the joy of the day.

  “Congratulations, Uncle,” I said.

  “You too, Aunt,” he said. “And namesake, I hear?”

  Jen squeezed my hand again. “Yup. Matt vetoed naming her Kiki, but I did manage to get Kimberly in there as a middle name.”

  I was almost overwhelmed with the sense of happiness and peace that I had at that moment. The baby was here and safe and perfect. Jen and Matt loved me enough to give their daughter my name. And my husband was home. Regardless of how things had been going between the two of us, it was a relief just to see him standing there.

  Jen yawned suddenly, a huge yawn.

  “You must be exhausted,” I said, standing.

  “Yeah, maybe everyone should go,” Matt said, watching her.

  “Don’t be rude!” she cried, hitting his arm. “Our friends can stay as long as they want.”

  “I couldn’t care less about being rude,” Matt said. “I care about you getting your rest. You had kind of a big day, you know.”

  “He’s right,” Ginny said, laughing easily. “You guys should have some time together anyhow. We can come back tomorrow.”

  We all said our goodbyes, cooing over the baby and hugging Jen and Matt. “Thank you for getting her here safe,” Matt said, pulling me into a tight hug. “You’re a great sister, Kiks.”

  I kissed his cheek, feeling touched, then leaned down to hug Jen. “You were amazing today,” she said. “Seriously. I was freaking out, Kiki. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  I shrugged. “I was happy to help.”

  “You really made me proud today,” she said, looking me straight in the eyes. “You were so calm and in control. You’ve grown up a lot this year, Kiki. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”