by Sarah Peis
“I’ll try to get them to shut up.”
I wrangled the dress over Julia’s head and coaxed it in place. The soft material fit around her curves perfectly, and it didn’t take much for me to lace it up at the back. I didn’t think I would even have to alter it much.
I pulled at the top to get it to sit nicely and rearranged the skirt, spreading the train out. When I looked up to see what she thought of it so far, I found her staring at herself in one of the many mirrors placed all around the cavernous space.
“Oh, Maisie, this is exactly the dress I wanted.”
And then she burst into tears. I looked around, panicked. There were tissues on the bathroom counter, and I sprinted over to get them, shoving them at her awkwardly. “Tissues,” I shouted and stepped back.
She pulled a few out and blew her nose, then blotted at her eyes. “Sorry. I’ve just been under a lot of pressure lately. This wedding is doing my head in. Nothing is going right. Well, until now. Because this dress is perfect.”
“Let’s show your girls the dress,” I said and walked out of the room.
I realized my mistake of not taking Willa into the bathroom with me as soon as I came outside. She was in a serious stare-off with Regina, who I knew for a fact had always wanted Jameson. And I knew of at least one occasion when she had been with him. She liked to brag about it. Guess she was feeling suicidal today and mentioned it to Willa.
“You better shut up right now, or I’ll take that dead animal you’re wearing around your shoulders and stuff it down your throat,” Willa threatened.
“Ahem, Willa, can I get a hand, please?” I asked, trying to get her to back away. She didn’t make empty threats, and that much fur would seriously hurt when stuffed into a mouth.
Willa didn’t look like she would move unless Regina promised to be quiet. But then Julia came out of the bathroom, and everyone’s attention moved to her. There was a lot of squealing and compliments, the fight apparently forgotten. And Julia looked absolutely beautiful in the dress. It was a strapless mermaid-style gown that fit her lithe figure perfectly. She had big boobs—all natural, never ask me how I knew that—and a slim waist. She was on the shorter side but was making up for it with her curves. It helped that she liked to wear sky-high heels.
“Julia, do you have your shoes? I need to do the fitting while you wear them,” I said and directed her over to stand on the stool.
“Brianna, can you pass me the white box on the nightstand?” she asked the only tolerable girl in her group.
Brianna handed me the box, and I opened it with bated breath since I recognized the label. I nearly fainted when I looked at diamond-encrusted Louis Vuitton heels. I nearly dropped the box I was so excited.
“You can touch them,” an amused Brianna said.
I handed the box over to Julia. “I better not. It might give me ideas.” Like taking them out and running away as fast as I could.
There was a snort followed by Alicia saying, “You could never afford shoes like that.”
“Neither could you,” I shot back. She was a secretary. Last I checked, they didn’t earn enough money for shoes like that either.
She said nothing else, but the temperature in the room dropped significantly. I tried breathing through my mouth because the smell was really starting to get to me.
Julia put her shoes on and stood on the stool.
“Pins please,” I said, and Willa came up next to me.
I pulled the dress in slightly on Julia’s waist and pinned it. It only needed a minor adjustment. After I pinned her around the chest as well, I got her to stand on the floor so I could check the length of the dress. During the whole fitting, the girls were talking loudly about Jameson and how he could do so much better than Willa. She was trying to ignore it, but I could tell it was getting to her.
“Did you guys hear about Ray?” Nessa asked, and my head shot up. She worked at the police station in dispatch and liked to talk about her work. She’d been told off repeatedly for sharing confidential information, and I wasn’t sure how she still had a job there.
“Ouch,” Julia complained when I poked her with a needle.
“Sorry,” I apologized, my attention still on Nessa.
“Sure did. He got kicked out of the police force,” Regina said, eyes on her phone.
“He what?” I yelled, wedding dress forgotten.
“That’s right, you used to be engaged to him, didn’t you?” Alicia put in, smug look still on her face.
I ignored her and turned back to Nessa. “Why was he kicked out?”
“The chief got an email with incriminating photos. Some big-shot lawyer up in San Francisco sent them. Apparently, his firm is huge, they’re called Cross and Veil or something like that. Not sure how he got involved, but it was enough for the chief to fire Ray. About time too. He was drunk at least twice on the job.”
I was sure it wasn’t just a coincidence that someone in San Francisco would have sent the photos. My brother was living there, and last I heard from my parents, he was doing well for himself. He also worked for a firm call Cross and Valor. What I didn’t know was why he would get involved in the first place.
Willa met my eyes and shrugged, looking as confused as I probably did. Nothing I could do about it now, so I made a few more slight adjustments and triple-checked that everything was perfect before stepping back.
Luckily the dress didn’t need to be taken up at all, so I didn’t have to pin the large amount of hem at the bottom, which saved me a lot of time and made this fitting faster than I thought it could be.
“Okay, I have all I need,” I said to Julia, who looked at Alicia with a frown on her perfectly made-up face. “I’ll help you out of the dress.”
We went back to the bathroom, and I loosened the back. “Just be careful of the pins.”
The dress came off easily and with no injuries, and I hung it back on the hanger. “I’ll pick it up tomorrow, if that’s okay. I have to go back to the shop after this and don’t want to have to move the dress around too much.”
I turned back around once I was satisfied the dress was safely back where it belonged. Julia was fully dressed, looking apologetic. “Maisie, I’m sorry about the girls.”
I waved her off, knowing it wasn’t her fault. Even though they were her friends. “We should get back out there before someone loses a boob.”
We heard the screaming as soon as I opened the bathroom door. I pushed it all the way open and sprinted out. Willa was holding Alicia in a headlock and was punching her boob. Ouch.
“You little bitch, let me go right now. Those implants cost more than you make in a year. If you burst one, you’re going to be paying for a replacement.”
Regina was trying to pull Willa back while Briana and Nessa were yelling at them to stop. Hilary was still sitting on the bed, texting on her phone and ignoring the entire scene.
I pushed Regina off my best friend and put my arms around Willa in a tight grip, pulling her back. She finally let go of Alicia, who stumbled back and landed on her ass.
Unfortunately, she jumped right back up. I turned Willa the other way, and before Alicia could stop, she ran me over and we all landed in a heap on the floor. I pulled myself back up to my knees, ready to get out of there.
Unfortunately, her perfume was overwhelming this close, and everything I’d eaten that day came out in a big fountain and landed all over her. Every last bit. It was like my body was just waiting for the right place to purge its contents.
Alicia shrieked, and I retched again, but nothing else came out. Pity.
I felt my arm being pulled by Willa, who was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and got up, pulling Willa with me.
“We should go,” I said, still feeling queasy and unsteady on my feet.
“We definitely should,” Willa agreed.
“So sorry about the mess,” I told a speechless Julia. “At least it’s mostly on her hideous dress, so you won’t hav
e to clean up too much. I did her a favor, really. That dress was about three sizes too small.”
Willa dragged me from the room, and I waved. “Great dress fitting. I’ll make the changes this week and get the dress back to you by the weekend.”
We sprinted down the stairs and left the house as fast as we could. The gate opened from the inside without a code, and we tumbled back out onto the road.
“Holy shit, Maize, that was amazing. How the hell did you throw up like that?”
“It was an accident. Her perfume made me nauseous.”
“Her perfume? But you never used to get sick from something like that. What’s going on with you?”
“Wish I knew. I’ve been throwing up a lot lately. And I just want to sleep all the time. I think I’m coming down with something.”
Willa stopped us in our tracks and stared at me wide-eyed. “Let’s go to the pharmacy.” She dragged me back to the main road and straight to the one and only pharmacy in town.
Once inside, she didn’t hesitate but went straight to a shelf at the back. Once there, she did a quick search and grabbed what she was looking for. She went to the register and paid, not showing me what she had purchased.
“Let’s go to your shop,” she said, then dragged me back down the main street and into my store. We rushed past the girls, and Willa pushed me inside the toilet and slapped a plastic stick into my hand. “Pee on this.”
I looked at my hand and stared at a pregnancy test. Was she serious? I couldn’t be pregnant. I was good at getting my birth control shots. I was like clockwork.
“I’m not pregnant.”
“Of course you’re not. But doesn’t hurt to make sure,” Willa replied and shoved me into the bathroom before closing the door in my face. My best friend was feeling bossy today.
Since I was already there and had to use the toilet anyway, I did as instructed. It also gave me a chance to clean up. After all, I did just throw up. I washed my mouth out with water and even found some mouthwash in the cabinet.
I scrubbed my hands with soap, then glanced at the stick. Which clearly said I was pregnant.
What the hell? That was impossible. We had a faulty stick. I needed to go back and pee on another one.
“What’s taking so long?” Willa yelled through the door and then knocked. “I’m coming in.”
Before I had a chance to hide the stick, she barged in, and her eyes immediately landed on the offending item.
“I knew it,” she exclaimed and punched the air. “Jameson owes me fifty bucks.”
“I’m pregnant,” I said and promptly burst into tears.
Willa’s victorious smile fell off her face and she hugged me, swaying us back and forth. “Don’t cry. It’s not that bad. Oliver will be happy.” She leaned back to look at me. “It is Oliver’s, right?”
I didn’t even dignify that with a response; instead, I put my head back on her shoulder and continued spreading snot and tears all over her favorite shirt.
“Everything okay in there?” Chloe asked, looking at the pregnancy stick I was holding up for the world to see. But I wanted to keep it as far away from Willa as I could, so I was holding it up awkwardly.
“Don’t look at me. I’m not the one who’s knocked up. Crybaby over here is,” Willa said and patted my back.
“Did you bet on me getting pregnant?” I asked and stepped out of her embrace.
“Sure did. I said it wouldn’t take Oliver more than a few months to knock you up. I know that look on a guy’s face. He’s got it bad.”
“But I’m on birth control. I get the shot. I can’t be pregnant.”
“You missed your last appointment,” Willa said. “Dr. Reuben told me to remind you when I saw her last, but I forgot. Sorry. Only remembered when I made the bet. And of course that meant I definitely wouldn’t tell you. After all, I didn’t want to lose.”
“You didn’t want to lose a bet, and now I’m pregnant? So this is your fault?”
“Ah, no, this would be Oliver’s fault. I don’t have the right equipment. And you’re not my type.”
“But you didn’t tell me I was due for my shot,” I wailed.
“Technically, it’s your own fault for not making a reminder on your calendar. And what kind of doctor tells your friend to remind you you’re due for your birth control shot?”
I threw up my hand and glared at my former best friend. “The kind of doctor who has known us since we were kids and knows that you have full medical authority and she can tell you anything and everything there is to know about my medical history and diagnosis. Remember when we thought we were dying because we drank an entire bottle of vodka and wrote our wills and gave each other medical authority over each other?”
“Yeah, it’s all coming back to me now. That was a seriously bad decision, drinking the whole bottle.”
I threw the stick in the trash can, then stormed past a gaping Chloe and into my office. “That’s it. I’m leaving. I need to think. And I need to take you off my list and my will because I disown you.”
I looked for my bag but ended up just turning in a circle, not really taking anything in.
I couldn’t be pregnant. What was I going to do?
Willa gasped and followed me. “You can’t do that. You promised me I’d get your shoe collection if you left this earth before me. Which is highly likely with your unhealthy diet. Just because you don’t put on any weight doesn’t mean you should consume such high quantities of sugar. It’s still bad for you.”
It was my turn to flip her off. “Your diet is worse than mine. And you better find a way to fix this.”
“What do you want me to do? Turn back time and ask Oliver to wear a condom? Which you should have done anyway. Did you not pay attention to what Ms. Clutter taught us in sex ed class?” Willa said, following me around and looking entirely too happy.
I ended up on the shop floor and started rearranging the jewelry displays on the medicine drawers to keep my hands busy.
“I’m so excited to be an aunt and godmother. This kid is going to love me. Here, let me talk to it so it knows my voice even before it comes out,” Willa said and crouched in front of my belly.
I held my hands up. “Stay away from my belly. You’re not going to talk to it. Or be a godmother. You don’t deserve to be. Now leave so I can do some thinking.”
Of course she didn’t leave but instead started singing to my belly.
How did my life get so messed up?
“You’re pregnant?” Oliver asked from behind me.
Both Willa and I let out an almighty squeal and turned toward him.
“Where did you come from?” I asked, trying to get my wildly beating heart under control.
“I thought I’d drop in to make sure you were okay after Stella left. You were really upset when I dropped you off this morning.” He came closer and took my hands, all the while eyeing my stomach. “Are you pregnant?”
Willa chose that moment to be helpful. At least in her mind, I was sure she was. “She’s knocked up, and it’s yours. Congratulations, daddy,” she announced, entirely too cheerful. And she could really dial down that grin on her face. And did she have to clap her hands like that? And why was she taking photos?
Oliver was still eying my stomach like the baby might jump out any minute. “Is it true?” he whispered, tearing his gaze off my body and locking eyes with me. I couldn’t tell if he was excited or wanted to run for the hills. The look on his face was new. I had never seen it before.
I nodded. “Yeah, I just found out.”
A big smile spread across his face, and his dimple popped out. “When you said you’d repay me for my help, I was thinking more like cake. Or dinner. Not a baby,” he said, pulling me flush to his body. I guess he wasn’t upset about this news. “But I’ll take it.”
He then lifted me up so my feet were off the floor and twirled me around. Definitely not the reaction of someone who didn’t want to have a baby with me.
Once I was safely on ste
ady ground again, he bent down and kissed me. And it wasn’t a quick peck. It was a full-on “let’s make another baby” make-out session. Definitely not upset about the news at all. And also not something you should do in the middle of my store with customers standing around, gawking.
“Okay, let her go. You already proved that you know how to make a baby,” Willa said, clapping her hands to get our attention.
I pulled back from Oliver, who was reluctant to let even an inch of space between us. But at least we weren’t lip-locked anymore, even if our bodies were still touching from chest to knees.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and since his thigh was resting on my hip, I felt it. “You should get back to work. We can talk tonight,” I said, and he finally let me go.
“I’ll pick you up at five?” he asked, and I nodded.
After one more touch of his lips to mine, he left. He was already on the phone once his feet touched the sidewalk.
“Well, that went well,” Willa said and put her arm around my shoulder.
I promptly burst into tears again.
“Shit, okay, nothing is going well,” she said, looking confused. “What a bastard to just accept the baby like that. And how dare he be excited about it.” She led me to my office, where she deposited me in a chair.
“Shut up, Willa,” I wailed, sniffling into the tissue she held out to me. “He’s being wonderful and doing all the right things.”
She scrunched up her nose like she smelled something bad. “So what the hell is the problem, then? Is it your hormones? Or have you finally gone over the edge? Should I call your parents? I don’t think I can handle this situation appropriately. I need your mom.”
Willa pulled out her phone, but I took it out of her hands. “No, don’t call them. I don’t want them to get excited yet. What if I’m not keeping the baby?”
“Not keeping the baby? Not. Keeping. The. Baby?” she yelled at me, and her eyes bulged out of her head.
“I’m twenty-two.”