Ainsley
“All right, you, crawl in,” I said, pulling the covers back so Nikki could climb into bed.
Nikki looked up at me, then grabbed two more stuffed animals from a pile in the corner. She carried them over to the bed and crawled in.
“You don’t normally sleep with those,” I said, taking notice that she left her favourite teddy bear on the floor by the door.
“Oh, can you get me Teddy?” Nikki cried, reaching her little arms out for the bear.
We’d gone through this every night since Spencer had been gone. I walked over and grabbed the bear and brought it to the edge of the bed, tucking her under the covers with all three of the stuffed animals. I kissed her on the forehead and was about to turn out the lights when Nikki sat up.
“Aren’t you going to read me a story?”
I glanced at the clock to see it was almost eight thirty. Which meant it was already an hour past Nikki’s bedtime. If she didn’t get to sleep soon, she would be impossible to get up in the morning. “Not tonight, sweets. It’s already past your bedtime. Now, you need to lie down and close your eyes and get some sleep,” I said, pulling the covers up over her a little more.
“Just one,” Nikki begged.
“No, sweetie, you need your rest. You have school in the morning.”
“But I’m not tired.”
“I beg to differ,” I said, sitting down on the edge of her bed.
“Please, .”
“Nikki, what did your father say?” I questioned.
“Please, , just one.”
I bent down and kissed her forehead and then shook my head. “No, now go to sleep,” I said, shutting her bedside light off. I walked over to her bedroom door and pulled it partway shut. “Good night.”
“Night,” she huffed.
I turned the small light on in the bathroom just outside Nikki’s door and headed to the living room where Carly was searching through Netflix for a movie.
“I made popcorn. What do you feel like watching?” she questioned.
I took a handful and shoved the kernels in my mouth. “Something romantic,” I said, flopping on the couch. “What about you?”
“True crime. I’m in the mood for blood and guts.”
“Ugh, true crime? No wonder you’re still single.” I giggled.
“Romance!” Carly said, sticking her tongue out at me. “That is why you’re pregnant. I’m comfortable and confident with my choices.”
“As am I.” We looked at one another and laughed.
Carly continued scrolling through choices. “Well, we will see how comfortable and confident you are in twenty years.”
I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to hear it. I pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over my pajama-clad legs and took a sip of my coke.
“How about this?” Carly said, shoving the computer toward me to read the synopsis.
“Fine, that’s fine. At least it isn’t true crime. Drama will have to do.”
“Since when are you against dramas?” Carly questioned as she started the movie.
I shrugged and rested my head on the back of the couch. “Since there is now enough drama in my life to satisfy an entire movie plot.”
“Why?” she asked, pausing the movie. “What’s gone on now?”
I had kept things quiet from Carly, since I knew how she felt about Spencer and me. I also didn’t want to trouble her with my adult issues. However, I knew I needed to talk about things with someone other than Spencer. I let out a sigh and looked at my best friend.
“We will start by saying I really don’t want to hear you say I told you so, but things haven’t been so great. My father came home from his trip and found an invitation in his mailbox to the baby shower.”
Carly’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, , I wondered where that one went.”
“What do you mean?” I questioned.
“Well, remember you asked me to drop the mail off that you had gotten. I took it and shoved it all in the mailbox, and then…wait a minute.” Carly got up and took off toward the front door. I heard it open, and after a few minutes she returned, her face as white as a ghost.
“What is it?”
“It was my fault. I took the mail over, and when I got back in my car, I just took the top envelope off the pile of invites and shoved it in my glove box. Which was where I’d put your father’s, so I didn’t mail it. I never even looked at the name. I just took the pile to the post office and mailed them. I just looked now, and it was Jenna’s invite in my glove box, not your dad’s. I bet I grabbed it when I put the mail in the mailbox,” Carly said, covering her mouth. “I’m so sorry, . Please forgive me.”
Carly stood there in near tears, staring at me. I knew no matter how much she disapproved of our relationship, she would never do something like this on purpose. “I forgive you.”
She took a moment and wiped her eyes. “So, what happened?” Carly asked, sitting back down beside me.
“He came over here and got angry. Then he saw the banner that Spencer and Nikki had made for the night we got the house. He blew up. Demanded I come home.”
Carly looked at me, almost shocked that my father had found out about the baby and the house in such a short period. “You mean he found everything out that night?”
“Yep, in about ten minutes. Ten minutes, he learned we were having a baby and that we were moving. He demanded that I return home, which I didn’t, and now he won’t speak to me.”
“It’s your dad. I am sure he will come around.”
I shrugged. “I hope so. However, that isn’t all of it. Brittany hasn’t exactly been wonderful either. She was the server at the restaurant we had gone to the night you stayed and watched Nikki. She attacked me and Spencer and ended up losing her job. I ran into her yesterday at the coffee shop inside the bookstore, and she attacked me again there as well.”
“What the hell is with that woman?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you think she wants him back?” Carly questioned.
“I don’t think so. I mean, she cheated on Spencer, so I am just thinking she either really hates the pair of us or she hates herself for what she let go.”
“Maybe, perhaps, she wants him back. You know, she realizes what it is she lost.”
I shrugged. “Perhaps.”
“The fact that she cheated on him doesn’t really mean anything. Perhaps they were going through a dry spell. I mean, he is old.”
“Ugh, please. Don’t start with the age thing again, please,”
“I’m only saying I read an article in Cosmo about men in their forties, and that sometimes they have a hard time, you know, getting it up,” Carly said.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry, Carly, there isn’t any dry spell. He has no problems. In fact, he loves to—”
Carly held her hands over her ears and closed her eyes. “I don’t want to know. Now what else?”
“The venues still haven’t called us back. I spent all morning calling them and no one would take my calls. Plus, we close on the house in about three weeks. Possibly two now, and this place isn’t even on the market yet.”
“Whoa, relax. I’m sure Spencer has everything under control.”
“I know. I am trying to calm myself down. It’s just I look around and every which way I turn, it’s one disaster after another,” I said, a tear slipping down my cheek.
“Okay. We are coming up with a plan of attack. Tomorrow, after we take Nikki to school, you and I are going to go to the places you’ve called. We are going to find you a location for your wedding,” Carly said, taking hold of my hands in hers. “I want to see my best friend smile again.”
“Thank you.” I sniffled. “It means the world to me.”
“Of course. I’ll also lay off on the Spencer attacks. He really isn’t that bad of a guy. Now let’s relax and watch this movie.”