Chapter Ten All Together
SUTTON
Snagging my suitcase off the baggage claim carousel, I turn and rush out the airport exit and into the cold Denver air.
I check my phone to make sure the girls are still coming and haven’t been rerouted by airport security because they’ve been idling in the pick-up lane for too long.
For a moment, I regret not just taking my parents’ private jet.
I only really use it when I’m with them, but usually I try to be a little normal when I travel on my own.
It’s moments like this, though, that I think that being “normal” is highly overrated.
My plane was slow in letting me and the other passengers off because ice on the tarmac was backing up the traffic, so the girls have been waiting for me longer than we’d planned.
I hate when people are waiting for me. I usually try to get places as early as possible, but you really can’t control certain aspects of air travel, especially passenger flights.
Just as I’m getting stressed, a sleek black Audi moves toward me. As soon as it parks, Rylee jumps out of the back passenger’s side door, a flurry of blonde hair and a vision in a wide-legged black jumpsuit with a gold chain around her waist, highlighting her small baby bump.
“Sutton!” she exclaims, opening her arms for me to run into. Grace and Skyler jump out of the vehicle, and they join the hug. We all jump up and down in total delight, laughing.
“We’re so happy you’re here!” Grace declares excitedly, her dark brown ponytail swinging behind her and blue eyes sparkling.
“I am too.” I adjust my messenger bag’s strap on my shoulder and look around. “Let’s load up my luggage and get out of here. I’m just about peopled-out when it comes to strangers for the time being.”
“You got it, sweetcheeks,” Skyler nods, then winks behind her black-framed glasses. She’s wearing a t-shirt with an image of Ghostface from the Scream franchise, holding his hand up next to his face like a phone, the words “Call Me” printed below him.
“We’ve got enough time before the game that we can swing by and visit Stacey,” Grace says as she helps me put my stuff in the trunk. “You can meet Henry!”
“Yay!” I clap my hands, thrilled by the news. “I’ve been obsessing over the pictures Stacey has been sending of the little guy. I’d love to meet him in person.”
“He’s the sweetest,” Skyler gushes, while we climb into the car. “He’s got the squishiest cheeks and his little chubby baby toes are so fucking cute!”
“Oh, I can’t wait!”
Of all the girls, I’ve known Stacey for the shortest amount of time, but sometimes I forget that we haven’t been friends for years already.
Rylee, Grace, Skyler and I have known each other since college, and for a long time, I thought our little foursome was all but perfect.
Now, though, all of us are so close, I can’t imagine my life without any of them.
Finally, we hit the road. As we drive to Stacey and Owen’s new house, the girls fill me in on what’s been happening in their lives.
When we arrive at Stacey’s, I smile at the adorable two-story Victorian that’s painted a soft sage with creamy white trim.
The wrap-around porch curves from the front door and disappears along the side of the house and slender columns hold up the roof, with delicate gingerbread trim along its edge.
The front door is solid and heavy with an oval of beveled glass set into it that catches the light and scatters it in soft prisms.
“Wow,” I say, getting out of the car once we’ve parked in the driveway. “This place is beautiful. The architecture—”
“Again with the architecture,” Rylee giggles, nudging me. “Yes, we know you’re an architect.”
“She’s right, though,” Grace says with a grin, popping the trunk of her car. We collect the groceries and baby gifts the girls had picked up before getting me. “It’s just, like, picture-perfect, isn’t it? I mean, you can totally picture it on a postcard or something, I think.”
“No one sends postcards anymore,” I tell her.
“Not true!” Skyler exclaims, shutting the trunk. “I fucking love postcards.”
“When was the last time you sent one?” I ask.
She purses her lips thoughtfully as we make our way up to the front door.
“Okay, point taken,” she mutters. “But now I’m going to bombard all you bitches with so many postcards, I will single-handedly save the industry from demise.”
“Pursue your passions,” Rylee says. “Even if they are completely ridiculous.”
Grace presses the doorbell.
The door opens a second later and Owen is standing in the doorway, beaming at us.
Every other time I’ve seen Owen, he’s been cleanshaved and his dirty blonde hair cut short on the sides, all slick and cool looking.
Right now, he’s sporting some significant stubble and his hair has grown out a bit.
There are also bags under his eyes. It’s fun to see the difference — that’s what parenting a newborn does to you. Or so I hear.
“Hey, ladies,” he says, stepping aside to let us in. “Glad to see you all. Especially you, Sutton. It’s been a minute.”
“That it has,” I nod.
“Baby life wearing you out?” I ask.
He pauses for a moment, rubs his eyes, and then laughs heartily.
“Nah, not so much the newborn as the rambunctious seven-year-old going a little stir crazy and wanting our attention. I’m gonna take Millie to her skating lesson, though, so she can burn off some energy and be with her friends.
Have a little daddy-daughter time to make up for all the focus that’s been on Henry. ”
“Aww, that’s sweet,” Grace grins.
“Not to prove your point,” Skyler chimes in. “But, uh, where is the baby?”
Owen grins and shakes his head. “Follow me.”
He turns and leads us down a long hallway with gleaming hardwood floors and dark green walls decorated mostly with pictures of Millie.
When we reach an open doorway, we move through it and find ourselves in a living room with a big fireplace, plush gray sectional, and toys scattered all across the floor.
Stacey is sitting in the middle of the sectional, her short red hair pulled back off her face with a clip, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt.
She’s holding Henry while breastfeeding him, her arms propped up on pillows.
“Hey, babe,” Owen says. “You’ve got company.”
Stacey looks up and her lips curl into a wide smile. Her green eyes are bright, but there’s clear exhaustion in her gaze as she grins up at us.
“Oh my gosh! Hi girls. Sutton!” she exclaims, raising her free arm and beckoning me over. “It’s so good to see you! Sorry, everything’s such a mess…including me.”
“Don’t be sorry.” I hurry over to her and give her a half-hug. “You’re in baby-mode, and you look gorgeous, by the way.”
She laughs. “Oh, you’re a good liar. Don’t you dare stop.”
When she pats the empty spot next to her, I plop down. Grace, Skyler, and Rylee take up spots on the sectional around us. I gaze down at little Henry, who’s eagerly sucking away and totally oblivious to anything else around him.
“Look at this little guy,” I coo, reaching for his tiny hand. “He’s even cuter in person.”
“He knows he’s adored,” Stacey says with a tired but glowing smile.
Looking around at all of us, she declares, “All right, I want all the updates! I’ve been getting bits and pieces of adult interaction since Henry was born, but I’m desperate to live vicariously through you all while I’m on maternity leave. ”
“Are you already going crazy?” Rylee asks.
Owen snorts from his position by the doorway. “Where do you think Millie gets her restlessness?”
Stacey arches a brow at him. “Speaking of, shouldn’t you two get going? The sooner you leave the sooner we can talk about you behind your back.”
He lets out a bark of laughter and crosses the living room to drop a kiss on top of her head.
“If you’re talking about me, means you’re thinking about me.” He tilts her chin up and presses his lips to hers. “Which is how I like it.”
When he pulls back, Stacey’s cheeks are pink.
Turning, Owen makes his way out of the living room. “Millie! Come downstairs! We gotta get going.”
The sound of footsteps running along the floor above us is quickly followed by them clomping down the stairs down the hallway.
“Ready?” Owen asks.
“Ready!” Millie replies.
“Bye, baby!” Stacey calls out. “Have fun!”
“Bye, Mom!”
I hear the front door open and shut, Owen and Millie leaving the house without another word. Stacey sighs and shakes her head. “That girl, I swear. Couldn’t even come in and say hello to you all.”
“Eh, don’t worry about it,” Skyler shrugs, relaxing into her seat. “Kids have one-track minds. They’re like dogs. See what they want. Go for it.”
“Since when are you a kid expert?” I ask with a grin.
Skyler makes a show of buffing her nails on her t-shirt. “I’ll have you know I’m very in with the young-ins. The teens love my games.”
Rylee snorts. “That would be the most Boomer thing I’ve ever heard you say if you hadn’t mentioned video games. The teens? Okay, granny.”
Skyler shoots Rylee the bird. “Shush, you. Don’t be jealous.”
“Not in front of the baby!” Stacey pretends to be horrified, shielding her son from Skyler’s cringe.
We’re interrupted when her phone suddenly starts buzzing. She digs it out of her sweatpants pocket and her eyes go wide.
“It’s Hadley!” she exclaims, smiling as she answers the video call. “Hey, Had! Your timing is perfect. All the girls are here, including Sutton.”