20. Gigi
CHAPTER 20
Gigi
A FEW WEEKS LATER
There is no other way around it. Luke looks like a DILF. If there was a competition on hottest dads alive, or hottest soon-to-be dads, this man would take home the prize. Having low self-confidence was never an issue of mine, but seeing him in khaki pants and a fancy sweater, getting ready for our baby shower, I can’t help but resent that a lot of pictures will probably be taken of the two of us today. My husband is the embodiment of a catch and I resemble a wobbling elephant.
I take one last glimpse in the mirror. Pregnancy glow, my ass . A frown appears on my face when I see my reflection. Even though I tried my best to cover my imperfections with a concealer, the pimples on my jaw are still visible. My maxi dress is able to hide my swollen legs, but it doesn’t hide the fact that I’m not one of those pregnant ladies that only gain weight on her belly. You can see the aftermath of my snacking everywhere.
The fuck up with Zach aside, no wonder Luke doesn’t want to spend time with me anymore. No wonder he doesn’t fuck me. Even I’m repulsed by what I see. Twenty-year-olds aren’t supposed to look like this. Former cheerleaders aren’t supposed to look like this. The soulmate of the man staring at me with silent anger in his eyes isn’t supposed to look like this.
“You ready?” Luke asks.
I put on another coat of lipstick, knowing it won’t make me any prettier. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
He takes my hand in his, something that he’s doing out of habit, I’m sure, and we start driving to the restaurant that Mom booked for today.
My mom called us and insisted on throwing a baby shower. When I told her that we don’t have the money, she told me she’d foot every single bill that would come. When Luke said that he didn’t feel comfortable with her paying for it, she argued that A and B are her grandbabies, too, and guilt-tripped us, using the ammunition that Luke and I never had a Catholic wedding. We both sighed and nodded after that.
“Let’s try to have a good time, okay, Gi?” Luke says. This is the first time in a month that his tone is somewhat affectionate.
I nod, then stare out the window to look at the snow-covered streets and the shops downtown that put up decorations for Valentine’s Day. That’s in two days, right? Holy shit, time does fly.
I want to ask him whether he’s still mad at me, but I don’t want to open the can of worms again. We both need to be on our best behavior today. It’s a small gathering, but the guest list is causing me to tremble with anxiety. Dad is flying in from New York with his new girlfriend. Mom is going to be there with Vince. Vince, despite our objections, went ahead and invited Michael and Judith, anyway, after lecturing us about forgiveness and the need to be a cohesive family unit.
When we realized we weren’t going to win the argument with Vince, I made peace with the fact that we’d have to face Andrew’s parents. It’s not like we could do anything about it, anyway. Vince sprung the news on us yesterday.
In addition to them, Becca, Kai, Ross, June, and Zach are coming. All my girlfriends from high school are in another state and Zoey is too far away. Even if I invited the girls that I used to cheer with, I don’t think they would bother with the drive here. Our lives are so different now. I’m just someone they used to know.
The restaurant is decorated with pink, blue, and white balloons. I might not have been excited for the baby shower, but tears still leak when I walk in and see Mom’s big smile when she sees us coming in. She might not be the kind of mother to drop everything and come to me due to her work, but she always passes with flying colors where it counts.
“Thank you so much, Mom.” I rush in to give her a hug, bypassing Vince and Becca. “I missed you,” I whisper in her ear.
“Gigi, what’s wrong?” As we pull away, she grabs both of my shoulders and studies my expression. Her eyebrows scrunch together and twin lines appear on her forehead.
“Nothing,” I say, giving her a small giggle to reassure her. “I’m just happy and thankful that you did all this, that’s all.”
My mom lets go of me and gives Luke a hug when he approaches us. “For the both of you? I’d do anything.”
The mood becomes lighter after that, and so does my heart. Everyone takes turns hugging everyone and I finally get introduced to Michelle, Dad’s new girlfriend. Just as we’re about to sit down, my phone vibrates in my bag.
Zach
I’m running late. SORRY! Got your twins a sick-ass gift, though ;)
Who’s coming again?
Our family, Kai, and some family friends of Luke’s.
Okay, boss. Be there in fifteen.
We’re playing a round of Would You Rather—baby version—when Zach appears at the left end of our long table. His jaw is stiff and his gaze murderous. I sigh when I see Luke’s annoyed face. Maybe they had a confrontation I didn’t know about. I wouldn’t put it past Luke. Pushing my chair back, I try to waddle as fast as my belly allows it to close the distance between me and Zach.
“I thought you guys weren’t talking to Andrew’s parents,” he says in a low voice.
“Luke’s dad invited them.” I roll my eyes. Turning my back so I’m facing the guests, I grab Zach’s wrists and smile to the group. “Everyone, this is Zach.”
They take turns shaking Zach’s hand as he makes his way through the crowd to an empty seat next to Ross. Everyone goes back to the game and whatever small talk they had before Zach came. When Andrew’s dad's laughter booms in the room, and Zach just stares at him, I feel sorry for my friend. He doesn’t know Luke’s friends and family from back home. I don’t want him to feel like he’s the odd man out.
“Zach goes with us to the University of Ravensfield, but he’s actually from Marble Crest,” I say, hoping to break the ice.
“Really?” Andrew’s mom turns her gaze toward him, nodding in approval. “Did you go to Marble Crest High? My son used to go there.”
I feel the pinprick behind my eyes. Me and Judith Palmer are not on good terms, but after being pregnant myself, I empathize with her. So, so much. Any mother would go crazy losing a child the way she did.
“You guys might have seen Zach at one of his games,” Luke chimes in, knowing that football is a big thing in Marble Crest. Andrew told me once about how his dad tried to convince him to switch from playing basketball to football instead.
Zach fidgets in his seat, an uneasy smile settling on his face.
“Might have seen him?” Kai chuckles. “He was the freaking quarterback! No way you would’ve missed him.” Andrew’s dad finally takes notice of Zach, narrowing his eyes. Kai must have noticed it, too. “What was your jersey number in high school, man?” he asks Zach.
“Eight,” Zach answers, but his gaze is focused on Michael.
Luke joins in again on the conversation. “Landon. Number eight. If you’ve seen that on a jersey, that was Zach.”
“He was so good he got a scholarship to?—”
Before I can finish my sentence, a loud voice roars, filling the space in the room. “ You !”
I see Michael Palmer rising from his seat, his index finger pointing toward Zach and his face a shade of red. Zach stands up as well, his expression ready for a fight. What the hell?
Everyone in the restaurant is focused on these two, our own group with horrified faces while the other guests sport an annoyed or curious expression. I don’t know what in the ever-loving fuck is happening, all I know is that they’re causing a scene.
I quickly walk over to Zach. “Wha?—”
Again, whatever I’m going to say goes unfinished. Andrew’s dad shoves Zach in the chest. Being built the way he is, Zach stays firm and tall in his position. Me, on the other hand? Not so much. The way Michael stalked over here so fast caused me to lose my balance. I’m about to fall flat on my ass when, from the corner of my eye, I see Luke standing up from his chair and running to catch me.
“Uncle Mike, what the hell?” he asks with one of his hands gripping my bicep and the other one around my waist. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, although my heart is galloping like a racehorse.
I stand back up with Luke’s help. Despite the confusion with the clusterfuck that’s happening right in front of my eyes, a smile breaks out on my face when Luke kisses my temple and says, “I’ve got you, Gi. Always.”
My eyes dart to Luke, then to Zach and Michael. The two of them are in a weird staring contest, both glaring at each other.
“Uncle Mike, what’s going on?”
Luke doesn’t have to wait long to find out because a second later, his uncle starts again with his yelling and shoving.
“What did you do to my son, huh?” he shouts for everyone to hear. “What did you do that was so bad that my son had to go and kill himself?” When Zach doesn’t answer, Mike gives his best attempt at shoving him again and raises his voice. “Tell me, goddammit! If you have a problem with me and your mom having an affair, you take it out on me! Not on someone who was innocent in all of it!”
The puzzle pieces?
Click.
Click.
Click.
“Oh my God,” I hear from somewhere in the room. I’m one hundred percent sure it comes from Andrew’s mom.
For the first time since knowing him, I see Zach sneer, his eyes glinting like he’s about to turn all of our lives into a living hell. “That was all you, old man. If you didn’t want him to kill himself, you should’ve become a better role model.” Zach looks at the group, smirking. I don’t see my friend anymore. Instead, I’m staring at someone evil. “Does your family know you’ve been fucking other women behind your wife’s back?” He faces everyone, who all look like they’ve been struck by lightning, and yells some more. “With a high school student, too. Well, I only know of one. Maybe there’s more. With this guy here, who knows, right?”
Luke’s body stiffens next to mine. When I look up at him, I see the tormented expression on his face. He doesn’t know whether to hold me tighter or join his uncle and berate Zach.
I can’t stay here. I…
I quickly walk back to my assigned seat, fully aware that all eyes are either on me, or on the shitshow that’s unfolding. Grabbing my purse that’s hanging on the chair and slinging it on my shoulder, I make my way to the coat hanger. “I’m going to go,” I mumble, giving the horrified guests a forced smile. “Thanks for coming, everyone.”
I have to process this. Zach was the bully. Zach bullied Andrew. Zach befriended me. Was it all a lie? He listened to me go on and on about Andrew. He nodded empathetically when I opened up to him about Rachel. How could I be so stupid?
I’m about to book an Uber, but then I hear it. Something crunching and someone tumbling. I gasp when my eyes follow what everyone else is looking at. It looks like Luke beat Uncle Mike to it. Zach is on the floor and Luke is waving his right hand around, like the punch hurt him as much as it must have hurt Zach.
“I don’t know what your game is, but stay the fuck away from Gigi, you piece of shit!” Luke yells before grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the restaurant.
Think of happy thoughts, Gigi. Picture the beach. Picture the park. I try to finish my mantra by picturing Luke and the twins, but all my mind can conjure up is the fucked-up reality that we live in right now. The guy who became my best friend was also the person who made Andrew’s life miserable.
Just fucking congratulations, Gigi. You’ve made a wonderful mess of everything.