Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-seven
Iris had been dodging Hannah since the party, returning text messages only when she knew her friend was likely to be busy or in bed already.
She wanted to put off the lose-lose decision between telling Hannah about her husband’s behavior or withholding the truth from her best friend for the first time ever.
But on Wednesday, Hannah called and said the words no friend can refuse: “I need you.”
Hannah was upset after a concerning ultrasound appointment that showed the baby turned the wrong way in utero.
The fetus was healthy for now, but a breech birth would be riskier for both of them.
At her doctor’s recommendation, Hannah was taking a Spinning Babies yoga class that was supposed to flip the baby right side up.
Mike was supposed to go with her that afternoon, but he got called to court, and Hannah needed a partner. Iris came straight from the office.
She spotted Hannah sitting on a bench outside the studio door, surrounded by couples, looking like the last kid waiting to be picked up from school. Until she saw Iris.
“Thank you for coming!” Hannah hoisted herself up to hug her.
“Mike couldn’t make it last time either, and everyone gave me these pitying smiles.
Also…” she lowered her voice. “The instructor, Talia, is next-level crunchy. She made me her demo partner last time, and it was like I couldn’t do anything right. I think she hates me.”
“Then I hate her more.”
“I love you!” Hannah hugged her again.
Just then the instructor opened the studio door and welcomed them in.
Talia was a bit older but very fit in a cropped tank and flowy harem pants, with a shag haircut and microbangs that said I compost .
She introduced herself and instructed each “couple” to get a mat, a bouncy ball, and a giant stuffed block.
Hannah and Iris took a spot near the windowed wall overlooking Holland Tunnel traffic.
Hannah explained their objectives: “I have two weeks to get this baby to turn using these exercises. If by week thirty-eight the baby is still breech, the doctor can try an ECV, where they push on your belly to muscle the baby around, it’s supposed to hurt like a mother-effer.”
“Oof, like childbirth isn’t painful enough.”
“Right? And if none of that works, I have to have a scheduled C-section, and I really don’t want that. I want a natural, vaginal birth, that’s my birth plan.”
“But you want to play it safe.”
“Cutting me open and pulling my guts out is ‘safe’? American doctors push caesareans because it’s easier for the hospital. Ina May Gaskin, who wrote the book on birthing, found a tribe in Guatemala that gives birth on all fours when the baby is in breech, and it works just fine!”
“I know you want to give your baby the perfect birth, but any outcome with both of you healthy is perfect. I just want you to be okay.”
Talia shot a look of reproach in their direction for talking after she’d begun class.
They managed to behave themselves for some opening breathing exercises.
Then it was time for the warm-up; as per instructions, Hannah lay on her side while Iris jiggled her hip and thigh.
Their giggles soon gave way to chatting again.
“So how are things with the sexy glassblower?”
“Gabe’s great.”
“Oh, he’s earned a name! More than just a fling?”
“Definitely. I really like him.”
Hannah looked surprised and rolled to her other side.
The next exercise was more daunting, the forward-leaning inversion, where Hannah had to kneel atop the big stuffed block, simulating a couch or bed, and fold her upper body down to a forearm-stand on the ground. Iris stood behind her to hold her hips and support her weight.
“How you doin’ down there?” Iris called around Hannah’s butt.
“Better with you here, sorry for the view. I could kill Mike for missing this.”
“I’m sure Mike would rather be here than in court.” Why was she running interference for him? Iris helped Hannah to get right side up again.
“I know, he’s working his ass off before the baby gets here.
I’m probably a hormonal bitch to be mad at him, but—” Hannah sat upright on the block, her face flushed.
“I am a little mad at him. The whole point of this class is to learn the exercises so you can do them at home. Maybe after this, you can come over and teach him.”
Seeing Mike was the last thing Iris wanted to do. “I’ll take some videos today so he can see. And you’re never a bitch.”
“You’d be surprised. We’ve been bickering over the dumbest things. The latest fight is how much paternity leave he should take. He thinks four weeks is enough, but they’re allowed eight, and I want him to take the full amount.”
“That’s not dumb.”
“And he’s got this summer associate, Tony, and he’s always talking about how smart he is and how the firm is gonna make him an offer.
So I’m like, great, let Tony help cover for you during paternity leave.
But then suddenly Tony can’t do it without him, like a law student needs more babysitting than the baby!
I honestly think he’s just scared. He hates change. And a baby is the biggest change ever.”
“Yeah, it’s a lot, for both of you.” Iris was grateful when Talia interrupted again, this time to lead the group through some modified cat-cow poses. Iris held the ball steady while Hannah balanced by draping over it like a starfish.
“So how’s the new job?”
“Amazing. Jonathan—I mean, Mr. Wolff, the developer—invited some members of his team to his Shelter Island house this weekend. I’m bringing Gabe.”
“Wait, Wolff is the mogul who literally caught you when you fainted at Milos, right? And sent flowers and a car service when Jacob died—”
“Yes, and remember James’s sister and kids displaced by that gas explosion?
I just mentioned that at a work dinner, and Jonathan got them a lawyer for their eviction case and put them up in one of his apartment buildings until it’s sorted out.
He’s an incredibly generous man. I’m so happy to be working with him. ”
“Is he like, seventy years old?”
“No, he’s pretty young, forties.”
“Is he a total uggo?”
“He’s actually good-looking. He dresses extremely well.”
“That’s the money, honey! It’s like the Bella Hadid meme, you’re not ugly, you’re poor. To recap, he’s relatively young, he’s handsome, he’s rich…he has to be married.”
“Divorced. With a daughter he seems devoted to. He wants to buy her her first pony, so he’s been sending me horse classifieds to get my take on if I think they sound good. It’s adorable.”
Hannah rolled off the ball and blinked at her. “So why aren’t we considering Jonathan as Hugo’s potential new daddy?”
Iris chuckled. “Um, because I work with him? Because our professional relationship is the biggest opportunity of my career?”
“You light up talking about him. Do you wear the perfume at work?”
“Sometimes.” Lately, always.
“So you do want him to like you.”
“I want him to like working with me.”
Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “I feel like you’re talking yourself out of this attraction because it’s risky. But I also feel like you always go for the safe bet when it comes to men.”
“Like Ben, who blindsided me after five years?”
“Case in point, Ben seemed safe, husband material on paper, but in fact he was a man-child. There really is no sure thing in relationships with human beings. So you might as well go out of your comfort zone.”
“Gabe is out of my comfort zone. He’s an artist and younger.”
“Yeah, but he’s safe in that he’s a little beneath you, no?”
Iris’s heart leaped to his defense. “I don’t think so—”
“You described your connection with Gabe as so physical. He’s a sexy rebound, and I love that for you! But I want you to go for a man who can make all your dreams come true! And this Jonathan Wolff sounds like a dream guy.”
Iris didn’t entirely disagree. She wondered how much of her reticence stemmed from the truth that she just couldn’t believe a person like her could end up with a person like Jonathan.
“I’m not saying dump Gabe. I’m just saying, maybe don’t bring him to Shelter Island. Keep your options open.”
The instructor stopped by Iris’s shoulder. “Perfect assist…?” she prompted Iris to introduce herself. Talia smiled. “Iris, Georgia O’Keeffe’s inspiration, among other things. Glad to have you this week, Anna is doing so much better with you here.”
“It’s Hannah ,” Hannah said over her shoulder.
But Talia focused on correcting Iris’s form. “Now, if you roll her hips forward slightly, you can use her weight to get a good stretch for your back too.” She put one hand on Iris’s lower back. “Don’t tuck, reach with your tailbone toward me. Yes, doesn’t that feel juicy?”
Iris nodded, and Talia walked away. Hannah rolled back to her feet. “Okay, so she hates me, but she’s hitting on you?”
“She’s trying to break up our marriage!” Iris joked, and they both giggled.
“The little home-wrecker! You gotta give me some of that perfume. Speaking of which…”
Iris froze. How could she be so careless to have made that joke? Iris reassured herself that probably wasn’t where Hannah was going with—
“Something happened after the party, and I’m not supposed to know about it.” Hannah faced her, her blue eyes like searchlights.
Iris’s stomach dropped. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“But I’m torn whether I should tell you or not. Like maybe this is not productive to share. Do you want me to say it?”
Iris’s heart raced. What had Mike told her? She knew she should’ve told Hannah first. He probably snaked her with his version. “I can’t answer unless I know what we’re talking about.”
“Late the night of the party, after everyone went home…Ben texted Mike about you!” Hannah lifted her eyebrows in scandalized delight. “He asked if Mike had met the guy you’re seeing, clearly sniffing out whether or not it’s serious.”
Iris gasped in relief; it came out like a scoff. “Why would Ben care? He’s literally moving in with Madison.”
“Good question!” Hannah bugged her eyes out again. “He even told Mike not to tell me, which we both agree is proof it’s not a casual question. Ben is not over you.”
“So much for not telling you.”
“Of course Mike told me! First thing in the morning. Rule number one of marriage: No secrets.”
Iris’s heart yo-yoed in her chest.
—
At the end of class, Iris was helping Hannah into her sneakers on the bench outside the studio. Hannah’s phone rang and Mike’s grinning face appeared on the screen. She answered it.
“Hi, baby! Good. No, it was fine. Iris came.”
Iris tied her shoes as quickly as possible. She was so close to making a clean escape.
Hannah smiled at her. “Yeah, she’s still here. You wanna talk to her?”
Iris shook her head and tried to wave her off, mouthing the words, I should go.
But Hannah held out the phone. “Take it, Mike has something to tell you.”