29. EVERLEE - BUSTED
EVERLEE - BUSTED
“I can’t do this!” Lizzy exclaims, and my heart drops.
“What?” I set my flowers down and rush over to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t get this darn girdle thingy up my leg. My dress keeps getting in the way!”
“Ok. Well, let’s use less dramatic exclamations on your wedding day.”
“Huh?” She looks at me, face twisted in confusion. “Oh. Oh! Oh my God! Why would you even think that? I told you weeks after I started dating him, I was going to marry him. Now get on your knees, bitch, and stick your hand up my dress.” She throws her head back in a loud cackle.
Someone clears their throat by the door and I turn to find Beckett. “I think I should leave you two alone. I knew this day was coming. Just thought it was going to be before you married a man,” he laughs.
“No. You get your ass in here. Let’s get an usie!”
Beckett plops on the bed and they put their heads together.
“Preferably not with my hand up your dress.”
“No. That’s what makes it great.” Lizzy laughs again. I’ve seen her happy, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her this happy.
She hops once to scoot closer to Beckett, which puts my hand uncomfortably close to her vagina. A garbled warning pours out of my mouth, but I’m so panicked it’s just a mixture of sounds, like a baby learning they have a tongue for the first time.
Running my hand around her leg to confirm the bow is in the front, I slip my hand out. “Your garter belt is good to go.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s what it’s called.”
“Yes.” I laugh and join her and Beckett on the bed for another, better, picture.
“Are you ready, sis?” Beckett asks, looking at Lizzy.
“I’m so ready, Becks. I love him big. Have you seen him yet?”
He nods, then fans himself and Lizzy squeals.
“I want to go marry that man, then fuck him and make a baby!”
“You could have stopped at man.”
“Nah. That leaves out all the erotic details,” Lizzy laughs again, giving Beckett a hug.
She pulls back, then grabs both of our hands. “You.” She stops as tears fill her eyes. “Gahhh,” she moans. “I told myself I wasn’t going to get emotional.”
“Have you met yourself? You let emotions run over you like a freight train.” Beckett shrugs his shoulder into Lizzy’s.
She smiles, then squeezes our hands again, and takes a deep breath. “You both have been there for me, helping me through so much. When we had to move to that new podunk town,” she laughs. “That’s what I called it at first. I was so mad we had to move and I hated it. But I walked into school that first day and I saw you. I saw you Ev, and I thought, wow, she does not know how to dress. But I knew. I knew we were going to be best friends, like I know I need oxygen to live. What I didn’t know is that I wasn’t only making a best friend, but that I was getting two. Sure, Becks was a little younger than us, but he was always there.” She squeezes his hand. “I love you both so much. You both are my rock when I need a place to lean on. You’ve been there through all the ups and downs in my life and you’ve never faltered with your love in me once. For that, I’m so thankful. I just want to say that I love you all so much. You are so much more to me than friends or even family. You are a part of me, and I will love and cherish you forever.”
Tears stream down my face. “Damn hormones,” I mumble to myself as I pat my face.
I can literally feel the air shift. Like it’s all been sucked out of the room.
No one is breathing.
I just freeze, hoping if I don’t move, that will somehow cause time to rewind a little.
Lizzy bolts upright and stands in front of me with her hands on her hip.
“Everlee Elizabeth Fisher McCall Monroe McKinley!”
I don’t want to look up, but she’s like a freaking wrecking ball, so I know there’s no use in prolonging the inevitable.
When I do, her eyes are wide and I can hear her feet click click clicking on the floor under her dress like a bottle rocket wobbling in its bottle before it shoots off, but you’re not quite certain if the bottle is going to tip, so your heart beats a little faster.
“Say the words,” she commands.
I shake my head.
“You say the words right now, hooker.”
“I’m… pregnant.”
Lizzy looses her mind screaming and throwing her arms in the air. “I’m going to be an auntie!” She lifts me into a hug.
“I really didn’t want to tell you yet. This is your time, your special day. I totally didn’t mean to say what I said just then… please… I’m sorry.”
“Bitch please. I’ve known for a while.”
“What?”
“I just needed you to say the words so I could talk about it.”
“You knew?”
“You knew?” Beckett asks. “Also, congrats, sis.”
“Yes. Girl. The glow you’ve had for the last several weeks. The fact you’ve been calling me less. Seriously, what the fuck? And I definitely knew after last night. First, you chuck my good tequila over your shoulder.”
“Sorry.” My nose scrunches. “I didn’t think you saw. You didn’t say anything.”
“Girl. I had to let you live in your fantasy.”
“That’s why you stopped them with the champagne, too?”
“Well, partly, but also because you don’t like champagne. It was also good champagne. I didn’t want you trying to toss it over your shoulder in the car.”
We both laugh.
“Oh, and my favorite. Those shots last night. Girl, I was trying to get drunk. Hard to do with orange juice.”
“Damn. I really thought I was tricking you.”
“Not at all. The first one got me. I thought I was just super drunk, but then realized what you were doing.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I didn’t need to get wasted, and I wanted you to feel included.”
“Liz, last night, today is your day. The whole reason I didn’t want to say anything was so we could bask in your day.”
“Psshhh. Girl, like I just said. You are more to me than just a friend or even family. You are part of me. I mean, if you didn’t want to be so selfish, we could have discussed this so we could be pregnant at the same time.”
“Oh god no. That would be horrible.” Beckett chimes.
“I love you.” I hug her as tears flow down my cheek.
“I love you.” She pushes me away. “Now we have to hurry. The quicker I get married, the quicker I can make hanky panky.”
My chest warms with heaviness, and it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
“So no one knows?” Beckett asks. “Like mom.”
“Ha. No. She’ll lose her mind. We’re still early. Roughly six weeks. We have our first doctor's appointment this week.”
Lizzy grabs my hands and squeals, face beaming.
“Can we please stop talking about this now? I really want to focus on you and your day.”
“Oh fine. If you insist. Your make-up looks like shit, though. We need to get that fixed.”