Chapter 29 Time To Celebrate
Time To Celebrate
Greer
If I could drink, last night after visiting with the mayor would have been the time to do it. I don’t know if it would have been a celebratory drink or an ironic one.
Both, probably.
My mother’s words on the other hand…it’s better not to think about what she said. It’s bad enough that she thought I should get back together with Darrel. The rest…
I think I’ll stay in bed all day and ignore life.
Ignoring it for today sounds like a great idea to me. It isn’t my fault that this bed is so comfortable.
Creed! He needs breakfast. Fine, I’ll just get up for a little bit, then climb back into the nice warm bed.
Why am I letting Darrel get in my head? Maybe the desire to sleep has nothing to do with Darrel and everything to do with the baby growing inside of you. My hand goes to the barely there bump.
Did the diet Mother put me on affect the baby? Why aren’t I showing yet? I should see the doctors and tell them what happened. They’re going to want to do the genetic testing.
Should I let them?
My phone rings on the nightstand.
I reach for it and click on it as soon as I see Winnie’s name on the screen.
“He’s divorced,” she practically shouts in my ear. “The papers were filed yesterday, but my private detective waited until this morning to call me. Don’t worry, I set the man straight. Now any info he finds on Darrel will be considered an emergency.”
“I know.”
“Wait. What? How? Did he call you? Did he come over and tell you? Please don’t tell me that creep went to you for sympathy.”
“Worse. My mother called me.”
“Oh. Oh. That woman doesn’t deserve the title. We’re on the way. We’ll see you through this. And have some breakfast.” The phone clicks off.
My friends are coming.
Now!
I pop out of bed and start getting myself presentable.
***
Forty-five minutes later, my doorbell rings. There’s no need to check to see who it is.
Ottilie’s first in with a massive box in her hands. “Everyone is outside. We’re going to want a tour, but first we’ll eat. Where is your dining room or kitchen?”
“Here, let me take it.”
She shrugs back. “Pregnant women shouldn’t carry more than ten to fifteen pounds unless they were regularly training before they became pregnant. Did you suddenly take up working out as a hobby and forget to mention it?”
“Let me show you where the kitchen is.” I lead her through to the kitchen. We can stage everything there. Thankfully, I got the table set in time.
“Good choice. I didn’t bring my notepad because this doesn’t count as an official meeting, but would you like it noted in the next meeting that your ex-husband is a philanderer as well as an idiot?”
I mean, who wouldn’t want that noted? “Nah. He doesn’t deserve anymore space in our records.”
“Agreed, but I thought I’d offer.”
“Your place is amazing,” Winnie doesn’t shout—because Winnie doesn’t ever need to raise her voice to be heard—but we can clearly hear her from the front door. “I never pictured you in a place like this, but it’s wonderful.”
“This is exactly where I pictured her,” Cordelia says as the two of them enter the kitchen with boxes of their own. “Greer was always the dreamer.”
By the time they’re done, we’ll have enough food here to feed a small army.
“And the wild one.” Mindy plops a box on the bar. “Remember that time in Boca.”
“Or the Bahamas.” Ottilie starts scrubbing her hands.
“What about that time in the Alps?” Leonie dumps the bag of bagels on the barstool.
“The Alps wasn’t all me. Cordelia started it.”
“I was joking. Not one time did I really mean for us to go skiing in our bikinis.”
“But you have to say it was fun.” We laughed the whole way down the slopes.
“And cold. So cold.” Cordelia shivers. “If that sauna was even ten feet farther from the slopes, I might have frozen to death.”
“Don’t worry, I checked. Plus, we had a good ten minutes before hypothermia set in. There were three emergency response teams waiting in case something happened.” Ottilie adds more soap and keeps scrubbing. “Bungee jumping in South Korea was definitely the wildest.”
She’s probably right. The company doing the jumps seemed a little sketchy. But the view on the way down was amazing. Never in my life has it ever felt like I was flying through mist-covered floating mountains again. “We should go skydiving.”
“I’m pretty sure doctors don’t recommend that while pregnant.” Mindy nods at my belly.
Oops. How did I forget this little guy? I rub my abdomen.
“Are you sure you’re pregnant? Shouldn’t you be showing by now?” Mindy lifts a platter full of croissants out of the bakery box.
“Every woman’s pregnancy is different. Some women can make it all the way until birth without showing. They only gain a small amount of weight in their abdomen.” Ottilie glances at my belly as she keeps scrubbing. “Though you don’t look like you’ve gained more than a pound or two.”
Do I tell them? “That’s because I haven’t. Mother put me on a diet.”
Gasps fill the room.
“I should throttle her.” Winnie probably would have killed her by now if it weren’t for the fact that we all agreed that no matter what our parents do, they are off-limits.
This time, I kind of agree.
The doorbell rings.
“Were you expecting someone? A man, maybe?” Mindy grins.
“We aren’t all love-struck like you.” Leonie opens Ottilie’s box.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone this morning.”
“But aren’t you glad we showed up when we did?” Cordelia gives me a quick side hug as I walk towards the door.
More than you guys could ever know. I swing the door open. “Creed!”
“It is a man.” Mindy doesn’t bother to whisper.
Breakfast. I forgot to make him breakfast. Only it isn’t that time yet. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I just saw all the cars and the police in front of your house. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Sweet. Sweet. Boy. “Everything is fine. Would you like to come in and meet my friends?”
“Sure.” Creed bounces in. “Wow, this is so cool. It’s completely different than before.”
“That’s because—”
“Oh, it isn’t a man. It’s a soon-to-be hot biker. Hey, is he related to the grumpy, hot, tattooed biker next door?” Cordelia, my always polite friend, blurts out.
“Hot, tattooed biker? Why has no one told me about a hot, tattooed biker?” Winnie walks over, turns off the water, and hands Ottilie a paper towel to dry her hands.
“Like you want to fall in love with a hot biker?” Cordelia places one of the cakes from her box on the stand I set out, expecting her to bring them regardless of the fact that it isn’t even nine in the morning.
“Who said anything about love? I’d happily fall in lust with a tattooed hunk for a little while.”
“There is a child in the room.” I remind the women, even though they can clearly see Creed standing next to me.
“Like that boy hasn’t heard the word lust before. He’s a teenager, not an eight-year-old.” Winnie walks over and starts opening cabinets. “Where are your champagne flutes?”
These women are nuts. “Third cabinet from your left.”
“No, ma’am. I mean, yes, ma’am.” Creed swallows hard, and his Adam’s apple bobs.
“You’re cute. But if you call me ma’am again, I’m going to get irritated. My name is Winnie to my friends. So is your father single?”
“Yes, ma—” He snaps his mouth shut. “Very single.”
“See? And if he’s half as cute as you are, he’d be perfect to fall in lust with.”
“Did you miss when I said he was grumpy?” Cordelia lifts out another masterpiece of chocolatey delight. “He was really not nice to Greer.”
The room goes silent.
Great. Why don’t my friends have a filter?
Because in the rest of our lives we need to think about every word we say, but when we’re together, we can be safe and free. The facades society pushes upon us fade away.
“My dad isn’t normally like that. It’s just…well, the woman who gave birth to me did a number on him, and he’s…” Creed shrugs.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to explain.” The poor boy doesn’t need to end up in the middle of this.
He turns to me. “I just don’t want you to think he’s a bad person. Because my dad is the best. He…just…when she almost killed me…”
Gasps fill the room.
“What’s her name?”
“Winnie!” I warn.
“What? He seems like a sweet kid. And I have a rule about hurting sweet kids.”
“We’re here to celebrate, not plan murders.” Leonie lifts one of the champagne bottles she set neatly in a row. “Would you like a glass?” She tips it towards Creed with her badge clearly visible.
Creed’s eyes bug out. “Um…Sure.”
“Leonie, don’t tease the boy,” Winnie sets the glasses down.
“But it’s so easy.” She takes out a bottle of sparkling cider and places it next to the liquor, and then a bottle of white grape juice.
“What are you celebrating?” Creed finds his voice.
“Stupid men getting what they deserve,” Ottilie announces.
***
Twenty minutes later, after we finished toasting and we’re finally sitting at the table eating, Winnie asks. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No.” The boy’s plate is piled high.
“Did your father teach you to hate women, too?”
“No, ma—no he didn’t. I’ve just lived in the same town forever. All the girls here are more like sisters to me. It would feel weird dating them. And dad doesn’t hate women. I think he’s just afraid of losing his heart to the wrong one again.”
“Aww,” Cordelia sighs.
Creed sets down his fork and turns to me. “He really is very sorry for being mean to you. He just doesn’t know how to say it. If you’ll give him a chance to apologize—”
“Just how hot is he?”
“Winnie!” Cordelia glares at her.
“What? We need to know what we’re working with here.”
“Winnie’s right. We do need to know.” Mindy lifts up her cake-filled fork. “But the question isn’t how hot he is. It’s is he a forever kind of guy, like my Maddox, or is he a fun and done guy? Greer really needs a fun and done guy before she moves on to a real relationship.”
“My dad is a forever guy,” Creed cuts in.
“He’s a man who finds a woman that he protects, cares for, and loves until the day he dies kind of guy.
He’s a guy who fills her gas tank so she doesn’t ever have to stop at a gas station.
A guy that opens her doors. A guy who brings his woman flowers because it’s a random Tuesday and he wants to see her smile. That’s who my dad is.”
“And how do you know that? Does he have a woman we could ask for references?” Ottilie sets down her fork. “We should check his references if Greer is considering entering into an affair with him.”
“Guys. That’s enough.” I need to stop this line of conversation.
“No. I can answer that one, too. I know that’s who my dad is, because that’s the man he taught me to be.”
“Good answer.” Ottilie nods.
“That wasn’t a good answer. That was perfect. Greer, if you’re not into him, I think I’ve just decided who my next affaires de coeur will be with.” Winnie pretends to fan herself.
“I think my dad already has other plans.”
All eyes turn to me, and I pretend not to see them.
We’re here because I just divorced an idiot. Now isn’t the time for me to think about anything else.