Chapter Thirty-One-Giselle
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE-GISELLE
“ G irl, I know you aren’t moping around after spending the weekend with Angel in Boston,” Anna says as she changes Baby Nico’s diaper.
“It wasn’t a weekend. It was one night. Oh, and I’m sorry I’ll have your dress replaced. It sort of got torn,” I mutter, and my cheeks burn pink.
“Torn? How? Ohhh . Never mind,” Maria says.
I cover my face with my hands.
“Get it, Sisi! Now, don’t worry about the dress. Oh, here, hold Jr. while I throw this out,” Anna says, and hands the baby to me while she gathers his dirty diaper up and wraps it in some smell-blocking biodegradable trash bag before tossing it into the bin.
“Wait. I want to know more about this whole Boston trip. Including the dress ripping part!”
Maria is mixing some non-alcoholic cocktails at the small bar in her magical fucking library that Luc basically gave to her before they got married.
I swear, she is one lucky bitch.
Ever since Luc sort of claimed her at the bar, she’s been his. Like Anna and Nico. But things didn’t work out the same for me.
So yeah, I am moping.
I mean, Angel is great. But I don’t think he’s into commitment. And I don’t think I can settle for less.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Maria,” I tell her, and I make goo-goo faces at Nico Jr., who is just about the prettiest baby I ever saw.
“Hey, how did you get hold of the precious one?” Maria asks, setting the tray with our drinks down as she makes a grab for him.
“No way. You had all this little guy’s attention when I was away. It’s time for him to bond with Auntie Sisi, now,” I say, refusing to give him up.
“Baby hog,” she snipes.
“You bet your fat ass I am,” I tease.
Anna comes back towards us, shaking her head, and the three of us burst out laughing.
“You’re both going to spoil him rotten. But, um, FYI, you aren’t going to have to fight over holding him for much longer. There will be one for each of you,” she says, biting her lip and her cheeks are bright red.
“What are you talking about?” Maria asks, sipping her drink.
I take a sip of mine and I moan in pleasure. I don’t know how she does it. But she’s made some sort of fresh fruit punch soda mocktail and it is fantastic.
The fact she serves them with brightly colored silly straws just makes me love her even more.
“Oh my God! You’re pregnant?” I shout, and Anna is nodding and crying, holding her hand over her mouth.
“Yeah, I am.”
“Again? Anna, how does this keep happening to you?” I ask, equal parts happy and surprised.
“Well, Sisi, when a daddy loves a mommy very much, he puts his penis inside her, and?—”
“Shut up!” I tell Maria and shake my head at her.
“You guys, I know it’s soon, and the doctor said as long as I was breastfeeding, I should be fine. But um, either I have like bionic eggs or Nico has super sperm, cause here I am, knocked up again,” she says, and her lip is trembling.
“Hey now.”
“Come here.”
I join Maria with baby Nico in my arms on either side of Anna. We have this group hug going on and we’re all sniffling by the time we’re done.
“Did you tell him?” I ask.
Anna is already nodding.
“Yeah, of course. He’s the first one I told. And he’s so happy. He says he can’t wait to watch the whole thing this time from day one. Then he kissed me and held me all night, and in the morning when I lost my breakfast.”
“ Lost your? Ew! You have morning sickness already? That’s not something people made up?” Maria asks, scrunching her nose.
“Oh no, it is very real,” Anna says, and talks about how sweet Nico is with her.
My mind wanders as they talk about the early stages of pregnancy, but I am only half-listening. I wonder about children, and if I will ever have them.
Does Angel even want them? Would he want them with me?
The fact is, I’m not sure and I don’t know how to approach the subject. I mean, hell, we still never cleared up the whole him calling me wife in public thing.
“Okay, I don’t think we are going to get to talk much about the book we’ve been reading, but I am excited to tell you all, Luc and I made a date to celebrate our wedding. Since, you know, we got married in the freaking hospital,” she mutters, but her smile is wide as she starts detailing their reception.
“It’s going to be so beautiful. Oh, I am sorry. It’s these damn hormones,” Anna says, and yes, she’s crying again.
The baby falls asleep in my arms, and I put him in his little playpen, careful to clear the toys out of the way.
“Okay, now that we got all that out of the way, we want to know what is going on with you,” Maria says to me.
I look from her to Anna and back again.
I’ve known Anna since I was a kid, and Maria might be newer to our circle of friends, but she is just as important to me.
They are both waiting expectantly for me to confide in them, and really, I want to.
“Look, I know I have nothing to complain about. I am an adult, and I am the one who makes all the decisions for my life.”
“Has Angel been bullying you?” Maria asks, and she looks furious.
“Bullying me? Oh my God, no not at all. It’s just. Well—” I heave a sigh.
I’m so confused about me and Angel and it’s so nice to have someone to talk to.
So I do. I talk to them.
I tell them how I saw Angel with a woman who turned out to be the girlfriend of the new head of this Irish mafia family. I tell them about how I ran to Fort Lauderdale to create distance, since he obviously wasn’t into me like I was into him.
“Which we know is bullshit cause he came to get you,” Anna says.
I roll my eyes at her, but I continue with my story.
I tell them about how before I went to Florida, we only ever met at the Den and had sex in his office. We never went out or anything.
But when we came to get me, he’s been different. Taking me out. Letting me stay in his condo.
“Which I thought was your condo at first, by the way. Way to trick me,” I say, narrowing my eyebrows at Anna.
“In all seriousness, Sisi, your apartment got blown up. And who is gonna fuck with Angel Fury’s condo?” Anna says and I have to agree with her.
“Um, look, I am sure Angel is crazy as the rest of them when it comes to your safety,” Maria starts, “but you know that isn’t the only reason he is keeping you at his place, right?”
Anna and I both just look at her.
“Guys, Angel never dates anyone. I mean, women used to throw themselves at him all the time. I worked there seven months before Anna came around and Luc and I became a thing and, in those months, I never saw him leave with a single one of those women.”
“Are you trying to say Angel was a virgin? Cause we know that ain’t true,” I say, trying for humor when all I feel is a desperate urge to believe her.
“I swear, Sisi, not one woman in all that time.”
“So you mean, you think he cares,” I whisper, not daring to say it too loudly.
“Oh my God, girl. Cares? I think he’s head over fucking heels,” Maria says.
“Yep. That man is insanely in love with you. And if he’s not, I’ll just have Nico take him out,” Anna tells me, and I think she’s kidding.
But with Nico. Who knows?
“Oh my God, Anna! That’s one of the things I’m scared of. What if he’s just trying to fit in with the other guys by doing whatever this is with me?”
“That’s it. I am not listening to this bullshit from you. Sisi Vega, you are one of the best people I know,” Maria starts.
“And you have the biggest mouth of anyone I know, so,” Anna adds, side eying Maria who nods.
“We both think you need to get your head out of your ass and tell the man how you feel.”
“What?” I say, completely shocked.
“Just walk up to him. Take his hand,” Anna says.
“Or his dick,” Maria adds, and shrugs when Anna gasps at her.
“What? I mean, whatever is going to work to get his attention, am I right?”
“Okay,” Anna concedes. “Walk up to him, take his hand, or his dick , and say Angel, I need you to know how I feel , and then just tell him.”
“Tell him what?” I say, exasperated.
“Girl, tell him you love him. Then see if he loves you, too.”
I feel tears rolling down my cheeks, but I don’t wipe them because they are right.
I do love him. And I am not a coward by nature.
It’s time for me to pick my big girl panties up and tell him.
Gulp.