Chapter Two Bistros, Babies, and Bad Christmases
RYLEE
Walking into the little French bistro that Grace picked out for our lunch today, I’m immediately hit with the scent of lavender, coffee, and fresh-baked pastry.
It’s a cute place, small and intimate, with a black and white checkered floor, white tablecloths covering the tables, potted plants, and white walls decorated with framed photos of Paris.
I look around and spot Grace, as well as Skyler and Stacey, sitting at a table in the far corner.
They see me and wave me over with bright smiles.
I hurry to join them, my heels clacking along the tile floor.
“Hello, lovelies,” I say, pulling out an empty chair and plopping down. “Sorry I’m late. I had a phone call with my editor, and she would not let me get away.”
“No problem,” Grace assures me. “We haven’t ordered yet. Was it an okay phone call, or…?”
“Oh, no, it was great! She was mostly gushing about how positive the reception has been to my article about Zander… the real one I just put out, not… you know, not the other one.”
“You mean the super mean hack job your bitch ex-co-worker put out into the world to sabotage you?” Skyler says matter-of-factly, as she scans the bistro’s menu. You can always count on Skyler to say it like it is.
“Yes, that’s the one I mean,” I reply. “The shitty one I didn’t write.”
“Well, I definitely prefer the new one,” Stacey pipes in, smiling and rubbing her round belly. “I’m so glad you two figured things out.”
“Me too.” Warmth spreads through me as I think of Zander.
It’s been so good with him since I got back from Ireland and we confessed our feelings for each other.
He’s been so loving and attentive, and I haven’t wanted to be apart from him since we got back together.
This is pretty much my first outing without him since coming home, and even though I’m thrilled to spend time with my girls, a part of me just wants to hurry back to Zander’s side.
“So things are working?” Grace asks, giving me a searching look. “You two are all in now?”
My smile widens, and I nod. “Oh, we’re definitely all in.
In fact… hmm, where is it? Ah…” I dig around through my purse to find the item I brought specifically to share with them.
With a flourish, I set the picture from my first ultrasound in the middle of the table, leaned up against a cup.
I watch, giddy, as realization lights up their faces one by one.
Skyler looks up at me first. Her brown eyes go wide behind her glasses.
“You’re pregnant?”
Biting my lip, I nod. “Yep. Found out when I was in Ireland.”
They all erupt into squeals of excitement and Grace and Skyler jump up to give me hugs, while Stacey remains seated, clapping her hands in delight. Other restaurant customers look over at us with curious expressions. The girls sit back down, beaming from ear to ear.
“Oh, my God!” Grace exclaims, reaching over to grab and shake my arm in excitement, her long brown hair falling in soft curls around her shoulders. “Congratulations!”
“I’m so happy for you!” Skyler gushes, adjusting her glasses and pushing her dirty blonde hair behind her ears, as if she’s so excited she can’t keep her hands still.
“You’re gonna be a momma!” Stacey looks so happy, she’s got tears shimmering in her bright green eyes. She wipes at them with the palms of her hands. “God, these hormones.”
Grace passes Stacey a napkin, chuckling softly. “Well, at least something good happened over Christmas.”
I furrow my brow. “What, you didn’t have a good Christmas?”
Grace groans and scowls. “God, no. Jensen and I got so sick with food poisoning that I thought I was going to die. I don’t know if I can ever look at an oyster again.”
My stomach clenches at the thought. “Ugh… that sounds awful. I mean, I really can’t say my Christmas was good.
I reconciled with my family in Ireland, yes, and that was pretty amazing.
But I was so heartbroken over Zander, it was hard to really enjoy myself the way you’re supposed to on the holidays.
Still, death by bad seafood blows my shitty Christmas out of the water. ”
“Winner, winner,” Grace grumbles.
Suddenly, the waiter approaches our table and takes our orders. Once he’s gone, Skyler sits back in her chair and lets out a long breath.
“You know, my Christmas sucked ass too.” She leans back, and the chainsaw on her Evil Dead t-shirt glimmers. “I got stuck in New York. I had a meeting at Random House Publishing. They want to turn one of our video games into a graphic novel, like their Horizon Zero Dawn series.”
“That sounds pretty dope,” I grin.
She nods, a flash of excitement in her eyes. “It’s badass, actually. It’s a zombie adventure series, and we’re looking to develop at least four games. Anyway, that’s not the point. There was a blizzard and I got stuck. Couldn’t get home until after Christmas.”
“Yeah, poor Carson was fielding all our parents solo,” Grace adds with a wry grin. “Poor guy. Wasn’t sure he’d make it through in one piece.”
“What about you, Stacey?” I turn my gaze to meet her bright green eyes. “Was your Christmas any good?”
She shakes her head, her short red hair dancing just above her shoulders.
“Wish I could say yes, but no. Millie got chicken pox. Poor baby was so miserable, it broke my heart. Thank God Owen’s mom has moved to Denver and was able to help out.
Owen made me keep my distance so I didn’t get sick, too. ”
“Ahhh, that’s sad,” Skyler frowns. “So Millie had a bad Christmas too?”
Stacey lets out a snort. “Actually, she made out like a bandit. We all felt so bad that she was sick that we doubled her present load. Owen even got her one of those battery-powered Barbie jeeps and she’s been cruising around the house in pink sunglasses like she owns the damn place.”
We all laugh, and I grab the ultrasound photo and slip it back into my purse.
Our food arrives, and as we eat, we catch up on what’s going on with each of our jobs, families, etc.
It’s been a minute since we’ve all been able to just sit down like this together, and I realize how much I’ve missed this.
I’ve been so consumed with Zander and my family, I’ve kind of put my friends on the back burner.
That’s life sometimes, I know, but I’m determined to make sure I don’t let them slip through the cracks again.
“I’ve picked up a few new clients from the Broncos,” Grace tells us, pulling up some Instagram pages on her phone to show us some of the social media content she’s been working on. “I’m to the point where I need to hire more people to help me.”
“Like a full-blown marketing firm?” Stacey asks.
“Pretty much.”
“Hell yeah!” Skyler exclaims.
“What about you, Stace?” Grace asks, and I take a bite of my Florentine chicken crepe while I wait for her to respond. “You’re on maternity leave, right?”
“Sure am,” she sighs. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to have the time to rest and get ready for the baby.
I’m so huge, I’m useless in the PT office anyway.
But, honestly? I kind of miss work. Getting up and leaving the house, being productive.
I’m getting a little stir crazy. And you know it’s not easy for me to rely on other people to handle stuff, after I spent so long doing everything on my own… ”
I hadn’t thought that far ahead for me, but I’d go crazy if I couldn’t work. Thankfully, I can work from home and my job isn’t as physically demanding as Stacey’s, but still… what if I’m too busy with the baby to work? Or vice versa?
Oh, fuck. Great. Here comes the anxiety.
My phone suddenly buzzes, distracting my spinning thoughts, and when I grab it, I see I’ve got a text from Zander. Before I can open it, the other girls’ phones also start buzzing. I glance around the table as they all check their messages.
“Jensen just texted me,” Grace says, scanning the text. “Huh. The guys want to take us to Estes Park for the weekend.”
“Yeah, Owen sent me the same thing,” Stacey nods, her own phone in her hand.
“Well, Carson sent me a dick pic.” Skyler grins. She swipes her finger across the screen. “That’s going in the folder… oh! Here’s the Estes Park message!”
I look back down at my phone and open my own text.
Zander: Hey, Wildcard. The guys and I all talked and we want to whisk you girls away to Estes Park for the weekend since we’re all on break right now. How’s that sound?
Grinning, I shoot him a response.
Rylee: Works for me All the other girls seem to be on board too.
Zander: Perf You guys should invite Sutton along if you want. Wilder and Jayce are coming too.
Rylee: Awesome! I’ll call her now!
“Zander says we should invite Sutton,” I tell the other girls.
“Jensen said the same!” Grace is grinning from ear to ear, clearly excited. “Let’s call her!”
“I got it.” I quickly find her name in my phone and hit the call button.
It rings three times before she answers.
“Hello, beautiful,” Sutton purrs. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Hello to you, too,” I reply, shooting the other girls a wink. “I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“You doing anything this weekend? And, if not, what do you think of joining us for some wintery fun in Estes Park with the guys?”
“What’s Estes Park?”
“A town up in the mountains,” I explain. “Very pretty. Lots of wilderness, hiking, boutique shops. A good vacation place.”
“Oh, I’m so down!” she exclaims. “What’s the occasion?”
I blink and purse my lips together thoughtfully. Huh, that’s a good question.
“Actually, I don’t know if there’s any special occasion.” I glance at Stacey, Skyler, and Grace, but they all shrug, appearing as clueless as I am. “They just want to whisk us away, I guess.”
“Hmm… suspicious, much? But whatever, I’m game! A weekend away is just what I could use right now.”
I can’t help but wonder if she’s dealing with family drama again, but I don’t ask.
Sutton doesn’t usually go into a lot of details when it comes to her family and what they put her through.
I know she loves them and would do just about anything for them, but they have crazy expectations of her sometimes that she struggles to meet.
I have my own wealth of family drama, of course, but it’s a bit different.
“All right, great,” I say. “I’ll text you the details once we get them. We’re completely in the dark right now.”
“Again, suspicious, but I’m excited to see what nonsense those guys are up to. If nothing else, it should be entertaining.”
“It’ll be something.” Now my mind is racing with all the ulterior motives the guys could have for this sudden trip. “I’ll talk to you later, love.”
“Give everyone kisses for me,” Sutton declares. “I can’t wait to see you all.”
“We can’t wait to see you either.”
Hanging up the phone, I find the others watching me expectantly.
“Sutton’s in.” I give them a thumbs up. “She’s suspicious of the reason the guys are doing this, though.”
Skyler presses her lips together thoughtfully. “Yeah, it is kind of weird. They aren’t usually the ones who plan things. Especially not Carson. He barely plans the next morning out.”
Stacey shrugs. “I don’t know. I’ve had enough of being suspicious to last a lifetime, and things are good, so I’m just going to roll with it. Maybe they just really want a weekend away. I’m not gonna lie, I’d love a bit of adult fun time before baby number two arrives.”
“Yeah, it could just be a spur-of-the-moment trip just to get away,” I muse. “Or they’re plotting something. I’m with Stace, though. Just going and having some fun together sounds pretty fucking nice.”
“Agreed,” Grace nods. “We can just let the guys do whatever they have in mind and enjoy ourselves in the meantime. Worst comes to worst, we can probably hang out in a hot tub and let them play in the snow.”
I let out a snort, imagining Zander bounding through a snow drift like a giant St. Bernard. Fuck, why’s that so adorable?
“All right, then,” I say, holding up my water glass. “Estes Park, here we come!”