EDITH, AKA FROM FUSSY TO FANTASTIC
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I can’t stop crying after Duke leaves the homestead. Ike and Otto get agitated, assuming I’m the victim of a bad man. Feeding off my emotions, Oana starts crying. My parents finally put on “South Park” to distract us from our tears.
At midnight, I become convinced I’m not pregnant. Panicking at how I got upset over nothing, I become upset again.
Ma-Journey locates another pregnancy test. One trip to the bathroom later, I accept I need to accept I’m pregnant.
Not long after my second test, Otto and Betty walk over to their house. Ike and Oana head to bed a half hour later. I remain up, sitting between my parents like a scared kid.
“I’m tired,” Pa-Donovan says at two. “I need you to sleep. Will rocking you in my lap help?”
I laugh before the tears return. “I’m a bad kid.”
Ma-Journey sighs. “Going full Earlham broke her.”
“Just temporarily,” Pa-Donovan replies. “Edith went too long being sensible. She has no resistance to this drama bug. Once she builds up a little immunity, Edith will be back to normal.”
Though I resent my parents talking about me as if I can’t hear them, I still cling to their hands when they want me to go to bed. My ma and pa end up in my room, sitting in chairs and playing on their phones while their grumpy twenty-six-year-old baby girl fusses.
“I’m ordering pastrami,” Pa-Donovan tells Ma-Journey as I fight my fatigue. “Extra pickles.”
“I want the Italian. No pickles.”
The smile they share steals my panic. My parents are rational people. If they aren’t upset, I shouldn’t be, either. Just like that, I crash into sleep.
My dreams are chaotic and overly horny. I spend most of them searching for Duke so we can get naked and rub our bodies together. I wake up with an ache between my legs and a foggy brain.
In the kitchen, I find Ike kissing Oana’s flat belly and saying goodbye to his baby. I smile at my brother’s excitement and how Oana giggles in a relaxed way. They started their relationship in such an odd way, yet they’re magic together.
Outside on the back deck, Otto watches Betty act out a story that involves her beating up a giant man. His loud laughter wins howls from the dogs running in the yard.
Pa-Donovan joins me at the window and wraps an arm around my shoulders.
“Feeling better?” he asks when I smile up at him.
“Yes. I got so wound up yesterday. The drama kept spilling out of me. But I woke up normal today.”
“Best to let the drama out a little at a time to avoid going full Earlham.”
I study my dad and think of him following me to Dunphey. “Were you seriously not angry when you saw me with Duke at the hotel?”
“Sure, I was pissed at you for sneaking around when this guy was in our circle. I thought maybe he was hiding it because he was using you. Then, I remembered how you tend to run men through their paces before you let them close. If Duke was lucky enough to spend the night with you, he must have done things right. That meant he was special. So, I backed off and let you be. But if things went wrong with your first night together, I still wanted to be nearby to kick his ass.”
Hugging Pa-Donovan, I like how he’s willing to both trust me and watch my back.
“Duke messaged me this morning,” Pa-Donovan says after nudging me toward the kitchen so I’ll eat. “He said you hadn’t responded to his texts, and he wanted to make sure you were okay. We talked about sandwiches. He’ll be here around noon.”
“Where’s Ma?”
“She’s talking to Meemaw Christine about the baby situation. Poppy is bound to get lightheaded and start fainting all over the place when she learns Tuesday was part of a ruse.”
My laughter draws the focus of Ike and Oana. They watch me butter an English muffin.
“You copied us,” Ike tells me, and Oana smiles. “People are going to think our family can’t handle birth control.”
“Apparently, we can’t.”
Ike shrugs. “I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“Me too.”
“You’re going to need to skedaddle soon,” Pa-Donovan tells Ike. “We’re having lunch with Edith and Duke.”
“I never paid much attention to Duke. I want to know him better.”
“He’s in love with your sister, and they’re having a baby. You’ll get to know him fine tomorrow and next week and so forth. Don’t be a troublemaker. Too much shit has gone down over the last month for us to stir up more drama now. After all, we’re Mooneys. We don’t embrace drama. We’re the ones who roll our eyes at other people’s drama.”
“Drama can be fun,” Ike insists and glances at Oana. “Right?”
“I would rather eat pizza than sandwiches for lunch.”
Ike smiles. “Well, in that case, I don’t care about the lunch here. Let’s go grab a pizza.”
After I finish half of my muffin and get a shower, Pa-Donovan and I wait for our dream people to arrive.
“I didn’t trust in the magic,” I admit to my pa. “I kept thinking my relationship with Duke wouldn’t last. I don’t know why I can’t just relax.”
“You seem relaxed right now.”
“I’m excited for Duke to come here in the middle of the day in front of everyone. I need things between him and me to feel normal.”
My pa studies me in a soft way before offering a smile. “I think I hear his motorcycle.”
I hurry to the bathroom to check my appearance before bolting for the door. Soon, I’m at the closest garage where Duke climbs off his motorcycle and smiles at me.
We don’t speak. An awkward moment passes, and I start doubting. I can’t seem to get out of my head and take charge.
Fortunately, Duke steps closer, wraps me in his arms, and kisses away my worries. My mind swims, and my heart races. Yesterday feels like a crazy dream.
Once his lips leave mine, Duke studies me. I see something in his expression. That’s when I notice my eyes are filled with tears.
“I’m losing my fricking mind,” I mumble and move away from him. “What’s wrong with me?”
Duke rests a hand on my shoulder and guides me back in front of him. “You’re okay,” he says in a soft tone. “You know I love you.”
Nodding, I smile and shuffle closer. His fingers feel like magic against my bare arms.
“I’ll get to know your parents at lunch,” he says, making me smile wider. “Tonight, you’ll come to my place. I already have the pork chops prepped. We’ll watch a movie or talk or spend the entire time in bed. There are no wrong answers because we aren’t on a schedule.”
Wiping my eyes, I feel the tension leave me. “I love you, too.”
“It’s okay to get emotional as you’re adjusting to this new situation. But you need to speak up about what’s happening or else I’ll start assuming the worst.”
“I’ll try to remember that, but the Earlham in me has broken loose and she doesn’t make sense. It’s all emotion, all the time.”
Duke grins. “Your family’s odd. Mine believes in curses, so we aren’t normal, either. Our kid will never be bored. That’s for sure.”
I swoon over how he knows just the right thing to say. The Earlham drama might be exhausting, but Duke remains patiently in control. Nothing will stop us from building our forever together.