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“Really?”
“Yes, you should try it too. Anyway, back to you, are the papers correct? Is what they saw real?”
“Not even close. They saw exactly what we wanted them to see.”
I can hear the disappointment in Bonnie’s sigh. “Damn. Okay, but you’re happy, right?”
“Well,” I pause, thinking it over. “I wouldn’t say I’m unhappy. Could be happier, sure, but living with him isn’t as bad as Brooke made it out to be. Maybe you could pass that along; she might believe it coming from you.”
Brooke has been distant since I moved to Seattle, but I know Ryan and Xavier catch up a few times a week.
“She’s worried about you. She feels guilty for pushing you into this. Something about if she’d been a better friend, you might have told her about Harriet. Then you wouldn’t need to broker yourself into marriage.”
“Oh God. Now I feel guilty that she feels guilty. For fuck’s sake she didn’t push me into anything. Bonnie, I literally used your urine to trap the guy into marrying me.”
“Whoa, don’t drag me into this, perv. You asked me to pee on a stick on my wedding day; how was I to guess you were plotting something? Speaking of, how’s that going? Hit up any prenatal classes yet, you little felon? Got yourself a fake baby bump yet?” Her laughter rings through the phone.
“That? It sort of imploded last week.”
“Oh shit, how did he take it?”
I feel a blush creeping up my cheeks as I recall that evening—the last time we were together. “Um,—“ I hesitate, fidgeting with the buttons on my blouse. “He took it... okay, I guess.”
“That sounds suspiciously vague. Care to expand on that?”
“Actually, I’ve got to run. I’m late for work.” I gather my phone and purse, hurrying out of my room.
Bonnie hoots out a laugh. “I’m seriously loving you right now, Stella.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh, you know. And you know that I know that you know.” Bonnie sounds like a demented robot.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Okay. I’ll clue you in. Remember when you promised that Ethan was going to... let’s say, ‘discipline’ me when I returned from Vancouver?”
“I’m hanging up on you now.”
Bonnie’s laughter fills the air, an annoyingly loud cackle for someone so petite.
“Bye, Bonnie.”
“Wait, hold on! You can’t blame me for putting two and two together. Ryan seems like the type to have a... special room. And then you and your big mouth and even bigger butt have been living under his roof for months. It’s bound to happen.”
I stop short as the thought suddenly strikes me.
Actually, I wouldn’t know if he’s got a room of that sort. I’ve never once seen his bedroom suite.
She exhales loudly, resigning herself to my silence. “Fine, keep your secrets. I’ve got to run, too. But let’s video call later. I need to show you this line on my belly. I’ve tried all sorts of scrubs, but I can’t seem to get rid of it. It’s driving me mad.”
“Ugh,” I shake my head, finding her lack of basic knowledge endearing. “It’s normal.” Bonnie is one of the smartest people I know, but sometimes she has no idea of the simplest things.
“You don’t even know what I’m on about, and no, it’s not normal. Brooke or Sabrina didn’t have it. I’ve not shown anyone yet, except Ethan, of course, and he thinks it’s sexy; otherwise, he doesn’t care.”
“Bonnie, you’ve got a darker skin tone than Brooke and Sabrina,” I explain patiently. “You’ll get linea nigra.”
“That’s a super convenient diagnosis, smartass.”
