“You guys have plans later?” I ask, confused. I thought we were going to spend the day together.
“Oh! No, I meant before our nail appointment,” she clarifies.
Noah pulls out his phone quickly, tapping on it a few times. “Yeah, Kitten. It isn’t for another forty-five minutes.”
Ronnie smiles brightly and drags us into the store. She quickly goes through the racks, pulling out numerous dresses, while I simply look them over. There’s no point in buying anything since I don’t know how my body will look after the pregnancy.
She holds up a cute violet body-hugging dress that ends just above the knee and has one-inch straps. “Oh my God, you would look amazing in this!”
“Umm, have you seen my belly? There’s no way I can fit in that.” I laugh nervously.
“But look, it’s super stretchy.” She stretches it out to prove her point. “Just try it on. I’m sure it will fit.”
A sales lady comes up to us just then with a warm smile. “I actually wore these kinds of dresses all throughout my pregnancy. They’re super light and don’t make you feel restricted at all. I promise you won’t regret trying it on,” she encourages.
I rub my lips together, still debating if I should. I do want to try it because it really is lovely, but I hate putting something on and then finding out it won’t fit. I know my body won’t stay like this forever and it’s only temporary, but it still hits me self-consciously every time.
“Okay, I’ll try it.” I finally give in, taking the dress from Ronnie’s hands as the lady ushers us toward the changing rooms.
After a few minutes of struggling out of my clothes and somehow magically slipping into the dress, I stare at myself in the mirror, loving what I’m seeing. I take out my phone quickly, snapping a picture and sending it to Shane.
Me
What do you think?
His reply doesn’t come in right away, so I step out of the changing room at the same time as Ronnie. “Oh my God! You need to get it! It’s perfect,” she gushes with awe.
“How do you feel in it?” the sales lady asks, looking me over.
“Actually amazing. I don’t feel like it’s putting pressure on my bump or anything, and the material is super thin and breezy, but not to the point of seeing through it. I love it,” I tell her, feeling giddy as I glide my hands down my sides.
“You should keep it on. Shane is going to love seeing you in it,” Ronnie says then turns to the lady. “Can we cut the tag off and add it with my purchases?”
“Of course.” She grins, most likely happy to make a few sales.
“Ronnie, I can pay for my own dress.”
She waves me off. “Nonsense, let me get it for you. It’s a gift.”
I thank her and head back into the changing room to collect my things. My phone blinks with a new message from Shane, and a smile spreads over my lips as I swipe it open, only for it to drop once I see his reply.
Shane
That’s it. Nothing else…
He’s been answering me like this since I left. Small one-word answers, or in this case, emojis. And usually, he always replies immediately, no matter what he’s doing. But today, it always takes a few minutes, like he’s too busy to talk.
Like I’m bothering him…
I shove my phone in my purse and take a deep breath, trying to calm emotions that are rapidly swirling in my head with unwanted thoughts. I walk out of the changing room and meet Ronnie and Noah at the register.
A few minutes later, we make it to our appointment right on time. We settle down in our chairs starting with our hands first. I decide on a simple French manicure over my real nails, while Ronnie goes crazy and chooses blue with orange tips gel nails, just like her hair.
Noah signals to us from the waiting room that he’s stepping out to take a call, and Ronnie takes that opportunity to share a little secret. “Don’t tell anyone, but I scheduled an appointment next month to get my implant removed.”
My eyes widen as I look over at her. “Really? I thought you weren’t ready for that yet?”
