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She nods and wipes a tear from the corner of her eye. “I don’t know what happened to your husband, and I’m not going to ask. Maybe one day you will tell me. However, that piece of advice is probably some of the best I’ve ever been given.” She smiles down at Madeline with watery eyes before looking back up at me. “You and I are going to be good friends. And my fiancé, well, let’s just say when I tell him I’m ready to set a date now, he’s going to track you down and try to buy you a new car or something crazy like that.” She huffs out a laugh.
“Seriously?” I ask, my mouth dropping open.
“I wouldn’t put it past him. Hey, what are you doing right now?”
“Heading home now that this one has her belly full. Why?”
“My sister and I are getting together with her sisters-in-law at my place, and well, I guess they’re going to be mine too. Sooner now rather than later.” She winks. “Why don’t you join us?” she offers.
“I don’t have a sitter.”
“No sitter needed. They’ll have their kids with them. The husbands will be there too, but they’ll stay in the basement doing whatever it is they do when they all get together.”
“I don’t know.” It’s on the tip of my tongue to turn her down, but at the same time, meeting new friends is a good thing. I really like Aspen. My gut tells me she’s good people just from sitting here talking to her.
“Please? You’ll fit right in with all of us, I promise. Besides, when I tell my fiancé it was you who convinced me we need to do this wedding thing sooner rather than later, he’s going to at least want to meet you.”
“I don’t have a car,” I confess, dropping my head in embarrassment.
“That’s fine. I’ll drive you.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. I offered. Come on. I want you to meet my sister and my future sisters-in-law. Please?” She folds her hands as if she were praying and juts out her bottom lip.
“Does that work with your fiancé?” I ask her.
“Oddly enough, I never have to beg or ask now that I think about it. He likes to take care of me.” She shrugs.
“Sounds like you’re a lucky woman.” Travis and I were good together, but he was never overly affectionate. I think it was because he didn’t have that growing up. He was good to me, and we loved one another, but the kind of love that Aspen is talking about? I’ve never had that. Travis was my best friend. I loved him and he loved me. We made a beautiful baby girl together, and I’ll forever have a piece of him.
“Come on, Wren, please?” she begs.
“Are you sure that I won’t be intruding?”
“Positive. It’s at my house, so I have the final say. Please. It’s only about fifteen minutes from here. I’ll drive you and drive you home. It’s not like you have to worry about me drinking.” She chuckles and points to her watermelon-sized belly.
“I don’t have the car seat base.”
“I have one, and I think our seats are similar.”
“It’s in your car already?”
“Yep. My fiancé is just a little excited about being a dad. My bag is already packed and ready to go. He gets it honest,” she says with a shrug.
I really want to go. I want to keep talking to her, and it would be good for Madeline to be around other kids other than just at day care. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Yes!” She claps her hands. “This is going to be so much fun. I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone.”
“Wait, did you need to do something? Did I talk your head off and keep you from it?”
“No.” She waves me off. “I just went for a drive and found myself driving past the shop.” She points behind us. “I saw you and this little cutie sitting here, and I don’t know, something just told me to stop and say hello.”
“Well, I’m glad you did.”
“Me too. Now, come on. My husband-to-be is grilling burgers. And before you ask, yes, there’s plenty. We always have plenty.”
“I’m crashing your Saturday night,” I tell her.
“Nonsense. You’re just adding to it.” She stands and grabs the diaper bag. “Come with me.” She leads me to a fancy white SUV. She opens the back door and steps back. Sure, enough, Madeline’s car seat fits into the base perfectly. “See, it’s meant to be.”
With a smile and a nod, I climb into the passenger seat, headed for the unknown with a woman I just met but already feels like a close friend.
The drive is short, just about fifteen minutes, just like she said. The driveway is lined with cars, trucks, and SUVs. “Um, Aspen, how big of a get-together are you having?”
