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“Yes, of course he’ll be there.”
Kelsey and Megan would bring their husbands. I had been a bridesmaid in both their weddings. Maybe it was why Megan felt the snub even more. I liked to think I spared them from mine. They didn’t have to throw a bachelorette party or bridal showers. They didn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for dresses they’d never wear again. This was a good deal. All they had to do was show up.
We chatted a few more minutes before my mom corralled us to the table to start lunch. The salad was being served.
By the time the last plates had been cleared and the bottles of champagne were empty, my mouth hurt from smiling. Everyone wanted a selfie. My mom took a hundred pictures. I hugged my aunts and tried to tell Aunt Sophia to stop crying. She left holding a tissue to her eyes.
I exhaled and turned to Frannie. “Can you drive me back to the townhouse? I need a quick cat nap before dinner tonight.”
“You’re kidding right? You know we have mani-pedis scheduled after this.”
I stared at her blankly. “No. I had no idea.”
The h
ope I had of restoring my energy and spending some time with Jer faded. I couldn’t cancel. Not now. My time with Jer would have to wait, along with getting any sleep.
We loaded in the car and Frannie drove us to the salon. My mom grabbed a ride with Aunt Lucille. She said she had too much to do to get ready for dinner.
I pulled my phone out to text Jeremy as soon as we were in our pair of leather chairs and our feet were in soaking tubs. Frannie snatched the phone from my hand.
“No. This is girl time. Our time,” she emphasized. “You don’t see me calling Marcus do you?”
I could argue that she and Marcus had been married for a lot longer than Jer and I, but that would invite a backlash about my relationship. I didn’t want to get into it with my older sister. I didn’t want an argument about how impulsive and selfish we had been.
“Fine. Girl time,” I relented.
Frannie pressed the button for the back massager. “Isn’t this great? I needed this.”
“Mmmhmm.”
“The kids are driving me crazy. Marcus needs a day to wrangle them on his own. He thinks it’s so easy.”
I closed my eyes. There was always something happening with the kids.
“Ok, so now that it’s just us. Talk to me.”
My eyes opened. “About?”
“About Jeremy. I want all the details.” Her eyes widened. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”
“Frannie.”
“Why else would you elope? You’re not showing yet. You’re lucky. I always show instantly. It’s not fair how different we are sometimes.”
“I’m not pregnant.” I wasn’t sure why I was offended.
Pregnancy was our number one goal. Jeremy and I talked about getting pregnant every day. I wanted Jeremy’s baby so badly. It was the way she said it that pissed me off. As if Jeremy wouldn’t have wanted me otherwise. As if the only reason to marry me was to honor a mistake he had made. Frannie had no idea what she was talking about.
She chewed on her lip. “I was sure you were. I even watched you at lunch. You ate next to nothing. You look exhausted. And I didn’t see you drink any champagne. All signs point to a bambino.”
I picked up a magazine. “I haven’t adjusted to the time difference yet. I have a clear case of Tahitian jetlag.” I pretended to read an article.
But as soon as the words were out of my mouth, my stomach flipped. She was right. My mother had offered me a mimosa and I couldn’t take a sip. I’d never felt so tired in my life. I thought it was the constant travel that made my appetite suffer, but I counted backward in my head. We had crazy amounts of sex when I was ovulating. What if I was pregnant? Holy shit. I wanted to run out of the salon before my pedicure started and buy the first pregnancy test I could find.
I wanted to call Jeremy. I wanted him to be there when I took it. I wanted to see the look on his face when we got a positive result.
“Are you ok?” Frannie looked at me. “You are very pale right now, Evie. Should I get you something? Do you need sugar.”
