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"We wanted to surprise you," I said and held the door for Candace as she hobbled in with her cane.
Candace nodded. "Luke figured I'd help you pass the time, and get things ready for the party on Saturday."
"Good," Alexa said. "I just sent my paper to my supervisor. Let's hope it's good enough so I can get this class out of the way before I take a leave of absence."
"It'll be fine," Candace said. "You've aced every class in your MA so I don't know why this would be any different."
"I wasn't pregnant and constantly wanting to either throw up or sleep when I wrote those papers..."
"Shh," Candace said and put her arm around Alexa's shoulders. "Enough whining. How do you feel about some Mongolian Beef stir fry and rice?"
Alexa made a face, and not a good one. "Ask me again in three hours," she said and rubbed her eyes. "Maybe I'll go back to bed. Sorry I can't help you get settled in but come and lie in bed with me and watch the news, if you want, while I doze."
"Don't mention it," Candace said and led Alexa to the staircase. "I'll escort you to bed, Madam. You can sleep, I can watch news and we can catch up when you're feeling better. The world always looks better when you don't feel like puking."
Alexa laughed softly and hugged Candace. I knew I'd made the right decision to invite her out early. Candace was exactly the medicine that Alexa needed to get through this.
Later that night, after Alexa felt good enough to put on her robe and slippers and come downstairs, the three of us re-heated the food and enjoyed each other's company. I watched Candace and Alexa together and enjoyed their friendship almost as much as they did. You could tell from watching them how close they were and had been for years. I couldn't imagine them not being in the same city. As for Candace, she was seeing someone new -- Nate, a young Wall Street type she met at the physical therapist who was recovering after a car crash that mangled his leg and threatened to make him walk with a pronounced limp the rest of his life. They bonded over a copy of Astronomy magazine in the waiting room of the physical therapist office and their mutual injuries.
"I can't wait for you to meet him," she said. "Who could believe I'd end up dating a stockbroker? Maybe after we pass the ten-date threshold, we could have dinner together."
"Ten date threshold?" I asked, frowning, unfamiliar with that dating criteria. "Is this some secret women's criteria for introducing the guy to friends and family?"
"By ten dates, you know he's put up with your crap long enough that he's sticking around because he actually likes you. You know the old saying -- familiarity breeds contempt. If you've been on ten dates with someone, and you still want to go out with them again, it's a safe bet that you actually like each other's company."
"Is that common knowledge or is this arcane knowledge that only a select few know?"
"Very arcane," Candace said with a laugh. "Consider yourself lucky to be inducted into our secret society. Few are allowed access."
After supper, we grabbed blankets and cups of hot cocoa and went out to the patio under the awning and with all the lights off, we watched the sky for falling stars.
"Nate would like this," Candace said, smiling up at the sky. "He's an astronomy buff like me."
"I thought you like rocks," I said, ribbing Candace.
"I do, I do," Candace said, taking me seriously. "But falling stars are just space rocks, right?"
"So, Nate likes astronomy," I said. "He works on Wall Street? What does he sell or buy?"
"I don't know," Candace said. "He works for some hedge fund or something. He wants to open his own firm one day."
"If you guys keep seeing each other, you should bring him out here for a weekend. If he's got access to money to invest, we might be able to do business together."
Candace smiled. "I'd like that. We'll see how Christmas goes. He's spending Thanksgiving with his family in LA, so I won't be seeing him, but after the New Year, maybe we could get together when you guys are back from your honeymoon and Alexa's finally feeling better."
"It sounds like a plan," I said, holding my palm up for her to high five. She laughed and slapped my hand. I was glad that Candace and I got along so well. I'd always worried about my girlfriend's best friends not approving of me, knowing how important they were to a woman's mental health. I didn't want Candace to be against me.
Thanksgiving came and instead of having a big family meal on Thursday, we were having people out on Saturday so we had something bland for Alexa who didn't think she could take anything too savory. Just grilled chicken on the barbecue and some steamed veggies. I hired a caterer to bring out the turkey and the rest of the meal, so Alexa didn't have to do anything and so she didn't smell the food cooking all day. That would have been too much for her, given her delicate sensibilities.
The usual suspects showed up for the day and stayed overnight, so our home was full once more -- just the way I liked it to be on a holiday. We were lucky that Alexa's mom and dad arrived on Friday night, with plans to stay until Monday.
Dana and little James arrived, Mara and Jan were with their own families out of town, but my father and Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe attended. John and Felicia spent Thanksgiving with Felicia's family on Thursday, so they were both free to come and spend Saturday with us. It was Alexa's and my closest family and friends, and I thought Alexa looked truly happy.
"I think it's almost over," Alexa said to me as we stood at the island in the kitchen and watched our family and friends sitting at the dining room table after the servers cleared the plates.
I turned to her, my eyebrows raised. "Your morning sickness?"
She nodded. "I don't want to say anything just yet but maybe..."
