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“That is romantic! I am so happy for you.” Dani ignored the twinge of jealousy stirring in her gut.
“Thank you! And as my oldest friend, I need you to be my maid of honor!”
Dollar signs flashed across Dani’s eyes as she thought about all the responsibilities. Organizing the bridal shower and bachelorette party, buying the bridesmaid dress and shoes. Hair appointments, nail appointments, gifts.
Swallowing down the bile of panic, she said, “When is the wedding?”
“We’re thinking of June but haven’t nailed down an exact date yet.”
Relief seeped through her. She could build up her savings and be able to work with that.
“Okay, I should be able to handle that.”
“What do you mean?” Lana asked.
“Well, I just took on a second job a few weeks ago, and my car bit the dust the same day that Noah had to spend the night at the hospital because he was puking blood. Thank God he didn’t have to have surgery, but I’m going to have some hefty bills hitting me this month, and I was just panicked for a moment, but I think it will all work out great.”
Lana was silent on the other end.
“Lana? Did I lose you?”
“No, I’m here.” Her tone was curt, and Dani wondered what in the hell she’d said.
“Is something wrong?”
“I called to share something wonderful with you, and you act as if I’m inconveniencing you.”
Dani was completely floored. “That’s not what I was doing! I said I could do it but was just telling you, my friend, about the horrible week I’ve had. And did you miss the part about my son puking blood?”
“Yes, I heard you, and he’s obviously fine. I just can’t believe how self-centered you’ve become. Every time I call you, no matter what is going on with me, it always gets turned around to you and that
kid.”
Now Dani’s skin prickled with fury, and her voice came out tight. “ ‘That kid’ is my son. And I’m sorry that I don’t have anything more stimulating for you besides talking about him, but this is my life. I work and I come home and love my kid.”
“Well, that’s just sad.”
The sneer was evident without Dani even seeing it, and Dani’s eyes stung with tears of hurt and anger.
“You know what, Lana? You should pick someone else, because I’m obviously not the right person to be your maid of honor.”
“Fine.”
The call ended with a beep as Lana hung up, and Dani put her cell down, silently saying good-bye to the last friend she had outside of work. All of her other high-school buddies had drifted off after she’d quit the party scene, but Lana had stuck with her.
Was she self-centered? Dani didn’t think so, but looking back on conversations she’d had with Lana or the few times they’d gone out, she couldn’t totally ignore the fact that the conversation would often come back to Noah. Noah getting his first tooth, his first steps, and all the other amazing things he did. At least, amazing for her.
But even if she talked about Noah a lot, Lana was wrong. She’d slowly been easing Dani out of her life, and this apparently had been the final test: Would Dani choose Lana?
As sad as it was to say good-bye to the last piece of her past, Dani also felt a tremendous amount of relief. She deserved friends whose values and place in life matched her own. For too long, Lana and she had been trying to stay friends even though it almost came out forced, as if waiting for things to go back to the way things were.
But life was forever changing, and people drifted apart.
Lana’s words still ate at her, though. That kid. It reminded her of Tyler and his wisdom about how some men just weren’t ready for the responsibility of becoming a parent. Just like some people couldn’t understand how the needs of her child were more important than a three-hundred-dollar dress and a night out with strippers. Those kinds of people were the ones she should be avoiding anyway.
“Mama?” Noah toddled into the kitchen, finally giving up on his Duplo block tower.
“Hey, sweetie, wanna help me with breakfast?” She picked him up in her arms and kissed his temple.
