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“No, but he said he didn’t want to date any more after he graduated and got a job. Because he might not even get a job in New York and he might have to move.”
“That doesn’t make any sense to me,” said Anne.
“It does to me. He doesn’t want to commit because the future’s uncertain. And I respect that. I guess there’s always a chance he might decide he loves me before then. But now... Now I think he’s getting tired of me. He’s avoiding me a lot. Why else would he lie to me?”
“How do you know he’s lying?”
“I just feel it.”
Anne shook her head. “I know you think this is trite, but you can’t depend on your feelings. Especially when you’re highly emotional. You’ll get all kinds of misinformation sent to your brain.”
“Let me talk to him,” suggested Steven. “If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s getting information out of people. I’ll find out what he’s up to.”
“No, because if he’s going to hurt my feelings, you’ll probably kill him.”
“No, I wouldn’t—”
“Yes,” said Anne. “You probably would. I’ll talk to him.”
“No, neither of you are going to talk to him. I’ll handle it myself. Let’s change the subject.” She turned her attention to her mom. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good. I’m developing a little pooch.” She stretched her shirt around her belly. Emily studied it, cocking her head to the side.
“That’s great, Mom. I’m sure you’ll start actually showing soon.”
“Yes, I’m certain I’ll be showing. Eventually, no one will doubt I’m pregnant.” She laughed. “I almost wanted to wear a fake belly when I spoke at the fundraiser on Saturday.”
“Oh, I forgot you did that. How did it go? Were you petrified?”
“Not at all.” Steven’s eyes crinkled in a satisfied smile. “I teased her so much about not being believable because she didn’t look pregnant, she waltzed right through her speech.”
“I can’t believe I fell for it. He suggested multiple times I shouldn’t even speak because people would think I was faking the whole pregnancy and illness.”
“She was so ticked off she wouldn’t speak to me all the way home. Even after she did a great job on the speech and I confessed I was only trying to distract her.”
“Well, it will never work again. Next time, I’ll know you’re distracting me.”
“Maybe you should take a sedative next time,” suggested Emily.
“Oh no,” Steven said. “Her body overreacts with any type of drug. Evidently this is true for all of you Best girls.”
“I feel like taking something now.” Emily dropped her head into her hands. “Maybe Steven can think up a distraction for me.”
“I have an idea for a distraction. Why don’t we see if we can get Charlie on Skype?” Steven raised questioning eyebrows to Anne.
She nodded at him. “Let’s do it.”
“I don’t want you to tell her what I told you. Okay? She’s too sympathetic to Spencer for some reason.”
“We won’t, but it will be fun to talk to both of you together,” said Anne. “You’ll see.”
Their luck held and Charlie was on the computer screen in minutes. “Hey, Mom. Let me see your stomach.”
Anne smoothed her shirt over her small baby bump.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” said Charlie. “Next time, I want to see some real progress. What’s going on up there? We had a fantastic rafting trip today. The water was up high and fast. Out of seven rafts, mine was the only one that didn’t turn over. You should have seen the video.”
Anne watched Emily brighten a little at her sister’s enthusiasm.
