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“Dave’s gung ho,” she said. “He’ll be one hundred percent supportive.”
“What about you, Maggie?” Katrina asked. “I know you don’t like a change of plans.”
“What about me? I can stop drinking without too much trouble, can’t I?”
Katrina couldn’t help it, she put the tray down and hugged her friend. “You sound doubtful. You can do it. And the minute you tell Justin you want another baby, you know he’s going to be on board, just like Dave.”
“Okay, I need to tell Chris. I thought about keeping it from him until I have my head on straight, but you know that wouldn’t be fair and we have enough going against us right now.”
“Come have some iced tea. We might as well start teatotaling.”
“Ugh, this is going to be torture for me,” Maggie grumbled. “Maybe I should be going to AA with Beverly.”
“We can follow the twelve steps ourselves,” Annie said. “The three of us. It’s for a good cause! For our babies.” She bowed her head and began to cry again. “I’d better get home and call Chris. He’s coming to pick me up whether he knows it or not. I’m not doing anything stressful, including driving.”
“Just finish your tea. The kids are having a blast. You can feed them lunch here. Then I’ll drive Maggie to the dock and we’ll all be together tomorrow, I hope.”
“I want to ride again tomorrow,” Annie said. “Chris said we’re getting horses, so I have to learn how to take care of them.”
“You rode?” Katrina asked. “Where the hell was I? I would have videoed that.”
“I left Chris’s house and wanted to see Maggie, so I did. I got on Dale and it was wonderful. You’re next.”
“I’m afraid I’ll break my neck,” Katrina said, flaring her nostrils.
“We went so slow that even if she had gone over Dale’s head in a summersault it wouldn’t have hurt her,” Maggie said, snickering.
“It wasn’t that slow,” Annie said, indignant.
The women laughed as they gathered up the kids and toys, preparing to leave Katrina’s house, lunch forgotten.
“Well, we have something to be excited about now,” Maggie said, pulling Annie into a hug. “We’re going to have another baby!”
“Yes! And a reason to be healthy,” Katrina said. “Although I’m dreading getting fat again.”
“What are you talking about? You couldn’t even tell you were pregnant unless you stood sideways. Now I’m the one who should be worrying. My boobs can’t take another expansion like that without hanging to my waist.”
Roaring with laughter, they could all relate, sharing the dread of their changing bodies, once again.
At home, with Stevie in his crib for a nap, and after she talked to Chris who would come to get them once the baby woke up, Annie got on a step stool and hauled a plastic container off the top shelf of the linen closet. Wiping the dust off it, she truly never thought she’d need the contents this soon. It held all her maternity clothes that she hadn’t worn to shreds. But it would be a start once she began to show. And she’d hit Chris up for new things.
This pregnancy was going to be so different than the one with Stevie. There wouldn’t be the money worries she’d had. She remembered what it was like to feed her and Steve on his income, shopping bargains and making the dollar stretch. She shook her head, thankful that was a thing of the past. She’d be careful; that was second nature now. Frugal, yes. But do without, no.
Refolding the items and placing them in her dresser, a wave of futility washed over her and she plunked down on the edge of the bed. What was she going to do about living with Chris? She couldn’t expect him to support two households, and once the Cassons found out she was pregnant with Chris’s baby, the free rent might stop. There were so many variables. At a time like this, taking one day at a time was crucial for her sanity.
Before Stevie woke up, she wanted to get some work done on her thesis. But exhaustion flowed over her and she was powerless over it. She pulled the covers back and crawled into bed, staying there until her son woke her up two hours later.
“Huh?”
“Momma,” he said, trying to pull her eyes open.
“You climbed out of your crib, didn’t you? And you’re naked. I’m glad you didn’t fall on your face,” she mumbled, sitting up. A wave of nausea flowed over her and all she could think of was being sick for three months.
“Hungy, Momma.”
“Okay, I guess it’s time to get up.”
“Get up!”
