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I don’t want that.
But I do want Simon. And the competition.
Can’t I have both?
I know that makes me a greedy bitch, but this whole thing is almost too good to be true, so why not go for everything? Go whole hog, as my Grandma Daisy would say.
“I’m just... happy,” I tell Molly. “You know, excited?”
“Suuure,” Molly drawls out, not offended by my secrecy. “Look, all I’m going to say is good luck. And when you want to tell me all the nitty, gritty, dirty, French details, I’ll be happy to listen.”
“Thanks, Mol.”
“It’s what friends are for.”
When we get to the flea market, we stick together since Beatrice tells us that pickpockets tend to roam the narrow walking spaces between the stalls that make up the fifteen ‘markets’ that comprise the entire area.
We’ve just turned into the Jules Valles market area, which specializes in stands filled with antiques ranging from classic records to antique weapons, when my phone rings. It’s Nora.
“Nora? How’s it going?” I ask. “Sorry for the noise. We’re out shopping.”
“No, that’s okay,” Nora says. “I just wanted to check in. How’re things going with S—”
I pull my phone to my ear before the other girls can hear, cutting Nora off. “Yeah, sorry. Things went great with those designs I was telling you about.”
I glance at the other girls, hoping I haven’t been busted. Thankfully, Nora seems to catch on, and I quickly switch from speaker to normal phone. “Autumn, is everything okay?” Nora asks. “You can use code if you want. I’m alone here at the office.”
“Yeah, yeah. No, those little worries I had about...skirt length, I think they worked out. We had our firstshowand I feel good about it.”
Nora makes an unconvinced sound. “Okay, I just worry because I want you to succeed. You’re so talented. Please don’t end up messing up a good thing.”
“I hear you.”
“Okay, then on to me...” She pauses, and I swear I can hear her feet tippy-tapping through the line, but maybe it’s static. “I also called because I’ve got great news. You know all the gas and upset stomachs?”
“Uh, yeah. Are you okay?”
“Well... the doctors figured out what it is. I’ve got a parasite.”
“A parasite?” I yell, panicked. “Oh, my God! What can I do to help?”
“Oh, no, it’s great news!” Nora says, somehow not freaking out about this. “Lots of people get parasites like mine. And after they’re removed, we give them names, dress them up, all sorts of stuff.”
“Names? Dress up? What?” I’m so confused, my brain struggling to put it all together. And then I get it, and I laugh at the same time tears of joy form in my eyes. “You did it!”
I can hear Nora crying now too. “Yeah. Five years, all the treatments... but we did it. I’ve got a little parasite all my own. I’m pregnant!”
The scream that comes from my mouth is one of pure joy, but it’s so loud that all movement in the market stops and all eyes turn toward me. I don’t care, full on happy crying now. “Nora, I'm so happy for you!” The girls look over, and I explain, “Nora’s pregnant!”
Words can’t explain my joy. Nora and I are close, and I’ve wept with her when she told me about the fertility treatments and the miscarriage just weeks after she and her husband, David, thought they had succeeded. I sat in awe of her bravery and how she’d hid her heartbreak behind the mask of professionalism, still smiling and there for us when her world was falling apart.
Now, after five long years of trying... she’s pregnant.
The girls cheer, and Beatrice calls out to the rest of the market, where I’m moved again as dozens of people start to cheer and applaud. I pull my phone away to switch on the video and show Nora, who’s crying too. Finally, I pull the phone back and give her a smile.
“You are going to be the best parent ever,” I tell her, but then I point an accusing finger her way. “But if you ever call the baby a parasite again, you’ll have to deal with me, and I’m one of those ride or die aunties.”
She smiles through the happy tears. “I thought you’d get a kick out of that. It’s from an oldHouseepisode.”
