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Monday morning, she had her first doctor’s appointment. Somehow, she had to get out of the carpool with Sera that day. Maybe adding a haircut would be enough to throw them off. Not that she shouldn’t just tell them the truth, but for some reason, she was scared to death to tell them.
Since her mom and her sister, Buzz, were both pregnant now, it wouldn’t be the worst thing that she was too. But they would be disappointed it was with Kevin, who had no idea and never would. She didn’t need him hanging around for the rest of her life. And he already had a few kids he didn’t care about, so he didn’t need hers.
Lucy topped her T-shirt with a navy sweatshirt that said “O hi” in yellow, which was not a spelling mistake but an error with the printing process. It should have said “Ohio” and was the most coveted shirt in the entire collection. Before she had realized she had dyslexia, she’d had a screen-printing business and had spelled everything wrong, making so many spelling mistakes that the family was constantly wearing clothes with misspelled words. Sometimes it still bothered her because they were her mistakes. Her T-shirt said “Cancan” on it.
Smoothing down the shirt, she knew her sisters would never ask for the “O hi” shirt. She loved it and had never given it up before. And a perk was that it hid her growing belly perfectly. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, she didn’t even bother with a mirror; she didn’t want to impress anyone tonight. She just wanted to spend time with her sisters and mom, like the old days.
Men had entered all their lives but hers and Agatha’s, making getting together more difficult. After working with Harper for years, she missed her older sister. And the others always helped out being waiters when they could. Only Agatha continued since she was perpetually jobless. Lucy couldn’t bring herself to help; it still hurt to be in the middle of it but not a part of it.
Out of her room, she headed up to Agatha’s layer, carrying her navy tennis shoes that matched her top. Sitting down on the top step, she asked her sister again, “Are you ready?”
“Yes, Lucy,” she said from her easel, not far from where Lucy was lacing up her shoes.
Looking up, she saw her dark-haired sister was indeed dressed the same as she was, except for her sweatshirt. Agatha was in a gray “Pen” T-shirt. Lucy wondered if it should have been “Penn” but gave up on knowing what she had meant at the time.
“Just checking. Sometimes you get distracted.” Lucy waved at her easel. Agatha was the artsiest of the sisters, but they all had a bit more of the artsy side than the practical side.
“Do you really want to go?” Agatha asked, not moving.
Lucy turned and leaned against the railing, both shoes tied, hugging her knees. “No, I want to stay home and watch Dawson’s Creek.”
“Me too, minus the shitty TV show. Mom wants us to go out.” Agatha still didn’t move.
“I know. I’m not up for drinking, and Mom and Buzz won’t be drinking,” Lucy complained. Buzz was the baby of the family. Her real name was Beatrix and went by Bea to everyone, but the family got to call her Buzz.
Agatha changed the subject. “You should talk to Harper.”
“What about?” Lucy tapped her fingers on her knees.
“Her latest chef quit,” Agatha stated.
“She’ll hire another one; she wants a chef.” Lucy got to her feet. She didn’t want to think about her past.
“She needs a cook, a good one.” Agatha followed her as she headed down the stairs.
“No, Agatha. She doesn’t want me; she never did.” Lucy headed down another flight of stairs with Agatha on her heels.
“Are we walking or driving?” Agatha said as they made it to the main floor.
“Driving.” Lucy had been on her feet long enough today. Heels suck!
Heading out the door, they drove Lucy’s Jeep to the bar three blocks over. They should have just walked since they had to walk one block once they parked, but they just laughed at themselves as they walked into the bar. They all hated The Grog, but it was close, and the drinks were usually good. Also, they bought the expensive frozen pizzas, which Agatha and Lucy ordered four of. They were hungry and knew the others would be as well when they got there.
By the time the first pizzas showed up, Sera and Buzz had arrived. Buzz was going on and on about Jonas, her husband. Nobody was really paying attention to the redhead. Harper soon showed up alone and started talking about how overworked she was since her latest chef quit.
Lucy held her tongue and looked around the bar. It was very quiet for a Thursday, but it was still early. Trying not to groan, she saw her ex, Kevin, come in with a young chick. More power to him, she thought and ignored them as best she could.
As she tried, her sister Mabel sat down next to her. “That ass Kevin is here.”
“I know, trying to ignore,” Lucy said to her twin. Even at twenty-nine, they were identical. They both preferred the same hairstyles and mostly the same clothes. Tonight, Mabel’s hair was also in a ponytail, identical.
“What an ass,” Mabel said and handed Lucy a rum and coke, her usual.
“Just leave it, Maby. How’s Cliff? Or is he here?” She looked around and ignored the alcohol on the table.
“No, he had a meeting tonight, so I’m having a girl’s night,” Mabel said about her husband. Before they had gotten together, he had been one of Lucy’s best friends. Now she rarely saw him.
“Cliff and meetings? My, how you’ve changed him.” Lucy grinned at her, loving that he loved her sister enough to change from the wild party animal she had hung out with for a year.
