“My God,” Suzy said. “You’ve continued to date this whole time so you would have someone to rebound with immediately, in case Nick left. You never intended for him to last this long, did you?”
This lunch seemed to be going from bad to worse. Beth was never comfortable being the center of attention, even around her closest friends, and Suzy, Claire, and Ella hadn’t stopped staring at her since she dropped the dating-service bomb. She knew that they weren’t judgmental people, but she could see the shock and another emotion she knew well: pity. “Guys, it’s not that bad. Nick and I have a good time and when he leaves, life will go on. He’ll see the baby whenever he wants to. I would never deny him that right. I just can’t get caught up in what he’s selling. Soon, the new-baby glow will wear off and he will be looking for a way out. I refuse to be a stage-five clinger like all the other members of the Nick Merimon Fan Club.”
Suzy chuckled beside her. “Stage-five clinger? God help you, Beth, because you are my sister through and through. Hell, you actually shock me on a regular basis now, and I didn’t think that was possible. So you’re testing Nick now to see if he’ll run? Aren’t you? Maybe a little torture? No boom-boom? Making him jealous?”
“Um, no, I’m not doing that.” Then with a laugh of her own, she said, “There is no way I can withhold the boom-boom. I never get enough of him.”
“Ugh, TMI! Please don’t say anything else. I can’t get drunk since I have to go back to the office, and this sure isn’t a conversation I can deal with sober,” Suzy moaned.
Beth took pity on Ella since she was already almost crimson with embarrassment. Ella had confided in her that she was still a virgin and Beth knew that she was easily embarrassed, especially over anything concerning sex. She patted her on the hand and whispered, “Sorry, Ella.”
Ella gave her a shy smile in return and said, “Are you kidding? This is like watching a live taping of Days of our Lives or Desperate Housewives.”
Everyone around the table laughed and kept it light while they finished eating. When they were waiting for their bill, Claire looked at Beth with what could only be called an evil smile. “So, Beth, I have an idea. You say that Nick will cut and run when things get tough. I’ve got the perfect way to give him a little test.” Beth wasn’t sure if she wanted to know, but she let Claire continue. “You know Mom and Tom are on their honeymoon, and Louise and her sister have gone to Florida for a few weeks. Jason and I would really love a date night, and we wouldn’t trust just anyone with Chrissy.”
Suzy looked at her friend in admiration. “Ohhhh, I like where you’re going here. Hey! If you need a babysitter, why haven’t you asked me? Gray and I are perfectly capable of babysitting.”
Claire threw an arm around her friend’s shoulders and laughed. “The last time I was at your house you set my diaper bag and purse on the sidewalk when Chrissy started crying.”
“Hey, I couldn’t see you pop your boob out one more time. The kid’s going to choke on that thing, or something. Those babies are never going airborne again after the workout she’s giving them.”
Ella looked even more mortified if that was possible. Beth quickly asked Claire, “You would actually trust us to babysit for you? You know we don’t actually have much baby experience.”
“I trust you completely, Beth. You were an elementary schoolteacher for years. We can go over all of the details and I’ll run you through her routine. She goes to bed early so you guys wouldn’t be on duty the whole time. If you want to see how Nick is around a baby, this is a perfect chance.”
“Hmmm, okay. Why not? I might as well start getting some practice in, and Nick needs to know what he is trying to get himself into. How about Saturday night?”
Claire smiled. “That sounds great. Jason will be so excited. It will be nice to go to a restaurant to eat without spit-up all over us. I don’t think we’ve had a conversation since the baby was born that didn’t involve the contents of her diaper. Maybe we should just use our date time to catch up on our sleep in the car.”
Suzy snickered. “That’s just sad. It must be depressing to have a stallion that you never have the energy to ride.”
Ella almost fainted when Claire smiled and said, “Oh, honey, my stallion is never in the stable. I’m never too tired to give him a good workout.”
Beth grabbed Ella’s elbow and pulled her out of her chair. “Let’s go before you’re ruined forever.”
She was surprised when Ella said, “Oh, man, I just love them. I didn’t know that Claire had a horse, though.”
Beth’s mouth dropped open in shock. Surely, Ella wasn’t that naive. When Ella doubled over in laughter and said, “Got ya,” Beth had to admit that her shy little friend had certainly come a long, long way.
Chapter Ten