“Oh. My. God!” I squealed louder, grabbing her hands as we jumped up and down like little girls. “You’re having a baby! I can’t believe it!”
“I know. I can’t really believe it either. But Jordan is so excited. We both are. Which is why we wanted to get into our own place as soon as possible. We want stability. We want roots. We’re starting our family, G. We need something solid.”
“I’m just so happy for you, Mays. I can’t believe my best friend is going to be a mom!”
“You’re going to be an auntie. I guess it’s official. We’re getting old,” Maysie laughed and I bumped her hip with mine.
“Speak for yourself. There’s a lot of living left in these bones.” Then I stiffened. “So the guys are on their way back then?”
Maysie nodded, wiping a hand along the counter top. “They stopped for the night in Richmond but they should be back this evening after dropping off the bus. We’ll be at Garrett’s for the next few days but then we’re hoping to move in over the weekend.” She gave me a mischievous smile. “You up to helping me clean?”
“Do I have a choice?” I asked weakly, already thinking about other things.
“Not really,” Maysie giggled.
“So they’ll be back…” My voice drifted off.
Maysie gave me a sympathetic smile. “Yeah. They’ll be back. Look, I’m not sure what happened between you and Mitch, but maybe with him being home it’ll be a good time to talk. To sort everything out,” she suggested.
“I tried that this weekend. It didn’t turn out so well. He doesn’t want to hear anything I have to say.”
Maysie squeezed my hand. I knew she wanted to ask more but she didn’t push. “Come to Garrett’s tonight. We’ll all be just hanging out, ordering pizza. The guys will no doubt be playing a million rounds of Minecraft. Vivian and I will both be there. Please come.”
“I’m not sure—”
“You can’t avoid your friends, G. Not now that everyone is one place again. Think about it.”
“I will. I promise.”
“Good. Now let’s go to the store to get something to clean these floors. They’re filthy!” Maysie exclaimed.
And I was happy to help her. It was better than thinking about what I was going to do now that everyone was in the same place again.
I had driven this road to Garrett’s house so many times I could do it with my eyes closed.
I maneuvered my car around the potholes and the fence post that had been lying on the side of the road for almost three years. I turned the corner and pulled in beside Cole’s Jeep and cut the engine.
I recognized Maysie’s car and Garrett’s van. I also noticed a half a dozen other cars, most likely people from Barton’s. It seemed I was the last person to arrive.
I grabbed my bag from the passenger seat and slung it over my shoulder. The guys had only gotten back into town a few hours ago, but already I could see the bonfire raging behind the house and could hear the loud thump of music coming from inside. There were a few people sitting on the front porch smoking and laughing.
It was a typical scene at Garrett’s house. I had been coming to parties here since I was a junior in college. Since before Maysie and Jordan began dating. I used to tag along with his ex, Olivia and my former sorority sisters. Back then we had been the college chicks slumming it with the townies. A place to get free booze and not much else.
But then these townies became my friends and I still felt a sting of shame when I thought of how little I regarded them back then. How easy it was for me to look down my nose just because they didn’t go to Rinard. I had been a total snob.
“Hey, Gracie!” someone called out. I looked over to see Paco and Fed, who had been dishwashers at Barton’s Bar and Grill for as long as I could remember.