“Yeah, well, I love Darryl, we all love Darryl, we all know why we love Darryl, that don’t mean Darryl can hold down the fort without a little help,” Dee retorted, being generous with her words for, hero or not, once Darryl recovered and got back to work a couple of weeks ago, he had not, unsurprisingly, changed. “Ruthie’s on vacation, Cheryl’s not on until seven, Morrie’s at home with the kids, Jackie’s watchin’ Ned’s babies and Jack’s in the office, payin’ invoices. Not to mention, Feb’s here, actin’ weird and goin’ shoppin’ with Phy, of all people.”
“Yeah,” Jessie’s eyes swung to me and they held accusation clear as day. “Why’re you shoppin’ with Phy?”
“She has the day off and she needs to get out of the house every once in awhile,” I told Jessie.
“But I’m your shopping buddy,” Jessie told me. “Phy’s your movie buddy.”
Since the incident I had taken to spelling Phy’s nursemaiding Darryl by taking her to the movies. When I did this whoever was available, Mom, Dad, even Colt, watched over Danny and April and also Darryl.
“Today, Phy’s my shopping buddy,” I said to Jessie.
“Well, don’t think I’m gonna be your movie buddy. I don’t like goin’ to the theater. You can’t pause the movie if you all of a sudden find you want some Raisinettes,” Jessie decreed.
“Can we get to the point of why Feb’s asked us here at all?” Mimi put in.
“Yeah, I gotta get back,” Dee repeated.
“You said that,” Jessie told her.
“All right, guys,” I cut in, “eyes on me.” When they turned me, I went on. “You have to swear, I tell you this, you keep it a secret, no one, no husbands, no friends, no parents, no sisters, you tell no one, not until nine o’clock tomorrow morning. Got me?”
Their faces had all changed, gone curious and expectant. They were getting used to a February Owens who shared and I found they liked it a whole lot. Since they did, I also found I did it a whole lot more.
“Colt asked you to marry him,” Mimi breathed her very wrong guess.
“Hallelujah!” Dee shouted before I could confirm or, more accurately, deny.
“I get to be Matron of Honor!” Jessie screeched.
Before I could say word one, Mimi turned to her and demanded to know, “Why do you get to be Matron of Honor?”
“I found her first,” Jessie said to Mimi.
“So? You got to be my Matron of Honor and Feb got to be your Maid of Honor and that means I get to be Feb’s Matron of Honor,” Mimi returned.
“Guys,” I tried to interrupt.
Jessie ignored me and said to Mimi, “Yeah, but I still found her first.”
“What you’re sayin’ is, I’m forty-two years old and I’m gonna die not bein’ anyone’s Matron of Honor?” Mimi retorted.
“Guys,” I repeated.
“It ain’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Jessie told her.
“Yeah, so, why you want it so bad?” Meems shot back.
“Guys!” I shouted. “Colt didn’t ask me to marry him. I’m pregnant!”
Everyone’s gaze came to me then they froze.
“What’d you say?” Dee whispered.
“I’m ten weeks pregnant.”
They all stared at me then Meems burst into tears, came forward and yanked me out of my chair and into her arms. Then I felt Jessie get close then Dee, everyone holding onto everyone and Jessie and Dee jumping up and down a bit.
I felt their jumps, their arms, their tears that were now coming through laughter and I suddenly wondered what Angie would have done, she’d lived to see this day. Angie, who knew how I felt about Colt before anyone because I’d confided it to her when we were eleven. Angie, who’d called me and patched things up the minute she heard Colt took me on our first date.
Angie’s life may have worn her down before it was snuffed out but I reckon this news would have lightened the load more than a little even if for just a short time. I didn’t know what to do with that knowledge so, like a lot of shit, I set it aside until there came a quiet time where I could give it to Colt, he could give me a squeeze or a kiss or do something else that only he had the magical power to do and the pain of it would melt away.
They pulled back but all of them kept a hand on me.
“Colt doesn’t know?” Jessie asked.
I shook my head. “We’re goin’ to Costa’s tonight.”
“Perfect,” Dee whispered, tears still shining in her eyes.
“Yeah,” I whispered back, looking at Dee then at Jessie then at Meems, feeling their touch light on me, seeing the wet glistening on their cheeks, their smiles full of joy for me, for Colt, for our future, a future that was bright and I finished with, “Perfect.”
*
“Thanks for doin’ this,” Colt said to Cheryl as they walked up the front walk to Ned’s house.
“No worries,” Cheryl replied, her eyes on the door.
She’d cut her hair shorter so it just brushed her shoulders. She also regularly wore mini-skirts and high-heeled shoes even working at the bar. Both were her style and both looked good on her. So good, Feb said that Cheryl told her tips at J&J’s were better than her tips stripping. This probably had something to do with the fact that J&J’s was busier than ever seeing as it now was infamously famous and also seeing that neither Feb nor Cheryl were hard to look at, which meant the standard clientele had upped substantially.
“How’s Ethan gettin’ on in his new school?” Colt asked.
So she didn’t have to drive to town from Indy and also drive back in the dead of morning Cheryl had moved into Morrie’s apartment with Jack and Jackie who spent most of their time at Morrie and Dee’s or J&J’s anyway, often looking after Ethan along the way.
“Likin’ it, made some friends, has play dates, friends sleepin’ over, sleepin’ over at friends. He’s at a play date now,” she replied then her neck twisted and she pressed her lips together before she stopped on the front stoop and looked up at Colt. “Moms here know me as workin’ at J&J’s, not a strip club. Got no problem, their kid hangin’ with someone whose Mom works at J&J’s. Back then… well, goes without sayin’, a stripper’s house isn’t the popular choice for a play date.”
“That’s good,” Colt said quietly.