The Friends We Keep

“How’s it going?” she asked as she placed her handbag on the kitchen desk, then bent down to kiss and tickle her daughters.

“Mommy! Look what I did.” Kennedy held up her picture. The princess was an interesting shade of green, with a purple dress and red trees in the background.

“Beautiful.”

Kenzie smiled at her. “Hi, Mommy.”

“Hey, sweetie.”

Kenzie’s picture was done in traditional colors and there was some kind of pattern drawn on the skirt. That girl was going to have a career in fashion or the arts, Gabby thought.

“Everything went great,” Cecelia said as she rose. “You have the best-behaved twins I know.”

Gabby grinned, knowing that hers were the only twins Cecelia sat for. “Thanks. We’re working on it.”

Makayla gave a halfhearted wave. The twins were having none of that. They rushed to her and hugged her tight.

“We missed you,” Kennedy told her. “Every minute.”

“I missed you munchkins, too.”

As they embraced, Gabby saw the fabric momentarily pulled tight across the teen’s belly. She was getting bigger by the day, she thought. There was a child growing inside her. A child that would one day be a baby.

That fact was no longer as startling as it had been. No longer as upsetting. She and Andrew still had their fragile truce. They were getting along, talking, making love, but they hadn’t figured out what to do when the baby was born.

Gabby paid Cecelia, then glanced at the clock. It was nearly five. The casserole she’d prepped for dinner still needed a few ingredients added, then twenty minutes in the oven. But she also had to make cookies for the classroom tomorrow. Not just any cookies, but healthy, nut-free, low sugar, yet delicious cookies for twenty five-year-olds and their teacher. There was laundry and about four hours of work. She’d gotten up at five to start her day and figured she would be lucky if she got to bed before midnight. Sleep? Yeah, that was for someone else.

“Okay,” she began. “We need a plan. I’m going to start the laundry, make sure we have what we need to make the cookies, then get dinner cooking.” As she spoke, she turned on the oven. “How does that sound?”

“I can sort the laundry.” Makayla’s mouth twisted as she spoke. “I did all my homework at lunch and I don’t have any tests to study for.”

There was a lot of information in those two sentences. First, that Makayla was not hanging out with her friends at lunch anymore. Gabby had suspected as much, but her heart ached when the information was confirmed. Second, her offer to help was a bit of a surprise. She wanted to ask if the teen knew how to sort laundry, then decided it didn’t matter.

“That would be so great,” she said. “Thank you.”

“We’ll help, too,” Kennedy added.

Kenzie nodded.

Which meant chaos, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Gabby pointed them in the direction of the laundry room. She collected pet dishes and opened cans. Jasmine materialized and wound her way around Gabby’s legs.

Once the pets were fed, Gabby returned to the cookie prep. She had flour and—

A sharp cry cut through the relative quiet. Makayla. Horrifying thoughts of a miscarriage had Gabby running through the kitchen to the laundry room. Kennedy met her halfway.

“Mommy, Mommy, it’s Makayla!”

Gabby had enough time to brace herself for blood. She rounded the corner and saw the teen curled up on the floor. Her phone was next to her and Kenzie was crouched close, stroking her hair.

“What happened?” Gabby demanded. “Are you bleeding? Cramping?”

Makayla turned a tear-soaked face toward her. She slowly shook her head and pointed to her phone.

Gabby picked it up. There was a text message. Her relief that Makayla was hearing from at least a few of her friends disappeared when she read the message. It was from Candace.

I’ve given this a lot of thought and I’ve come to the conclusion I can’t deal with you right now. You’re a chronic disappointment and I simply don’t have time for all the drama you’ve created. I will not be picking you up this weekend.

The cold words cut like a knife. Gabby couldn’t begin to imagine what Candace’s text had done to the teen. No Boyd, no friends and now no mother. Words were useless. Not that it mattered. Honest to God, what was there to say? “Your mother is a bitch” wouldn’t be helpful, despite the obvious truth.

Not sure what else to do, she sank onto the floor and pulled the teen against her. Makayla went willingly, then wrapped her arms around her, as if she would never let go. The twins joined in, the two little girls holding on to their sister. Makayla shook with her sobs. Gabby rocked her gently, but didn’t bother saying everything was going to be fine. What was the point in that? They both knew it wasn’t.





Chapter Twenty-Five