“You ever caught these boys like, naked, coming out of the bathroom?” she asks.
“Not since I turned eight and we started to cover all of our bodies. I have a pretty awesome view of O’s bedroom window from upstairs, but he’s a smart cookie that closes his curtains while walking in the buff.”
“That’s such a waste,” she concludes with a sad face.
She walks back to the couch and looks at a bottle of wine in my mother’s wine rack. “Wanna open one up girls?”
I don’t have to have alcohol right now, but I’m also not opposed to it. That’s until I see Shelby’s face, her mouth in a stripe. Meggy also notices.“What’s wrong?”
Shely releases a long sigh as she seems to contemplate what to say next.“Okay, so, please don’t tell anyone because nobody knows yet... But I’m pregnant.”
That was so not what I was expecting to hear. But good for her, I guess?
“Are we congratulating you?” I carefully ask, because you never know.
“O yes! We’re very happy about it!”
I lean over and hug her tightly. If she’s happy, then so am I. “Congratulations Shelby!” Meggy hops back from where she was standing, literally hopping, and also hugs our new friend.
“You’re having a baby! That’s so amazing. And fucking terrifying!”
Well, that’s one way to put it.
“I’m okay with having a baby. We were trying to have a baby and I’m stoked that I’m pregnant... But the little leech is draining me of all my energy. And did you know you have to cut back on the coffee when you’re pregnant? That’s like a huge no-go with the lacking of the energy.”
Meggy clasps her chest as she hears that. “No booze, and no coffee, and no energy to bang while this baby will ruin your body.”
That brings a huge smile to my face.
“Nowhere near ready to have a kid, are you Meg?”
“Hell no.”
“Does Dean know?” I ask Shelby hesitantly. I suck at keeping secrets and I don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep it up. It’s not like I knowingly would tell, but I have a history of blurting out stuff that was supposed to be kept in. I ruined Christmas for some kids who still believed in Santa, when I accidentally spilled the beans.
“Not yet,” Shelby says as she tiredly leans on her hand. “But I’ll tell him soon. I suspect he already knows. I’ve stopped drinking coffee and I’ve been using my smoking breaks as nap time. He has caught me sleeping against the back wall a few times.”
I pick up the chocolate that’s on the table and hand over the bowl to Shelby with a smile.“Eat up momma.”
She grins at me, and we settle into talking about babies and all that comes with the territory. It’s uncharted territory for me, but it’s exciting to see how Shelby is looking forward to motherhood. Out of solidarity Meggy doesn’t talk about opening wine again and the thoughtful gesture warms me.
We actually watch the movie we put on a while ago, until Shelby falls asleep mid-sentence. I pull her blanket up some more and nudge Meggy to come outside with me and sit on the porch swing.
“This is nice,” I say as we’re swinging. “I like girls’ night.”
“I’d like girls’ night even better if we could talk boys,” she says while suggestively raising her eyebrows.
“You’re an addict,” I giggle.
“I am. I figure that if I sleep my way around now that I still can, I can settle on a nice man in a few years, have a couple of kids and not spend my forties wondering: What if. It’s a solid plan and it’s well thought out. Trust me.”
Somehow, the way she says it doesn’t even make it sound weird. I’ve done the exact opposite of what she just described. I fell from one relationship into another looking for something I never found, and while I was focused on what was right in front of me, I never saw what I was missing out on. Having fun, not being serious. Feeling everything that life has to offer, including mind blowing orgasms.
“So what’s the deal with you and all your male friends?” Meggy asks as I catch her staring at O’s bedroom window in the hopes of seeing a glimpse of him.
“I’m just having fun. They’re showing me how to have fun.”
“Like bedroom fun?”