Something About You (Just Me & You) (19 page)

Sabrina sipped her latte and enjoyed an hour or two of peace
before the phones went crazy. The Capitol was slow to pick up momentum after a
long holiday weekend. But once it did, it went from zero to full speed ahead.

Moira and Carlton wouldn’t be in until noon, leaving Sabrina
the only person to man the front desk. She sorted through pile of paper that
had accumulated, pausing when she came to a Tide Brothers Construction
brochure. The front cover depicted a stylish etching of a solar-paneled
condominium complex so vast it could have had its own zip code and phone
prefix. She couldn’t imagine Cadence Corners replaced by such a mammoth hive.
Couldn’t fathom the quaint craftsman-style homes and mom ’n’ pops replaced by
quarter-mile blocks glutted with towering blond stucco. Or the sound of
laughter coming from the dog parks and community gardens drowned out by
automatic parking gates. And yet these were the people to whom Theo wanted her
to toss a bone.

The biggest bone of all.

She crumpled up the brochure and lobbed it into the
recycling bin, now officially in a bad mood. It didn’t help that she and Gage
were once again on the outs. She had anticipated a lot of awkwardness between
them after her strategically planned tease on Thanksgiving night.

Instead, what had happened the next morning had been
downright strange. She had shambled out of her bedroom just in time to see him
coming out of his own room carrying a duffel bag. She had mumbled a good
morning. But instead of returning her greeting, he’d simply given her a wary
glance and left without saying a word. He left the front door open just long
enough for her to catch a glimpse of the airport shuttle waiting in the drive.

The rest of the weekend had been blessedly quiet.

Unnervingly quiet.

The phone rang. Sabrina reached for it automatically.

“Representative Ward’s Office,” she said crossly.

“Sabrina March, pl — Sabrina, is that you?” Molly
sounded nonplussed. “Wait. What happened to Violetta?”

“Long story that cannot be told short,” Sabrina sighed. “What’s
up?”

“I’m at Ella’s. Meet me for lunch?”

“I’m a slave to the desk, Molls,” Sabrina told her. “Is
there any way you could meet me at the Capitol Grill instead?”

“It has to be Ella’s,” Molly persisted. “Nola’s made chili
blanc and fresh sourdough bread today. Please?”

Sabrina relented. She waited until Carlton got in before she
grabbed her messenger bag and headed to the parking garage. She knew that Molly
wouldn’t have insisted on meeting at Ella’s just for her mother’s blue plate
special.

Ella’s had always been sacred turf, the place where the best
friends shared their childhood secrets and, as they grew older, news of bigger
milestone events. Sabrina had told Molly about getting hired on by the Hon.
Rep. Theo Ward at Ella’s on a blisteringly cold January afternoon while the two
women sipped hot cocoa. Molly had announced her engagement to Sebastian on a
sunny spring morning while they sat on the back porch and ate plum hazelnut
tarts. 

Molly had something important to tell her.

Something that couldn’t wait …

As soon as Sabrina opened the café door, she was pleasantly
assaulted by the smoky smell of slow-roasted chicken and Hatch peppers. She
could hear Nola’s voice coming from the kitchen as she gave directions to the
café’s support staff. Ella’s was always packed at lunchtime, and today was no
exception; all of the indoor tables were filled with Corners locals, mostly
mothers of school-aged children who convened to catch up with each other.

To save precious time, Sabrina ordered a Caesar salad and iced
herbal tea at the counter. Then she located Molly, who had snagged a spot on
the back porch. Sabrina wound her way through a maze of small wooden tables
crowded with ladies who lunched. She loved the smell of hot coffee paired with
warm food and the feeling of the sunlight streaming through the mesh screen.
Today, the sun tempered the effects of a cool wind blowing in from the north.

Molly was in the process of polishing off a bowl of Nola’s
chicken chili. A very large bowl of it at that.

“Sorry I started without you, but I was totally famished.”
Molly pressed a napkin to her lips with an apologetic look. “I know you get
busy you get after Thanksgiving, but you’ve been working yourself into the
ground, Brini.”

Busy was an understatement. Sabrina pulled up a seat and
briefly told Molly about the problems at the office that led her to be
short-staffed. By the time Sabrina finished with her update, a waitress brought
her salad to the table. 

“So. I have some exciting news,” Molly hedged mysteriously.

“I figured there was a reason you insisted on meeting at
Ella’s,” Sabrina said with a smile.

“It’s phenomenal, Brini. As in,
really
big,” Molly
went on. “I wanted you to be the one of the first to know.”

“How big?”

“Let’s just say that aside from getting married, this is the
biggest day of my life.” Molly tipped her hand by blushing.

“Oh, get out of town!” Sabrina gushed. “No!”

“Yes.” Molly nodded, giggling.

“You won the international quilting contest? Oh, Molls, good
job!”

Molly’s smile dulled slightly. “No, I didn’t win the
contest. This is much bigger than some silly quilt. Although right now it’s far
smaller than a breadbox. It won’t always be, of course. But, right now it’s …
well, it’s really small.”

Sabrina looked at her friend askance. Molly tended to dance
around issues, that much was true. But Sabrina had no clue what the hell she
could possibly be talking about.

“Oh, c’mon,” Molly coached with more pep. “I thought if
anyone would figure it out, it would be you.”

“Molly, we are talking about the size of objects relative to
breadboxes, many of which are smaller. Did you pick a winning lottery ticket?”

“No, you goose. I’m pregnant!” Molly bounced in her seat and
grinned.

“Excuse me, what?” Sabrina’s fork dropped into her salad
bowl when her hand went limp. She wasn’t sure she’d heard Molly correctly.

“
Pregnant.
Knocked up. Bun in the oven. With child.
I’m going to have a baby.”

“But how? When?” Sabrina heard the words coming out of her
mouth, but she didn’t feel them. Her lips had gone numb, as had the rest of
her.

Numb with shock.

“We both know
how
. As I recall, we both got the talk
about the birds and the bees when we were ten,” Molly teased. “
Le conception
occurred when we were in Paris. Just think. One day I can tell my son or
daughter that he or she was a honeymoon child.”

Sabrina quickly did the math. “So you’re not far along.”

“Less than a month. I took a home pregnancy test on
Thanksgiving. But just to be sure, I went into see my doctor this morning.
Brini, I’m going to be a mother.” The dreamy tone in Molly’s voice suggested
she’d reached the point where practicalities ceased to exist.

“Peachy,” Sabrina said flatly. She picked up the fork, but
her appetite had suddenly fled.
Pretend to be happy. Pretend, for Molly’s
sake.
But she couldn’t.

Conning her best friend like this wasn’t in her repertoire.

Molly had to be out of her ever-loving mind, Sabrina
decided. Then it dawned on her.
Cybil Cole.
Molly Parker, social
underling, was a daughter-in-law Cybil could have molded in her image with the
Cole surname attached — but the Molly who suffered from intermittent
multiple sclerosis was not. During a water skiing trip to Lake Travis, Sabrina
overheard Cybil tell Sebastian it was
a shame
he’d probably be the last
of his line, those words laced with faux motherly concern and thinly veiled
contempt.

Sabrina could have detached the ski rope with a smile once
Cybil’s turn came around.

“Please tell me that you didn’t let your dreadful
mother-in-law push her own agenda,” Sabrina groaned.

“Hello! How long have we known each other, Brini?” Molly
asked. “You know I’d never do anything just to please Cybil.”

“Then
why
, Molly? Tell me why you’d do such an
irresponsible thing,” Sabrina pleaded.

“You know, I spent all morning imagining this moment,” Molly
said, subdued. “You and me, the best friends — practically sisters. I give
you the biggest news of my life. Then you jump up and hug me. You say, ‘Screw
Cybil! I call dibs on hosting the baby shower!’ All I get is ‘peachy’? I feel
like you’re disappointed that I got pregnant.”

“I am,” Sabrina said. “I think it’s a terrible idea. Do I
have to remind you exactly why?”

Molly gave her an exasperated look. “Please, Brini. I have
multiple sclerosis, not cancer. I should be able to have a child if I want
one.”

Sabrina stabbed a crouton with her fork viciously. “Adopt
one, then. Adopt two. Adopt twenty.”

“Sebastian and I already looked into it. No domestic agency
would let us adopt, given my medical history.”

“Geez, Molls, then maybe there’s your first clue, huh?”
Sabrina felt terrible as soon as the words left her mouth. She’d always known
that Molly was destined to be a mother. How could she not be? Molly was kind,
gentle and patient. Molly loved kids. All kids. Unconditionally.

“There are other options,” Sabrina quieted her tone after
seeing Molly’s stricken face. “There’s surrogacy.”

“We couldn’t afford a surrogate without Shuck and Cybil
pitching in,” Molly explained. “Besides, surrogacy is still a legal quagmire.
Sebastian and I don’t want to put ourselves through what could potentially end
up in heartbreak.”

“You and Sebastian could be foster parents.” Sabrina threw
her last pitch out desperately. “Molly, there are thousands of children in
Texas who deserve a good home. If you really wanted to have a child—”

“—You just don’t get it,” Molly interrupted with a stubborn
look. “I want the experience of giving birth to my own baby.”

Sabrina struggled to contain her concern, which at that
moment felt more like irritation.

“I want a lot of things too, Molly,” she snapped. “I want to
write drugstore thrillers for a living. I want four-day workweeks and an
antiperspirant that really lasts for twelve hours. Hell, I still want a pony.
But we don’t always get what we want.”

Molly looked hurt. “Stop talking to be as though I’m a
child.”

“I will when you stop acting like one,” Sabrina said
brusquely. “Have you and Sebastian thought this through? What if you do get
sick —
really
sick — this time? Who’s going to take care of
this child? Do you feel comfortable leaving your son or daughter in Cybil’s
hands? You’ll have to, because your erudite husband won’t be able to handle
it.”

The hurt on Molly’s face was replaced by a mutinous look.
“You don’t give Sebastian nearly enough credit. And you’re also missing the
point. I’m already
pregnant
, Sabrina. It’s a done deal. You can either
be happy for me or you can’t. Looks like you’ve already decided.”

“I’ve decided nothing,” Sabrina said. “How many
obstetricians have you seen who told you getting pregnant is a lousy idea?
Four? Or is it five now? You keep asking the same question. Each time, you get
the same answer. Having this child places your health at risk.”

“Don’t you think having a baby is worth that risk?”

Sabrina forced herself to remain silent.
Risk.
It was
a staple word in Molly’s vocabulary. Sabrina thought of the bad boys. The
competitive sports Molly heroically attempted in high school — volleyball,
swimming, track — just to flip the bird at her disability. There were
countless things Molly did with reckless abandon that could have plotted her on
a short course to danger, but none of them compared to
this
.

“I’m needed at the office,” Sabrina said curtly. “I’ll take
care of the tab at the counter.”

“Brini, we can’t fight at Grandma Ella’s.” Molly looked at
her with urgent dismay. “Anyplace else, but not here.”

“We’re not fighting,” Sabrina told her. There was nothing
left to say. Molly would always be reckless. Would always try to push her
physical limitations beyond their limits. If Sebastian knew this — and
Sabrina was certain that he did — he had to have an even better excuse.
She rose and slung her messenger bag over her shoulder.

“Like you said, it’s a done deal.” Sabrina kept her voice
cool and even. “I can’t pick up the slack when the bottom falls out this time.
I won’t.”

**

I’m pregnant.

Molly’s announcement seemed to run on a mental loop
synchronized to the belt of the treadmill. Sabrina punched up the speed control
and ran faster, but it didn’t help.

She shook the sweat out of her hair. It couldn’t really be
true. Maybe Molly was mistaken. Maybe her doctor was.
No.
There was no
mistaking
the glow
. All expecting mothers had it. Molly had it.

Molly’s pregnant …

The only thing Sabrina wanted by the end of her workout was
peace and silence at home with her takeout biryani. But when she pulled her
Audi into the garage, Gage was on his side in the process of sticking a post
into a huge wood lathe that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a professional
furniture maker’s shop.

The garage had taken on all of the features of a side
industry. Raw materials were stacked neatly in one corner. A vast assortment of
hand tools with sharp blades was meticulously organized on a rack over the
lathe. It was his personal man space, she reminded herself. But tonight the
bulky equipment and the smell of heated wood only made her feel more irascible.
She looked at the accumulation of pine shavings under Gage’s feet. He said
nothing as she got out of the car and simply gave her a brief sidelong, sullen
glance.

“You’re back,” was the only thing she could think to say.
“Where’d you go?”