When Girlfriends Step Up (33 page)

“Excuse me!” There was that defensive Janet I knew.

I abruptly turned back to her and before she could speak, I dramatically took a glance at my watch, looked her sharply in the eyes, then said, “It’s after five. Looks like you’re already on vacation, and I’m out the door. Don’t forget—not a word from you. You can manage around here without me anyway, right? Miss,
Career
Woman?” I waved with my fingertips and said, in a childish voice, “Happy Thanksgiving. And have a
great
time in Aspen. I really hope you get some great job leads there.”

I didn’t take one look back. I didn’t even stop to kiss Bobby goodbye for the day (he had to chase me out into the parking lot). I charged on out of there, proud of finally taking that stand to Janet I knew I’d owed myself long ago. Enough time spent being pushed around. Sometimes a girl had to keep her mouth shut. Other times she needed to take a stand. Today was my stand, and it felt great!

***

Before I knew it, Emily had returned to Seattle—and just under a week before Rose was due. The girls and I ran around like chickens with their heads cut off preparing for the reunion. I wasn’t comfortable with the idea of staying the night at any place but home, so Lara and I were hosting the reunion: a big, celebratory sleepover with
all
the girls. Sophie, Claire, and Jackie would pick Emily up from the airport and bring her by our place “just to say hi after all this time.” She wouldn’t suspect a party in her honor.

“Okay, everything’s set, right?” I asked Lara, taking a sweeping survey of the living room. “Balloons, the welcome home sign…and we’ll shut off the lights and hide in the kitchen…you made sure the door’s unlocked, didn’t you?”

Lara nodded, opening up the last bag of chips and sneaking a taste. “And Sophie and Claire know to knock to warn us,” she said. “We
won’t
miss the chance to hide and shout ‘surprise!’”

“This is going to knock her socks off!” I said, clapping my hands excitedly. “Oh! I can’t believe we’re finally going to get to see Emily after all this time. It’s been almost a year!”

“The extra blankets and pillows Claire brought over are in your room?”

“Yup, everything we need is here. Plenty of food, drinks, extra blankets…all the makings we need for a sleepover.” I flicked off the lights and we ambled into the kitchen.

“God, doesn’t this take you back to our college days?” Lara asked fondly. “All those fun, late nights together. Super feminine times.”

“Some things change.” I touched my stomach. “But some things stay the same.”

A sudden and loud knock at the door.

They’re here!

The sound of the front doorknob turned, the door creaked, and then…

“Surprise!” Lara and I shouted simultaneously, flicking on the lights.

“Surprise! Surprise!”

“We fooled you!”

“Oh my goodness!” Emily screeched. She ran over to Lara and me, nearly knocking us down, embracing us in one gigantic hug. She planted a big kiss on each of our cheeks. “I’m so happy to see you girls again. Ohhh! Robin, look at you! You’re
beautiful.
I can’t believe you’re having a baby.” She touched my stomach. “Hi there, Rose. It’s Auntie Emily.”
 

Emily embraced Lara in another hug, and the two started crying, which then made me start to bawl. Before you knew it all six of us were hugging and crying, overwhelmed that we were finally, once again united after much too much time apart.

“That’s so sweet of you girls to put this together for me,” Emily said. She pressed her hand, bedazzled in unique wire and carved wooden rings, to her heart, taking in the party decorations. She gasped and repeated how excited she was to be back home and with all of us once again. “This is really amazing. Thank
you!
”

“I can’t believe this is actually happening. It feels like it’s been forever,” Claire gasped.
 

“It
has
been forever,” Jackie said. She curiously touched the tightly braided locks of Emily’s long brown hair. “My God, look at you with your international fashion flair. Damn, girl.” She seemed as fascinated as a child who first learns the joys of having a puppy.

“Oh, Jack,” Emily said, giving her another squeeze. “Glad to see you haven’t changed.”

“Pssh! Not one bit.”

“So, gush on all about this Andrew guy you were telling me about, Jack.” Emily slumped down on the sofa. It was as if she hadn’t been away longer than a day. “I want the scoop on all the big news, ladies.”

“Uh, photos, too, Em. And stories,” Lara said. “We want to hear all about Ghana.”

“Definitely!”

“Oh yeah. We’ve set up the TV and everything so you can show your photos.”

“You want news, you’ll get news. Wait ’til you hear all about Bobby!”

“Oh the living end, eh? Bobby, Bobby, Bobby…”

“And! Guess what? Jackie slept with…Chad!”

“What? No!”

“Please, let’s not talk about
that
again.”

“It
has
been way too long since we’ve all gotten together.”

“That’s for sure,” I said. “Too long, for sure.”

It was wonderful to have all the girls back together again. Emily regaled us with some unbelievable stories from abroad, and, true to form, shared hundreds of photos from her time living in the village, day trips to neighboring villages, weekend trips to the capital, and even a two-week-long venture into the heart of the African wild. During this trip she’d explored the terrain and wildlife with a group of visiting Australian zoologists studying the current and developing state of the African elephant and its habitat. Sound far-fetched? That’s Emily’s life. She tooled around in a Jeep with some random strangers, snapped some amazing photographs of lion prides, African birds of prey, and herds of elephants on the move, grazing, you name it. Typical Emily: befriend complete strangers, make a connection, establish a friendship, and go out into the world together to explore, be adventurous, and then come back with some unbelievable photographs and stories to share. Her life was a true adventure; she definitely needs to write a book about it.

As it turns out (no surprise to any of us), Emily felt what she always referred to as “the great calling” to return back to Ghana after the new year. Despite her extended stay in Ghana this year, the children’s school was not yet complete. She’d made a personal vow that she wouldn’t give up on it. After baby Rose was here she’d head back to Africa for God knew how long. That was our adventurous Emily—always gone, but somehow, still, always here.

Naturally, we gave Emily the details of our personal lives and drama (funny how often those two words come together). She wasn’t surprised in the slightest that Brandon had turned out to be a complete ass (yeah, still not a dime from him). And she wasn’t surprised that Bobby was smitten with me. She said he sounded like the perfect match, and she couldn’t wait to meet him for herself.
 

As for Lara and her long shot dreams of Paul, Emily had only, “Pish-posh. Forget about him,” to say to her in her classic Bostonian accent that she never quite lost, despite having lived all her college years in Seattle and spending the majority of each year afterward in some foreign country. “If he doesn’t see what a diamond you are, then pass,” Emily wisely advised.

Emily rattled off to Sophie a long list of must-see London sights that were off-the-beaten-path. She also told her she should spend a few weeks there, then strap on a backpack, take the Eurostar to Paris, and explore Europe for a couple of months…or at the very least a few weeks. “Take advantage of having your brother in London,” she told Sophie. “What an opportunity!” And, while she was at it, Claire should join in, too. That was Emily’s response when Claire pouted about still being un-engaged.
 

Surprise news to all of us, Claire had recently gotten news that her older sister was engaged. And Claire was a bridesmaid. “She’s a super hippie girl, too!” Claire said. “What the hell is she doing getting married? She’s always been the anti-marriage feminist of the family. And making me a bridesmaid! It’s just salt in the wound. Spinsterdom—that’s what I’m headed for.” Lara responded to this by giving her a high-five, then they toasted their glasses of chardonnay.

And Jackie. Good old Jackie. The close bond between Jackie and Emily was reignited as easily as a Bic lighter, swapping stories over cigarettes sitting half-in and half-out of the balcony doorway. Emily dispensed cautious advice about men and Jackie’s proclivity to go after the salt-and-pepper flavor, who always somehow ended up more sweet-and-sour. Or was it sweet
then
sour?
 

“Girls, tell Emily Andrew treats me like a princess,” Jackie called over from the doorway. We all resounded together, “A princess!” and “She does have his credit cards and his car, after all.”

My best friends. All together again—the way it should always be. I drifted off to sleep that night happier than a June bug on a hot and steamy summer evening, cuddled next to Emily in my bed, knowing that Lara and Jackie were only one room away, and Sophie and Claire were snuggled up together in the living room, and that Bobby, my loving and handsome
boyfriend
, was only a quick phone call away.
And
knowing that my baby Rose was due in just five short days! I drifted off to sleep, a smile, I am sure, unmistakably playing on my lips.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Emily!” I shrieked, clapping my hand to her side on top of the thick comforter. “Emily! Wake up! I think it’s time. I think it’s for real happening, right now for real. Real, really happening.”

Emily lightly stirred, then slapped her arm across my chest.

“Emily!” I nudged her. She didn’t respond. I nudged harder. “Emily! Wake. Up!”

She grumbled a few incoherent words and sat upright in bed. “Is it morning already?”

I turned on the bedside lamp. “No—no, not morning.” I pulled out of bed and started to dress myself in the “going into labor ensemble” that Lara and I had, ironically, picked and laid out only yesterday. “I think this is it.”

“This is what?” Emily rubbed at her eyes.
 

“The baby! I think I’m going into labor. It feels a lot like last time, but I’m sure it’s for real now. I think I’m going to have this baby.”

That’s when it hit Emily like a truck. Her eyes widened and she sprang out of bed, digging madly through her large, backpack decorated with multiple airline tags.
 

“Okay, no panic. I’m going to get dressed. You’re—” Emily looked at my half-dressed self. “Good. You’re on your way to being ready. I’ll throw on some pants and a shirt and…the girls! I’ll wake them.” She haphazardly threw on a wrinkled pair of jeans and an even more wrinkled t-shirt before running into the living room to stir everyone awake.

Okay. Stay calm. Remember what you learned in Lamaze. Breathe in. One, two, three. Exhale. One, two, three. Ow! Oh, dammit.
 

I clutched the underside of my stomach, feeling a light, warm trickle of water run down my leg.

My water broke!

Emily ran back into the room, eyes still wide. Then she gasped, “Your water! Holy shit. This is for real!” I stifled a laugh as she said, “At least you didn’t already put your pants on.”

“Okay, this is it!” Lara cried, bursting into the room. She grabbed my overnight bag, and Jackie, hot behind Lara, helped me put on my baggiest pair of grey sweat pants. She tried to wipe up the broken water with a spare blanket but I told her, “To hell with it. I don’t even care if I’m dressed at this point. Just—
ow!
—just get me to the hospital. Hurry!”

Jackie and Emily helped me to Lara’s car as the rest of them ran about the apartment askew (so much for the perfect plan), trying to make sure everyone was dressed, everyone had everything, and nothing was being forgotten. It wasn’t exactly an easy task, seeing how it was three-something in the morning and we were all operating in zombie mode. I couldn’t pay any attention to my sleep-blurred vision and my heavy head as the searing pains in my abdomen, all along the sides and even up top, were almost too painful to bear. Worse than the Braxton Hicks episode, by far.

I plopped into the front passenger seat and kept up the breathing techniques. However, they were becoming harder to practice, and taking in a breath for longer than the count of one was becoming more laborious with each inhalation.

“Here, I’ll help you breathe,” Lara said, rushing to me while Jackie ran back to the apartment to gather the rest of the girls. “Breathe in, try to breathe
sloooowly.
There we go. One, two, threeee…”

The pain kept coming, lasting longer, coming more frequently, and I was sweating. I was breathing and heaving as if I’d done a half-marathon.

“Okay, we’re going now,” Lara said. She yelled to Emily, who was now also back at the apartment, that it was now or never. “Show time!”

As another heavy contraction came, I let out a loud scream. Then the car doors slammed and Lara started up the engine.

“Wait!” Sophie shrieked. “The baby seat!”

“It’s in the trunk,” Lara said.
 

I gripped Lara’s forearm as she was about to reverse from the parking spot. “No.” I sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled in small bouts—one, two, three. “No, it’s in
my
trunk. Remember?”

“Aw, shit,” Claire said, jumping from the car. “Where are your keys?”

“Here! Here!” Sophie exclaimed. She dug through my purse. “They’re probably in Robin’s bag. Right?”

I shook my head.
 

“The overnight bag!” Lara said.

It was chaos. Pure and utter chaos. I remember actually contemplating the thought of having my baby right there in Lara’s car, in the parking lot in the wee, dark and frozen hours of the morning.

“Hurry!” I screamed.

Claire dug through my overnight bag and Sophie asked if anyone had called my sister.

“She’s on vacation,” I managed. “Dammit. She won’t be back for another two—
ow!—
two…two days!”

“I’m driving,” Lara said, starting to back the car in reverse. “We’ve got to go. If we’ve forgotten something then too bad. This girl’s going to give birth any second.”