Forever, Plus One

Amy quickly counted back on her fingers. “December? When did you conceive?”

Emily flushed red. “Not a topic for the di

Amy’s eyes widened and she mouthed, “Honeymoon?”

Emily nodded and turned her gaze down.

“What are you saying?” Chantelle asked, looking between the two women. She looked at Daniel. “Daddy, what are they whispering about?”

Daniel laughed. “Nothing, sweetie. We’ll tell you another time. When you’re a little older.”

Chantelle folded her arms and pouted. Everyone laughed.

“Oh, Em,” Amy gushed. “My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Will you let me take you shopping to get a gift for the baby?”

“Now?” Emily asked.

“Yes!” Amy exclaimed. “I’m too excited to wait. I’ll drive us up to Bangor. There is a gorgeous bespoke baby store there. What do you say?”

Emily looked at Daniel and Chantelle. “Do you guys mind?”

“Not at all,” Daniel said. “I’ll take Chantelle home for singing practice.”

He stood then and everyone followed suit.

“Harry, it was great to meet you,” Daniel said, shaking Harry’s hand again. “Let’s stay in touch about the restaurant stuff, okay? Maybe hang out with George sometime. I’ve sworn off alcohol for the duration of Emily’s pregnancy but we could do something else. Do you fish?”

“I love to fish,” Harry said, gri

“Great, we’ll go out on my boat sometime,” Daniel told him.

They exchanged numbers, and Emily felt like the two of them in particular had hit it off. It made her so happy to see. Fraser and Daniel were never going to be friends, they were from such different worlds. But with Harry she could easily see the four of them hanging out on the porch, drinking together, enjoying local events with each other. She could suddenly picture the future, with Harry and Amy married, settled in the neighborhood, their kids at the same school as Emily and Daniel’s. It was an awesome thought!

Emily said farewell to Harry and Chantelle, then Amy looped her arm around Emily’s and dragged her off to the car, bouncing with every step, exclaiming in every way possible just how happy she was for her friend.

“Can I be godmother?” she asked.

“Maybe, but that wouldn’t be fair to Jayne.”

“Jayne wouldn’t want to be a godmother.”

“No, but she’d still kick up a fuss and you know it.”

“Fine. In which case, if it’s a girl can it be named Amy?”

Emily laughed and shrugged. “We haven’t discussed names yet. You do know Daniel gets an equal say. And, again, I must stress that Jayne would be livid if I called the baby Amy!”

Amy moved on quickly to her next excited exclamation. “When he or she grows up they can come and intern with me! I’ll be cool Aunt Amy with the apartment in New York.”

Emily just nodded along to all of her exclamations, overjoyed that Amy was so openly happy for her. They had come so far since that time when Amy had been furious with her for ru

CHAPTER FIVE

Typically of Amy, Emily found herself being dragged into the most high-end, luxurious children’s store imaginable. It was all beech wood shelving and pastel-colored walls, hundred-dollar quilts and thousand-dollar christening gifts. It stocked everything from clothes and gadgets to baby furniture and ornaments.

“Amy, you can’t get me a gift from here,” Emily protested, glancing about her at all the beautiful items.

“Why not?” Amy retorted. “My best friend is having a baby. I can spoil you as much as I want. Now do you want something practical like a stroller or something lavish like this organic eco-friendly pacifier? Ooh look!” Amy cried, becoming instantly distracted and hurrying over to another shelf. “Biodegradable diapers.” She grabbed a packet and began reading off the back. “Hypo-allergenic materials. Rainforest alliance certified. Low toxins. No dyes.”

Emily felt a little overwhelmed by the choices available to her. She hadn’t even begun to think about toxins or allergens. She’d hardly even thought about diapers and pacifiers! She’d only just begun to wrap her head around the fact a baby the size of a raspberry was currently growing inside of her.

“How much stuff is this baby going to need?” Emily said, suddenly feeling anxious.

Amy looked at her friend, concerned. “Don’t start freaking out.”

“But I haven’t even begun to work it all out,” Emily replied, hearing her own voice rising with panic.

Amy sprung into action. She scooped an arm around Emily’s shoulder and led her to a plush Scandinavian-style nursing armchair – that cost $1,400 dollars, Emily read on the sign – and sat her down.

“Let’s make a list,” Amy said. She perched on the matching charcoal footstool opposite Emily and looked up. “There’s nothing like a list for clearing the mind.”

Emily shook her head. “I don’t need a list,” she said with a resigned giggle. “I’m just having a moment. It’s all so new and strange and… unexpected.”

“It wasn’t pla

“Nope,” Emily confessed. “But if I did conceive on our honeymoon like we all seem to think, then it must have been the night before Daniel told me he wanted to start trying for a baby.” She chewed her lip, remembering how Daniel had booked the entire lighthouse restaurant in order to broach the subject in a beautiful and romantic way, and how terribly that moment had ended for them when she suddenly got cold feet. “Right before I told him I wasn’t ready.”

“Oh…” Amy said, wrinkling her nose. Her voice softened. “You didn’t want this to happen?”

“I did,” Emily said. “I changed my mind a couple of weeks later. I just needed some time to let it sink in. But I must have already been pregnant by then so I wonder if it was just the hormones changing my mind subliminally. And I think the damage was done by that point, for Daniel, I mean. He seemed glad when I told him I’d changed my mind again but I wonder whether he kept hold of a bit of resentment.”

“The pregnancy isn’t quite as happy a surprise for him as it is for you?” Amy asked.

Emily shrugged. She became aware of all the fears she’d been bottling up. “I was the more reticent but now that it’s here it feels so perfect and right. But Daniel just seems stressed. Like there’s something he’s not telling me. I was wondering if it was something to do with how much he missed out on Chantelle’s start in life. But he’s being typical Daniel about it. Not saying a word. Leaving me to speculate.”

Amy patted Emily’s hand. “I’m sorry, Em. That sounds hard. And you could do without that kind of stress right now.”

Emily smiled at her friend. “I actually feel a ton better now I’ve talked to you about it. It’s so nice having you here.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “So, Harry. Do you think this is the real deal?”

Amy blushed as the conversation turned, once again, toward her blossoming romance with Harry.

“It’s going really well,” she confessed. “We’re so different yet somehow so completely compatible.”

Emily gri

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Amy said, rolling her eyes. “He’s only five years younger than me but it feels like a whole generation. I’ll mention some pop song that I liked in high school and he’ll tell me he remembers it from when he was ten! I mean he’s still closer to his twenties than his forties.”

“I don’t think thirty-six should be counted as being close to your forties,” Emily said, remembering her own classification as an older mother and the slight risk it posed her. She always felt a little sensitive when people brought up aging, even if accidentally.