Emma rolled her eyes and grabbed her wine. “I only listed my house a few days ago. Several showings are scheduled this weekend. I don’t see any point in moving in officially until it’s sold.” She tipped her head back, considering Max’s ceiling, before looking at me again. “God, I hate packing. Frankly, I’m just putting it off as long as possible.”
“I respect that. I hate it too.” I leaned forward to high five her in a show of solidarity.
“Does that mean you can give up the idea of moving away from here as soon as you make your first fortune?” Emma put her palms together in a pleading gesture as she gave me a hopeful expression.
“Nope, nope.” I shook my finger at her as my stomach clenched. Six weeks ago I’d decided that move was happening sooner than she thought. Now I had a positive pregnancy test in my purse. I couldn’t think about all this right now. “No pleading-cat-from-Shrek eyes, Emma Sullivan. You know that isn’t allowed.”
Emma laughed, dropping her hands, and grabbing her wineglass instead. Her eyes twinkled with amusement as she considered me. “Sorry, but I will always try to keep you here, Maggie. I can’t imagine you moving away.” She looked sad for a moment, then glanced back at the bottle of wine. “You sure you don’t want any?”
I shook my head and murmured something about my fabulous students sharing their various viruses with me. A lie, but a necessary one. That seemed to appease her, and she hopped down as she danced over to the bottle, refilling her own glass herself. I watched, thinking about our decade long debate about where I would end up, a topic on which we never found agreement. While Emma and I had separated to go to college, we always knew we were going to try to come back to the area afterward, and we did.
Emma wanted to come back to Highland to stay. I’d always said I was coming back for just a bit. Emma, ever the optimist, tried to ignore that last part. The past few years I’d seen Emma settle back into Highland Falls and could tell she was home for good. Even before Max’s return, she’d begun to come into her own here. I’d always heard that as you aged, you started to give less of a fuck what others thought of you. That you became more at peace with who you were. That was evident with Emma.
Outwardly, most people probably thought I’d always been like that too. A person who had zero fucks to give about what other people thought of her. However, that wasn’t completely true. Growing up without a mom, with a dad who was amazingly kind but couldn’t provide for us, I’d cared what others thought, likely too much. Being in this tiny town, I’d felt suffocated by the judgment of others. I’d hoped that feeling might go away when I was older. Unfortunately, from what I could tell, it had intensified. I didn’t allow the opinions of others to change my mind on what I did. It’s just that it took up my brain space. I thought of what other people would think before I did something. And that pissed me off. I just wanted to live somewhere I was one of many, not one of a few. I wanted to get away from a place where everyone already thought they knew my story.
“I’m not moving away tomorrow, Emma.” I decided to put out a feeler. “Not for at least a year.” I smiled at my friend while she looked on, a bit teary.
“I’m going to ignore that time frame, Maggie May. But I will note that I feel like this summer road trip you’re gearing up for is the first step.” Emma asked as she leaned back against the counter across from me, considering me over the rim of her glass.
My heart sank as the reality of my planned gypsy summer hit me. I didn’t know much about babies or pregnancy, but I knew I’d need to have doctor appointments over the summer. Thinking back about Bridget and some other teachers in my building, they seemed to go at least once a month at the beginning. Maybe the trip was still viable? Ugh, I’d have to look into it. Glancing up at Emma, I saw she was a bit tipsy, or more like a bit emotional. Oh boy. To cheer her up, I grabbed a wooden spoon out of the utensil holder on Max’s kitchen counter. “Pearl Jam?”
Emma’s arms shot up in aVas she shouted, “Eddie!!!!”
We both jumped down, leaning over her phone to pick a song. A pang hit me as she scrolled. Would I really be able to move away from her? She’d been part of me since we met in second grade. Sucking down the waves of emotion, I pushed it aside.Think about that later, I told myself. I had time. Part of me knew that the pile of crap that I need to face, to deal with, was growing larger and larger, but I just couldn’t do it now. Briefly I thought of telling her about this life growing inside me, but Bridget was right, Sully should know first.
Just the thought made my heart race as the first notes from one of the greatest songs ever filled the room. Pearl Jam’s “Black” flowed out from Max’s speakers, and I let the music fill me as I lifted my wooden spoon. “Heyyyyyy….”
Nope, not stressing out now. Now was time to sing.
* * *
Sully
I glanced over at the gas station where Jake had ducked in to grab a quick drink before we hit the final leg of this two-week road trip. We’d driven a little over half the way from Festus to home, and I was exhausted. It had been amazing to visit breweries all over the Midwest, and I was glad to have the knowledge of how to get our canning process started, but my ass was tired and I was ready for my bed. Noting the text from Max asking if I wanted to stop by for steaks, I pulled out my phone and placed the call.
“Yo.”
“Harp.” I smiled at what I assumed was Emma’s dog Poppy yapping in the background. “I’ll be back in town in a little under an hour, but I’m passing on the steaks. I’m dead tired from riding today, not to mention for the past two weeks. Need to head home.”
“Where are you guys?” Max asked as I heard what was likely his grill closing. My mouth watered a bit.
“Gas station just past some giant-ass cross on the side of the highway,” I laughed. We’d used it as a landmark on the way home, knowing it meant we were pretty close, thank God. “Jake wants to get back and hit the brewery tonight, check in with Finn. I’m leaving him to that since I’m on tomorrow and crashing in my own bed. I fucking cannot wait.”
“Understood,” Max said. “Pulling the steaks off now and they’re looking damn good. You’re missing out, Sullivan.” He chuckled as I heard him moving around.
I glanced back to the gas station to see if Jake was headed back. Nope. The sounds of Pearl Jam floated through my phone. Emma was likely in charge of the music selection tonight, though we were all fans.
“Jesus.” Max let out a quiet laugh.
“What?” I asked.
“Maggie and Emma are dancing around the kitchen, singing like they did when they were in high school,” he said.
I laughed. “Those two always did like to let it fly when they were having a few.”
“Only Emma tonight, Maggie said she’s feeling off,” Max said. “Shit, Emma just shoved Maggie’s purse over to make room for her stage on the island. I might need help wrangling her tonight.”
“Your problem now, bud.” I’d struggled at first with my best friend dating my sister, but now it seemed like a great solution. Emma and Maggie together were a dynamic team. I bet Emma would be feeling this tomorrow. I heard a bit of commotion from Max’s end while also catching Jake’s eye as he headed out of the station and across the parking lot toward me.
