Emma and I tried to attend the Saturday-morning yoga class that rotated between the two locations. There was also a class that met on Mondays and Wednesdays at the community building. Kristine ran the classes at a variety of locations because she didn’t want to be tied to a studio just yet. The nomadic feel of the classes worked for me on a variety of levels.
When Emma had originally mentioned yoga to me, I thought she was nuts. But after a solid year of classes, I couldn’t imagine life without it. Teaching can be stressful, and yoga had helped me to find some peace to let go of things that would have bothered me in the past. That being said, yoga was amazing, but nothing was going to eliminate the stress that was currently devouring me.
I ran my hands over the old wood of the counter, gathering my courage. Sully and I had agreed that this didn’t need to be a secret. He was headed to tell his parents this morning and agreed I could share the news with Emma, but the knot of fear that she’d somehow be angry filled my stomach and took hold of my heart. This fear had no basis in reality. Emma was one of the kindest souls I’d ever met, but the worry about how she’d react to this news was eating me alive.
“How about I start?” Emma asked me quietly, placing her hand over mine. I met her eyes, raising a brow. Her brown eyes were filled with warmth. “Max told me after you left last night he had a gut feeling that the new journey you have suddenly found yourself on might be tied to my brother.”
I widened my eyes in surprise, and they filled with not a small number of tears. Damn, Max was far more perceptive than I gave him credit for. “How…” Where did I start?
I could see emotion dance across Emma’s face as she locked her gaze on mine. “Max wasn’t certain, but putting two and two together when you both were off for the past month added to Sully’s mindset when he swung by last night looking for you, well, is he right?”
I braced, unsure as to what on earth I should even begin to tell her. Did I tell her about a crush that began when we were kids, but I’d hid behind jokes all this time? Did I tell her about a hot night in the sack with her big bro? That seemed to be in poor taste. How do you tell someone you’ve had the hots for their sibling for years? Hmm. Maybe we could take a pause so I could go give Max a call. Surely he’d have some advice on how I needed to proceed. Sully hadn’t punched him when Max and Emma had hooked up a few weeks ago, so there was that.
“Maggie. Earth to Maggie…” I glanced back at Emma as she squeezed my hand. “So it’s true, you and Sully?” Her eyes looked a little moist too if I wasn’t mistaken.
I gave a small nod.
“When? For how long? Why didn’t you tell me?” At that I noticed that while she was trying to hide it, there was a little wounded expression hiding in there. Fucking fabulous. On top of everything else, I’d potentially hurt my closest friend.
Taking a fortifying breath, I glanced around, ensuring we were truly cocooned in our own little world over here. While Highland Falls wasn’t huge, it did excel at the speed at which gossip could travel. Make that gossip that one of the town’s middle school teachers was knocked up by the local brewery owner, and we might approach warp speeds. I didn’t need that yet. Even though we were in the clear, to be safe I tugged Emma down the bar to where it met the corner of the café. I closed my eyes, gathered some courage, and decided to take life by the balls, as it were.
“I’ve had a crush on your brother since I met him.” Pause, keep going Mags. I could do this. Emma’s incredulous look threatened to make me laugh as she sputtered, trying to talk.
I held up my hands to hold her off. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. We could do a year-long psych study on why I didn’t, but I think I’d be ashamed as to what that said about myself, so moving on.” I noticed Emma had fallen silent now, her mouth was hanging open a bit. Well, balls out, finish up. “I swear, Em, I never thought anything would happen. We aren’t a happily ever after, don’t worry. I’m not going to get hurt when this crashes and burns, and neither is Sully. A few weeks back, about five to be exact, you and I drank a shit ton of tequila. Sully drove me home. Now we’re here.”
I knew Emma’s pissed-off expression when I saw it. Man, she was going to be a great mom to teens. I worked hard to school my own expression and waited it out. It really was her turn. “My brother slept with you when you were drunk? I am so going to kick his ass, but I might have to get in line behind my mom—”
“No, no. Please don’t kick his ass. Your bro was, as always, a total gentleman. He brought me to his house to sleep it off, and then in the morning, I got a little excitable and he joined in. I’m not getting into the details with you—”
“Thanks. I haven’t eaten yet, and my stomach is weak…” Her words were drowned out by the whir and crunch of a coffee grinder thankfully saving us from the awkward moment.
“Whatever, but we were doubly protected. Or we thought we were.But life is filled with cosmic jokes, and this happened to be one of them.”
“And so I’m going to be an aunt?”
“You’re going to be an aunt.”
Emma whispered, pulling me in for a hug. “And you’re going to be a mom?”
My head dropped to her shoulder as I tightened my arms around her.
“Yes.” My heart raced with that thought. What did I know about being a mom?
“And Sully is going to be a dad?”
I closed my eyes. “Yep,” I managed to get out.
“Holy shit.”
I nodded from my spot wrapped in Emma’s arms, my own circling her waist as she rocked me slowly. Holy shit indeed.
We stood there for a few minutes. I wasn’t sure what Emma was doing, but I was taking a moment to get myself in order. I needed to catch my breath and stop the tears that threatened to spill out anytime I had a hit of emotion. It was ridiculous.
Finally Emma pulled back. She glanced down the counter at Allyson. “Aly, two vanilla lattes please.” Allyson nodded at her and Emma swiveled to look at me. “Shit, I didn’t think. Is that okay? I have no idea what you can and can’t have when pregnant.”
I shrugged. “I’m thinking coffee is okay, as long as I’m not mainlining it all day long. If I can’t have it, we’re in for a world of hurt over the next thirty-some weeks.”
Emma sank down onto a bar stool as she scanned my face, then down to my toes before meeting my eyes. “Mags,” she whispered, “you’re pregnant.”
