"I love the kid, but he does not know how to knock,"Tielsaid.
"It's like there's a Bat Signal only Riley can see," Andy mused. "But instead of Gotham needing a hero, his siblings are having sex and he needs tointerrupt."
"Right. That's great, and incredibly strange. To recap," Erin said, pointing at the women, "that's Lauren, Shannon, Andy, and Tiel." She steered me toward the pedicure chairs waiting for us. "This is Alex, and we're going to stop with the campfire stories until after she's had a few drinks. Riley will spill all the secrets he has on us if we're not nicetoher."
"Nice to her?" Lauren repeated. "Of coursewe're going to be nice. You're the first woman Riley's ever introduced to us, and I don't take thatlightly."
Shannon leaned forward to catch my eye. "I have just one questionforyou."
I ran my fingers through my hair and twisted it into a loose knot at the base of my neck. A technician was busy examining my toes, and there was a margarita waiting for me on the small side table. "Sure," I said, reaching for the beverage. It was delicious, andstrong. "I won't even stop you at one. Go ahead and ask two, even threequestions."
"Who's your Batman?" Shannonasked.
I set the glass down and rubbed my palms together as I considered this. "Well, that depends," I started, "Adam West and Michael Keaton when I need nostalgia. Clooney and Kilmer when I want the nineties and overacting. Affleck when I want to hate something. But for all otherpurposes,Bale."
The group was silent save for a giggle that slipped from Tiel's lips, and she slapped her hand over her mouth in response. Confused, I glanced back at Shannon and found her eyes glistening withtears.
"Satan suck a dick, I love you already," Shannon said through a laugh. "You should know we're loud and we swear a lot. And we're nosy, too. We're up in each other's business and we probably spend too much time together, but it's hard to find friends who can hold their tequila." She cocked her head, smiling despite the tears spilling down her cheeks. "I get the sense that you can. You're here, aren't you? After everything that happened today, I figure it takes a whole lot of balls to come out tonight and meet allofus."
"My ballsarepretty big," I started, "but it's fine. I only had a minor role in that textmessage."
"Yep," Lauren said, holding her palm up to me for a high five. "You're one of us. Welcome to the tribe,sister."
"Oh my god," Shannon said to herself. "When did he grow up? Where was I when that happened?" She curled an arm around her belly and exhaled. The tears were still flowing. "Really. This is too much for a pregnant lady to handle on a Thursdayevening."
"Are you all right?" I asked. I couldn't remember the last time I'd delivered a baby, and I didn't want to put those skills to the test tonight. "I apologize if this is too forward but are you experiencing regularcontractions?"
"No contractions." Shannon waved me off. "I'm perfectly fine," she said. "I look twelve months pregnant but this kid isn't going anywhere for severalweeks."
Smallmiracles.
Collecting my drink from the table, I lifted it to my lips and drankdeeply.
"Alex, you should come to the farmers' market with us this weekend," Tiel called from the far end oftherow.
Erin held up her hands for silence. "What did I say about letting her have a few drinks first?" she asked. "We're going to talk about somethingelsenow."
"Yes, the farmers' market," Shannon said with a hearty groan. "I could go for some Jam Man in my life. I don't know what it is about those red plaid flannel shirts and how he rolls the sleeves up.Fuck. Don't even get me started on thosejeans."
"Mrs. Halsted," Erin chided, staring at her sister. "You are marriedandpregnant. You have to stop oglingstrangemen."
"I'm with Shannon when it comes to the Jam Man. This guy was put on earth to be ogled," Tiel said. "I'll offer neither shame norapologies."
"Yeah,Mrs. Acevedo," Shannon said to Erin. "Maybe if you came to lunch once in a while, you'd be able to appreciate the JamMan,too."
Erin leaned back in her seat and folded her hands in her lap. "I'd rather appreciate my husband on Saturday mornings,thankyou."
"Ignore her. My sister is still basking in semi-newlywed bliss," Shannon said to me. "There's a new guy at the farmers' marketandhe's—"
"So fucking hot that it hurts," Andyinterrupted.
"And growly-sweet," Tiel added. "You'll get a cavity from talking to him, and then you'll go home and attack yourhusband."
"If you're not busy orgasming on the spot from his smile," Lauren said. "To be quite honest, I think I could ovulate just from lookingathim."
"True story," Shannon said. "He owns a berry farm in"—she swiveled her head from side to side, her brows crinkled—"somewhere or other. He sells fruit, but his homemade jams are life-altering. I have a few jars in my office. Sometimes, when I've had a difficult day, I'll close the door and turn off the lights, and then daydream about red plaid flannel shirts while eating jam straight fromthejar."
Erin groaned and turned her eyes toward the ceiling. "That makes Lauren's story about jizz in the eye sound nearly normal,"shesaid.
