“Mama, no! You’retripping!” Brooklyn denied.
Ellie followed her nose to the adjoining bathroom and pushed open the door. Sure enough, there was evidence of ashes floating in the toilet. Ellie hit the lever.“You got to flush twice to get rid of evidence, genius! You think you’re too smart for your own good. Where’d you get the weed from?”
“I was just holding it for a friend! It’s not even mine!” Brooklyn cried out.
“Brooklyn, I’m fed up to here with you,” Ellie said, saluting her forehead.“What is going on with you? You don’t do drugs. We don’t do drugs! Do you know how many kids out here dying behind these drugs? Thisshit could be laced with anything! Have you ever heard of Fentanyl!? You don’t smoke anything! Don’t take anything! Not even a Tylenol, Brook! We’ve talked about this!”
“I wasn’t, Ma!” Brooklyn wailed. Her pretty, perfect daughter was a bold-faced liar, and it broke her heart. It shouldn’t have. She remembered her own lying phase through her teenage years, but being on the parental side felt horrible. She was losing control of her little girl, and it didn’t feel good at all.
Ellie snapped her fingers closed right in front of Brooklyn’slips.“Stop talking, just stop lying. Your eyes are red, Brook. You’re high! Don’t do that. Don’t lie to me. Telling the truth is a sign of respect and love. I can’t protect you if you lie to me about your actions. We’lldeal with the truth. But don’t look in my face and tell me lies. Love me better than that. You don’t lie to people you love, and we can’t come to common ground if I can’t trust you. Yougrown enough to smoke in my house, be grown enough to admit it.”
Ellie took a deep breath and calmed herself because she didn’t want to be the screaming mom. She wanted to be the mom that her daughters felt like they could come to about anything. Frustration was making her handle this poorly, and she didn’t want to push Brooklyn away. Brooklyn stood frozen, like a deer in headlights, and she knew that her child was too afraid of punishment to deliver the truth to her in this moment. It disappointed her, but she knew accountability wouldn’t be learned tonight. She sighed.“I’ma let your father deal with it. Please just finish packing and get some sleep. We have an early flight.” Ellie was defeated.“And keep this door open.”
“Okay now, Miss Mamas. I need you to keep this baby in here for a couple more weeks. We want baby’s lungs to develop a little more before he makes his arrival,” Sloan said as she withdrew the ultrasound wand from her patient, Monica. She snapped off her gloves and then stepped over to the sink to wash her hands before turning back to face the mother-to-be.
“I’m sorry. I just panicked. I felt that contraction and saw the blood in my panties and just rushed here,” the woman replied.“We’vebeen waiting so long for this to happen. I just don’t want to take any chances.”
“Me either. I’ve seen you guys through from the tears of thinking you couldn’t get pregnant to hearing this little nugget’s heartbeat. I’m invested, and I’ma see it through all the way until this baby is in your arms.”
“Still, I feel bad. I didn’t mean to call you into the ER in the middle of the night.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sloan said, smiling.“And everything looks fine. It’s just Braxton Hicks and a little spotting, but your cervix looks good. Don’t hesitate to come back if you have any concerns. The nurses know to call me when any of my patients hit this door, it doesn’t matter the time,” Sloan said.
“You’re the best,” Monica replied.
“Remember that when you’re in labor and I’m asking you to push,” Sloan answered with a chuckle.“The nurses will get your discharge papers. I’llsee you after Christmas break.”
Sloan exited the room and hurried to the doctor’s lounge. She was exhausted. She had delivered three babies in a 24-hour period, and as soon as she had clocked out, one of her mother’s to-be had come into the emergency room. She loved her job, but the demand was taxing. It left little time for a personal life. She had sacrificed so much to get where she was in life. While most of her friends had partied their way through their twenties, Sloan had pursued a career. School had filled her days, and work had filled her nights. She had been so focused on becoming a doctor that she missed out on a part of her life that she couldn’t quiterecapture. She was a reputable and highly successful OBGYN, but she wasn’t sure the trade-off was worth it. All her friends had families or serious relationships— at the very least. Sloan had no one. There was no man waiting for dinner at home. There was no mess to clean up from kids destroying their rooms all day. There was no confidante to confide in about the ups and downs of her day. It was just her. She was one of one, and sometimes the silence could be loud. Her entire life was predictable and routine, down to her drive home. There were no kids to pick up along the way. There were no prescriptions to grab for her needy spouse. There was just her. She drove the same route, day in and day out, by herself. Her life was designed for one, and she was incredibly lonely. Today was no different. When she crossed the threshold of her five-bedroom home, she sighed. She didn’t even know why she had purchased such a large place. She had thought she would grow into it one day, but it was only a reminder of her solitude. A pair of shoes sat by the door. One place setting was arranged on her dining room table. Being alone wasn’t her choice. She tried to date, but it seemed she had waited too long. At 39 years old, any eligible bachelor now came with baggage. Men her age had children, bad credit, and bitter baby mamas. She brought so much to the table that it was hard to find a man who matched her contribution. Dating was a joke, and even when she did make time, men often lost interest in her because her availability was limited. She immediately grabbed a bottle of wine from her collection, poured herself a glass, and kept it pushing to her bedroom. Her master bathroom was her favorite room in the house. It was her personal spa. The clawfoot tub called her name after standing on her feet all day. She peeled off her clothes and then turned on the faucet. Epsom salt and lavender bubble bath felt like luxury as she poured each into the stream of running water. She sipped from her glass, almost gulping until half the glass was gone, then she turned on the shower. She swirled the red wine in her glass once more and measured it by eye.“Definitely a whole bottle type of night,” she mumbled. Hurried feet carried her right back to the kitchen.“The one perk of living alone is I can walk around this bitch naked,” she huffed. She grabbed the bottle and ran back to her bathroom. She showered first, to get the germs of the day off her body, before submerging into the bubble bath to soak. The bottle came with her, fuck the glass. Every part of her body ached, even her fingertips. Pulling babies from ten-centimeter wombs all day had exhausted her. She was too spent to even order dinner. The half-eaten bag of veggie straws she had in the kitchen would have to sustain her until morning. She wished there were someone there with her to help make this house a home. She didn’t even need a man to do much. Make his own money, change a light bulb or two, and just order her some dinner on her way home from work. The luxury of having someone to cuddle next to and ask about her day would be a bonus. Instead, Pinot Noir kept her company every night. She soaked until her skin wrinkled and then climbed out. Her routine was almost too routine. There was no spontaneity, no warmth, no love inside these walls. She had skipped so many seasons of her young adulthood to guarantee success, and she wasn’t sure if it was worth it. She was almost out of child-rearing years, with no man in sight. It was a scary realization that she had possibly missed her window to start a family. It was a heavy reality to face. She had taken a week off to celebrate Christmas, and she couldn’t even remember the last time she had used her PTO. She was married to her work. She had vacation time stockpiled, and still, there was anxiety about being away from her expectant moms while she spent time with her friends. Tomorrow, the festivities would kick off with or without her, however, and she didn’t want to miss out, especially since her best friend, Ellie, was coming home. It would be a holiday to remember, and she was determined to clock out of work mode and tap into girl time. She felt like the friend who was constantly dropping the ball, and she didn’t mean to be that girl. She wanted her girls to know that their moments were important to her, too. Sloan hadn’t purposefully neglected them, but she knew she hadn’t been as available to them as they had been to her. Shewould need to spend the next week making up for lost time. She felt like their friend group only existed in text messages. They sent memes and social media posts back and forth to each other all day, but they hadn’t all been together in so long. Sloan spoke to Ellie the most, which was insane, considering Courtney and Shy lived less than thirty minutes away. Life had simply been busy, and she had done a bad job of maintaining her bonds. She prayed there were no bad vibes once they all got together. Too much time and distance between friends could be tricky. The last thing she wanted to do was spend her long-anticipated days off wrapped up in negative and awkward energy.
Chapter 2
December 18th
Iknow these hoes better come with some good gifts,” Shy said as she watched her assistant wrap the luxury items she had purchased.
“You said the limit was $200 per person, right? That should be enough to get some amazing gifts,” Lola responded.“I exchange Amazon and Starbucks gift cards with my friends for Christmas, so this is out of my league.”
Nashyla smiled at her assistant.“At 25, I was buying Starbucks gift cards, too, girl. People think your 20s are the best years of your life. They’re shitty. You’re just cute and broke. You don’t know yourself, you let people handle you any kind of way. Youain’t got no kind of code, no standards. You share hotel rooms on vacations. Those are your struggle years, low-key.”
“Not you just read my entire life down,” Lola responded, shocked but amused.
“Your30s get better, but I’m pushing 40,babyyyy, and I feel like I’m in my prime. Heels high, pockets high, boundaries higher. So, yeah, anything under $200 won’t cut it for thisFriendsmas. Speaking of, did you clear your calendar? I need you here for set up.”
“I did. I wouldn’t miss it,” Lola said.
“You’re the best.” Shy beamed as she sat in the makeup chair while her team danced around her. She had built a life for herself that people dreamed of.
“Oh, don’t forget to book the videographer. I need to make sure I capture the content. My gifts were sponsored, so I must post the girls’ reactions when they open each one and make a recap video for socials.”
“Do I need to get photo releases from your friends so they can be posted?” Lola asked.
“Umm… they better not fucking ask me for no photo release. All these damn luxury gifts I’m bringing. I’m way over the $200 limit. They better let me get my content in peace,”Shy joked.
Lola nodded and took notes for accuracy.
Shy was so excited. She was an events type of girl. She did everything with excellence. The best caterer had been hired, the itinerary had been set, and the dress code had been established. She even had backup outfits in case somebody came out of alignment. She could not wait to enjoy the next few days with her homegirls. Her life was one big party. This was nothing new to her. Being a self-made brand came with perks and a fast life that almost mimicked celebrity, but she didn’t always get to enjoy those perks with her real friends. She was always on the scene with other influencers and brand girlies. This would be the first time in a long time that she got to turn up with her besties. She was sure she had gotten carried away with the planning, but it was only because she was excited. Shy didn’t know when they would all be together again, so they were about to make up for lost motherfucking time.
Her phone rang as her makeup artist was applying her eye shadow.
