I smile at her as she blends back into the apartment, as if these five months haven’t passed by at all.
“Where is your precious bambino?” Emily sets down two gift bags on the dining table, and I could burst into tears.My first baby gifts.
“She’s asleep upstairs, but she should wake up soon.”
“Well, then here…” Emily extends one bag to me. “This one is for you, mamacita.” I take the gift and remove a few pieces of tissue paper to find a bag of coffee, a “World’s Best Sister” mug, red wine, and… a vibrator.Classic Em.
I huff out a laugh. “Thank you, I love it.”
“I thought, what would a new parent need? Caffeine, praise, a de-stressor, and… I mean, girl if you’re still getting some with a newborn in your room, then props to you, but…” I laugh, kiss Em on the cheek, and put the items away in the kitchen, leaving the vibrator in the gift bag on the coffee table.
“Although… Emily did mention a certain hot roommate. Perhaps the vibrator won’t be necessary?” Lane chimes in as I reenter.
I’d tried not to spend too much of Emily’s last visit talking about Warren, but he—and the potential for more between us—had come up briefly.I turn to raise my eyebrows at her, unable to hide the truth written across my face, even if I wanted to.
“Ooh! Tell. Us. Everything.” Emily pats the seat next to her excitedly.
“Well… Warren and I are togethernow… it’s very new…” Both women squeal, and Lane silently applauds. “We had a tough time adjusting to living together at first, but he is just… we just get each other. He makes me laugh. He annoys me—in the best possible way. He dotes on Willow, and he makes me feel…”Sexy. Edible.“Confident.”
“I love that for you.” Emily rests a hand on her chest as she looks towards me.
“Okay, stop—too much attention! Ah!” I wave them away, laughing. They both wait for me to continue though. “I told him I loved him… after he said it to me the other night.”
“Chloe!” Lane sings out. “That is huge!”
“How is the sex?” Emily asks bluntly.
Lane throws a pillow at Emily as soon as the words leave her mouth. “Em!”
“Oh, as if you don’t want to know if Mr. Perfect holds up in the bedroom…” Emily teases, and Lane tilts her head in silent agreement. They turn to me, and I blush, unable to push my smile away.
“We haven’t quite gotten there yet. We wanted to but… his brother interrupted. Then for a while we decided it wasn’t a good idea, and when we were ready, good old Aunt Flo showed up…”
Lane gawks. “So you have this man who is… hot?” I nod. “Thoughtful?” I nod. “Funny?” I nod but thinkhe wishes.“Makes you feel good about yourself?” I nod. “Sees you?” I nod—big time. “And he is saying I love you before he’s even gotten a taste of your goodies?” I cringe and giggle at her wording, but nod one last time.
Lane and Emily make eye contact with each other, smirk, then, in unison, go to their knees and start bowing.
I tilt my head back, laughing. “Stop!” They both move back to their seats.
“Seriously though… brava.” Emily laughs out.
“I’ll be taking that vibrator home… thank-you-very-much.” Lane laughs alongside us.
I missed this. I missed them.“You know, I don’t even think I asked… Why are you guys back in town?”
“Well, good news…” Emily does a small drumroll on her lap. “We’ve decided to move back!” My mouth falls open. “We had planned to come back and visit the old stomping grounds anyway, but after our brunch—” She gestures between me and her. “We talked about it and decided to come back. We’re renting an apartment two blocks from here…”
Lane finishes, “It may have been the only affordable two-bedroom left in the city. Someone backed out, and we snatched it up. We’re here to sign and measure, then we’ll be moving our shit cross-country again on November first. Mostly Em’s shit, actually—she needs an entire truck just for her clothes.”
“Seriously? That is the best news!” I look between them. There is something unspoken here… “Why’d you decide to move back?”
Lane looks at Emily and nods; Emily pats my knee with her hand.
“What kind of aunties would we be if we didn’t? We both work from home—it doesn’t matter where we live,” she says, and I swallow, feeling the tears brim my eyes before I have even fully processed the sincere tone of Em’s voice and the encouraging look Lane sends from across the room.
My people were with me the whole time. I just had to let them in.
“Wow… I don’t know what to say.” I sniff back the sensation of tears about to flow.
