“Has the heat turned you into a raisin yet?”
"You'll be happy to know that I survived," I said, smiling into my phone. "And got a free tan out of it."
Scottsdale temperatures were no joke, but at least it was a dry heat. Nothing compared to the sweltering humidity of the South. But after a month in Arizona, I was actually looking forward to the doom and gloom of the Pacific Northwest.
I kicked off my shoes and settled back against the mountain of pillows. I was going to miss having such a big bed to sprawl across. The double bed in my trailer was nothing compared to this. I was seriously going to have to start looking into a more permanent rental when we got back to Oregon the day after tomorrow.
“How’s my niece or nephew cooking?"
Viv sighed, exasperated.
“Wow, that good?”
Viv was closing in on her thirty-sixth week of pregnancy, and she looked utterly exhausted. A sheen of sweat covered her face, her hair looked like it hadn't been washed in days, and I was pretty sure she was using her belly to prop up her phone. I made a mental note to search for prenatal massages in her area first thing tomorrow.
“I swear to Sarah MacLachlan.” She pulled the phone close enough for me to count her freckles. “I’mthisclose to buying a trampoline and jumping ‘til I shake this meatloaf out of me.”
I rolled to my side, giggling. That was something I’d been doing a lot more often lately—laughing. Not soft, polite laughter either. I was talking deep, aching belly laughs. I laughed with the guys over drinks by the pool. I laughed with Dani when we decked out the team bus with pastels for Easter. More often than not, I laughed with Soren.
In bed late at night, on the bus in the morning. After sex. Sometimes, during sex.
He'd shown me so much this month, given me so much. Beyond sex, although that was still top-notch. I'd already changed my ringtone to Lawrence's "Don't Lose Sight" after this weekend's concert. For as long as I lived, I would never forget that night.
My stomach lurched when I remembered that tonight was supposed to be our final night together. Tomorrow morning, we boarded the bus back to Rose City.
“And are you being a good patient and letting Ellie take care of you?”
“What do you think?” she said, rolling her eyes. “When are you coming to visit? I miss you.”
“We’re in Atlanta next month. Maybe I could drive up to see y’all.”
“Forget that.” She held the phone away from her face as she shouted into the other room. “Babe, we’re going to see my sister at a baseball game next month.”
“But honey . . .” My sister-in-law trailed off, her protest falling on deaf ears. It was no use. When Viv made her mind up about something, that was that. Typical Aries behavior.
“No buts. We’re going.”
“I’ll grab us tickets,” I told her. "I can't wait to see both of you. Well, all three of you, I guess!"
On the one hand, I was excited by the prospect of seeing Viv and Ellie in person. It had been far too long—well before Viv's second trimester—and that was my fault. On the other hand, I was a bit nervous about venturing so close to home. Atlanta might not be Charleston, but I still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety.
“By the way,” she said. Her tone of voice ratcheted my anxiety up another level. “I heard from Mama today.” And another.
“Do I want to know what she said?”
“Oh, you know, the usual.” She rubbed her belly. “She asked about me and Ellie, the baby. And you.”
My eyes welled with moisture. When I first told my parents about calling off the engagement, I'd expected some kind of reaction. Tears, yelling, bargaining maybe—Daddy had never been able to resist a deal. Instead, I had been met with indifference and disappointment. Silence.
I hadn't heard a peep from either of my parents in over two months. No phone calls, no text messages. Nothing.
“Funny," I said around a sniffle. "Because she hasn't called me. Not once.”
Her eyes filled with pity. "Clarke—"
"It's okay." I looked up, trying—and failing—to will the tears away. "I don't know why I was expecting something different."
"Probably because they've spent the better part of your life controlling your every move."
