Between the Sheets (13 page)

“
What’s wrong? I thought
you’d be a little more excited about this. You’re having a baby.
Tyler’s baby. How can you not be thrilled? I am.”

Great. I’ve disappointed my mom. As if
Tyler isn’t going to be disappointed enough. And how about my dad?
He’s going to kill Ty when he finds out he doesn’t want kids. This
is a big fucking mess.

“
Mom, it’s complicated. Ty
lives in San Francisco and I don’t. He wants to stay there. I want
to stay here. And if that isn’t enough to make things crazy. He
doesn’t even want kids. How can I be jumping for joy when I have a
baby growing inside me who won’t have a father?”

“
Snap out of it,” she
shouts. “You don’t know that.”

My eyes focus on hers. “Yes, I do.
Shel told us she and Matt are going to start trying, and Ty
specifically said he doesn’t want kids right now. He’ll be happy to
be an uncle because he can give the kid back.” I thought it was
funny at the time, but now it breaks my heart.

“
Oh, that’s all he said.
Every man I know has said that until they have their own kids, then
they become proud fathers. Just like Tyler will.”

Tears sting my eyes. Every ounce of me
wants to believe her, but I’m not so sure. Who knows how he’ll
react. He’s been on his own for so long. He’s more than proved he
doesn’t need me, or his family.

“
Hey. It’s going to be
okay. Don’t cry. This baby is a blessing. They all are. You’ll
see.” She reaches in her pocket and hands over my phone. “Now, call
your doctor. It’s still early enough the office will be open. And
then I suggest you make plans for another road trip. You need to
tell him. I’m guessing you’re about twelve to fourteen weeks along
which means you won’t be able to hide it much longer.”

Shelly

“
How’s my big brother
holding up without my best friend?” I toss my feet up on the giant
square ottoman in my living room and fall back into my soft cushy
sofa.

There’s a low groan coming from the
other end of the phone. “Truthfully, I’m barely functioning. It’s
ridiculous how such a little person can make such a dramatic impact
on your life.”

I can’t help smiling. My brother’s in
love. “You’re just barely figuring that out now?”

Another groan comes through the line.
“I’ve known that since the day you brought her home with you in
elementary school. Only now she has a different kind of effect on
me.”

“
I bet.”

“
Shut up.”

“
What? I didn’t say
anything.” I chuckle.

“
Mmm hmm.”

“
So what are you going to
do about it?” Someone has to give him a nudge. Mel sure as hell
isn’t going to. And he’s a man for crying out loud. Not all men are
like my Matty. In fact, I think he’s one of a kind. My brother’s
the type of guy that needs to be led to the water and then told to
drink or else he’d just sit there and stare at it.

“
I don’t know yet.” A
silence fills the space between us and I don’t dare say anything.
Maybe he’ll figure it out on his own. Maybe. I’m crossing my
fingers. “I’ve been toying with the idea of coming home.” Sweet
baby Jesus, thank you.

“
Really,” is all I say,
very matter-of-factly. I want this to be all his idea. I’m
Switzerland here, trying my hardest not to demand he get his ass
home and make an honest woman out of my friend. Actually, he
doesn’t have to marry her. Not unless they want to. I just want him
to be here for her. And I want them to be happy. Not miles away
from each other and miserable every minute they’re apart. I spoke
to Mel earlier and she sounded like shit. She’ll be here any minute
and I’m sure she’s going to look the same.

“
Yeah. It doesn’t make
sense for Mel to move up here. Her family’s down there, and so are
you. I just can’t imagine leaving my students or my
school.”

“
I get it. I know I’d feel
the same way about leaving my kiddos.” My hand reaches for my belly
without even thinking about it. “So you’re thinking this thing with
you and Mel might be a little permanent?” I hope that’s not too
much to ask.

“
More than a little. I
already let her go once. I’m not gonna do it again.”

My fist shoots through the air with a
silent cry of “yes”!

“
Sounds like a good plan,”
I tell him, trying my damnedest to not scream and yell into the
phone and run circles around my house. “Mel’s probably
thrilled.”

“
Hey,” he shouts into the
phone. “Uh,” he lowers his voice. “Don’t say anything. I haven’t
mentioned the move to her. I don’t want to get her hopes up just
yet. I have to find a job and a place to live. I’m not going
anywhere near Nick’s fucking house, that’s for sure. Anyway, I’ll
tell her when I have it all figured out. She loves surprises. The
smile on her face will be worth keeping her in the dark for a few.
At least, I hope so. Who knows? I may be a bit over ambitious. She
could laugh in my face and tell me she doesn’t want a real
commitment. Come to think of it. That’s a definite possibility. She
just got divorced.”

There’s a knock at my door before it
swings open bringing in a late afternoon breeze.

“
Shel,” Mel calls out. “I’m
here.”

“
In here,” I shout
back.

“
Who’s that?” Ty
asks.

“
It’s Mel.”

“
Don’t say
anything.”

“
I won’t.” Unfortunately, I
don’t get a chance to tell him he’s a total whack job if he thinks
Mel’s not entirely in this too. He can’t possibly be seriously
thinking she’d be anything less than ecstatic to have him home and
living with her.

Mel drags through the entry way and
flops herself on the sofa next to me. Instantly, I cue in to her
sadness. She looks worse than I thought. Her eyes are swollen and
she looks deathly tired. “What’s wrong?” I sit up to ask
her.

“
Who’s that?” she whispers,
pointing to the phone.

“
My brother.”

“
What do you mean, what’s
wrong?” Ty shouts in my ear. “Is everything okay? What’s wrong with
Melissa?” His use of her full name is not lost on me. And if he
could see her, he’d know he was right on the money in using
it.

“
Shh.” Mel puts her index
finger up to her lips. “Don’t say anything.”

Oh, fuck. Between these two and their
secrets, I might just combust. Since when am I a vault?

“
Hey, Ty. Mel just got
here. And since you hogged her for two weeks, it’s my turn. I’ll
talk to you later.”

Before I can hang up, he says, “Tell
her I miss her.” Oh, gag me.

I tell her anyway.

“
Tell him I miss him too
and I’m gonna pack my puppies and be on my way back
tomorrow.”

Ty chuckles. “I heard her. Tell her
I’ll be waiting.”

“
Alright, alright. You can
talk about the details on your own time. Bye, big
brother.”

And before he can say another thing, I
tap the “end” button on my cordless phone and turn to my friend.
“What’s wrong?”

“
Nothing,” she says, her
voice rising to a squeal. “Why? How are you? I feel like it’s been
years.”

“
Don’t you nothing me,
Melissa. Your eyes are bloodshot and puffy. Looks like you’ve been
crying your eyes out or you had an allergic reaction to something
like the Fresh Prince in Hitch.” I stare her down, raising my right
brow to show her this is serious business.

She actually clicks her
tongue at me with a bitch snap of her neck. “And
you
don’t give me that
look.”

I give a click and a snap right back.
“Then spill.”

“
Fine. I just left my mom’s
house.” I practice my silent routine again. Twice in one day is
killing me. When has anyone known
me
to keep my mouth shut? Yeah,
that’s right. Never. “Okay, so right now, I’m talking to my best
friend, right?” I nod. “We had a little heart to heart about this
guy I’m seeing. And how it’s a little complicated being that it’s a
long distance thing. I got a little emotional as you can see.” She
gestures to her face with her two index fingers.

“
Melly, it hasn’t even been
a week since you left him.” I know my brother is a good looking guy
but really? Is it all that serious? Who am I to talk? I’d be
looking just as pathetic as her if I was in the same
situation.

“
I know. It’s crazy huh. I
just miss him. You were right when you said we should be careful. I
thought I could handle the casual thing but I guess I can’t.” With
her dainty elbow perched on the back of a sofa cushion, she rests
her head in her hand with a loud breathy sigh. “There are just so
many ‘what ifs’ happening and it’s kind of killing me. I’m not one
to be patient. After Nick left, I never thought I’d be so needy. We
were married for years and I never felt the kind of desperation to
see him that I feel right now for Ty. He was never home and I never
missed him. But with Tyler, it sucks ass waking up every morning
without him.”

Oh goodness. She’s in this one deep.
So is he. And it sounds like neither one of them is talking. Dumb.
How the hell do you have a relationship—long distance or
otherwise—without communicating. “Have you told him how you
feel?”

She shakes her head. Her eyes turn
glassy again and a tear threatens to spill over her eyelids smeared
with black eyeliner. “What am I supposed to say? Hey, Ty. The sex
is great and all, but now I’m thinking I’d like a little more of a
commitment. The guy’s a free spirit. He’s been on his own his whole
life. And now, me, Miss Divorcee is going to try and tie him
down.”

“
I doubt he’d think of it
like that,” is all I say. I’m really itching to scream, he’s moving
home so don’t worry or shed one more tear. But, I can’t. Shit. What
have I gotten myself into?

“
I’m pathetic, huh.” Her
bottom lip plumps out and she bats her long lashes at me, looking
like a sad little Betty Boop with her big brown eyes all
misty.

“
Nah.” I reach out and pat
her hand. “You’re just a woman in love.” I wince as the words come
out but it’s too late to take them back. Ty would beat me with a
stick if he thought I coaxed her into saying it, or feeling it. Not
that she needs any coaxing.

A smile stretches across Mel’s face,
and I’m happy to finally see it. “I am,” she says with a content
sigh. Her eyes have gone from weepy to plain dreamy. If it wasn’t
my big brother that put that look in her eye, I might get all
googlie-eyed with her.

“
Hey, how about you go
visit him again? He can’t come home for a while. You may as well go
up there. I’ll even take care of the little fur balls for
you.”

She holds up a finger to scold me,
“Hey, don’t you call my babies fur balls.” She’s always defending
those tiny rat-looking dogs. If I was looking to get a dog, a
Chihuahua would not be at the top of my list. A lab or even a
cocker spaniel would be much better.

“
Fine,” I hold up my hands
in surrender, “they’re not fur balls. But I’ll watch them
anyway.”

“
Actually, my mom is going
on a camping trip and she invited them to come along.” She says
this with a completely straight face even though it sounds
ridiculous.

“
Oh, really. She invited
them. And what did the Mer Der pair say? Do they want to go?” I
can’t help but mock her. This is why a throw pillow comes flying at
my face. “Sorry, you make it sound like she’s taking the grandkids
on vacation.”

This makes my friend laugh. And laugh.
A little too much laughing. I’m funny but it wasn’t that good of a
joke. So I toss a pillow at her.

“
Woo,” she lets out a
whoosh of air. “That was funny.” She slaps her knee. “So where’s
Matt?”

Her face is red but she’s finally
stopped with her goofy chuckle. “He went to play basketball with
some of his friends. The thought of listening to girl talk sent him
running for some testosterone backup.”

“
It’s not like he’s never
listened before and kept our glasses refilled.” She smiles. “Wow,
can you believe it? I’ve been here for quite a while and we haven’t
had a drink yet. We’re losing our touch.”

“
About that,” here it goes,
“I’m gonna be on the wagon for another eight or so
months.”

A giant O forms on her mouth, and her
eyes shoot wide open in surprise. “Shelly Fuller, my best friend
since I was just a little girl. My only sister from another mister.
Are you trying to tell me something?”

Now, it’s my turn to turn on the
waterworks. All I can do is nod.

In seconds, she has flung herself
across the sofa and is squeezing me to death. I can hear her sobs
and the shaking of her body in my arms.

“
Oh, Shel,” she blubbers.
“I’m so, so happy for you.” She backs away and gazes down at my
belly, before looking up at me. “Congratulations, mama.” And then
she hugs me again. “Details,” she says, as she scoots herself
toward her original seat. “I want all the details.”