Pouring the tea into two cups, I
handed one cup to Brad and saved the other for myself. “Thanks, hon.” my
husband said, planting a kiss on my cheek. His beard grazed over my skin, and I
smiled.
Suddenly, I heard crying. “Oh,
Jules!” I exclaimed, rushing over to the living room. My two month old daughter
was on the couch, in her cute unicorn onesie, wailing. She wanted a diaper
change. I could tell already. If she filled her diaper, it would cause a stink
bomb to explode, and right now, I could definitely smell it from where I was
hovering over Julia.
While I was changing her, up in the
bathroom, I started thinking. How was I going to take care of Julia alone? Brad
is going for his business trip later today and it’s for a week. I have no idea
what I’ll do for that amount of time. Julia let out a soft snore, and I smiled,
kissing her pale stomach. She opened her green eyes, and they closed again, the
light hurting her delicate eyes.
“My angel,” I whispered, picking her
up again and taking her back into the living room.
“I’ll be leaving, now, hon.” Brad
called out. I frowned slightly to myself and dashed back into the kitchen. I
jumped onto him, hugging him tightly.
“I’ll miss you, Brad.” I mumbled
into his chest.
“I’ll miss you too, Anthea.” He
said, kissing me on my head.
Looking up, I gazed into his bright
green eyes. “Julia’s got your eyes.” I said randomly.
My husband chuckled, kissed me, and
strode out of the kitchen, me running after him. I couldn’t drive, but
honestly, if I could, I would definitely have dropped him off to the airport.
Standing in the doorway, I watched as he hopped into the car, drove out of the
driveway, and left.
Heart feeling heavy, I went to go
look at Julia. She was squirming, and so I picked her up.
Ring ring ring! My phone was ringing. Sitting on the couch, I glanced at my
phone on the coffee table and picked it up. It was Brittney. We have a long
history. And not the best one either. Answering the phone, I laid my daughter
on the couch. "Hey Brit."
"Ann!" she squealed.
"How are you?" I asked
casually, grinning.
"Way too hyped!" she
giggled.
Cocking my eyebrow and tilting my
head to the side, and I asked her what had happened, and she squealed even
louder. I might as well have gone deaf. "I'm going to have another
baby!"
My eyes widened. “I’m coming
over right now!”
Hanging up, I whisked Julia out of
the living room and put her down in her stroller that always sat beside the
door. I got my wallet, my purse, and a couple extra clothes for Julia – because
you never know. Your child could do anything.
Humming a random tune, I called out
for Maryssa, the nanny, and told her we’d be going out for a bit. I ordered the
driver to get ready as soon as possible. In no time at all, we were driving to
the other side of town, to my husband’s ex-wife, also my friend, and also my
ex-enemy.
You see, me and Brad were in love
when we first saw each other. His parents were not pleased with me, but
instead, they were pleased with my best friend, Brittney. They forced Brad to marry Brit. They had twins, two lovely
little girls named Raven and Grace. Angels, they are. Then, Brad divorced her
because according to him, Brit always pressured him with money. I don’t see how
that’s possible because we live in a mansion in London, and I don’t
think there’s anything to pressure that lovely man with.
“We’re here, madam.” Nate said,
smiling through the rearview mirror.
I nodded, told him when to come
back, and got out of the car, with Julia in her stroller once again (with the
help of Nate).
As soon as I rapped on the beautifully
carved door of the two story house, I could hear whining at the opposite end. I
grinned, and the door opened to a tired looking Brit.
“C’mon in.” she sighed.
“How’re you doing?” I said,
carefully stepping in, and dodging a soccer ball that was being thrown by
Carter.
“Oh, the usual.” she started, shutting
the door behind me. “The twins are playing games upstairs. Blaize is at work.
And Carter…” she gestured vaguely at him, kicking the ball at the wall in the
hallway. He had a nice powerful kick. I could see him becoming a great soccer
player sometime in the future.
I parked the stroller in the entrance
hallway and followed Brit into the kitchen that was attached to the dining room.
I took a seat at the plush green dining chair, with Brit just opposite of me.
We had some small talk, we read the newspaper a bit, and laughed over politics –
just like old times – and we had some pizza with the little kids.
“You look terrible, Brit.” I said
randomly, when I looked up from my pizza. “What happened?”
“Oh, for God’s sake, you know what.”
she said hurriedly, ushering the Raven, Grace and Carter out of the dining room
so they won’t eavesdrop.
“Stop feeling guilty about it! It’s
the past, and we’re still best friends, so it’s okay.” I leaned over the table
to squeeze her hands, and flashed a reassuring smile at her. Brit forced a
smiled, and offered some lemonade.
“No no, you rest.” I said sternly. “Eat
some food. You look so weak! And remember, no wine or anything of that sort.” I
glowered playfully. Brit laughed, pulling away her hands. “I should go now. And
you can call me whenever, right? Anything happens, ring me a bell.”
“Thank you.” my friend smiled.
“Of course.” I said, getting up and walking
into the entrance hall to check with how Julia was doing. Carter was tickling her,
and she didn’t do anything. Didn’t even open her eyes. Brit and I laughed, and
Carter pouted at us, running into the living room. “Take care of yourself.” I
said before backing out of the house with Julia in her stroller.
Nate was on time as usual. I smiled
at him gratefully when he opened the door for me. I picked up Julia and at in
the car. He folded the stroller and packed it away in the trunk.
“How was everything?” Nate asked, as
he got inside and started the engine.
“It was good. Carter was wild as
usual, and the twins were quiet like always.” I explained, cradling Julia, who
was starting to squirm. I fiddled with her clothes and in a little while, the
car stopped abruptly.
“Nate?” I squeaked suddenly.
“Madam…” he trailed off.
I looked up at my house.
And all I saw was fire.
Word count: 1152
Points: 3397
Reviews: 66
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