THE AFTER

FOURTEEN

HA HA HA
I can't even say it with a straight face!

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December 3rd, 2020 - Chelsea, New York City

Maeve M.
1:37am

Hey Taylor!
Sorry for the delay. I've been at the hospital
with one of my patients.
But I'll let you know what he says!
Sooo excited! See you soon!  🥳

——————

December 5th, 2020 - New York City, New York

"When was the last time we did something like this?"

"Before she was born?" Dorothea joked, holding the door open to the brunch spot to let Taylor walk in.

"No way. It had to be over the summer..." Taylor said, glancing down at Ivy on her hip. She adjusted the cream-colored teddy coat on the little one's shoulders and said, "Luna's Café? In Nashville?"

"Nope. Still pregnant," Dorothea chuckled, shaking her head.

"When we went to Luna's?" Taylor disagreed, "Uh-uh, that was definitely after Ivy was born."

Dorothea shook her head again. "I know for a fact I was still pregnant. It was when we went to your mom's for Easter, and that was when we found out my mother apparently made a secret new bestie on the Internet, which was mind-blowing considering up until then she would comment, 'like!' on people's posts instead of using the buttons—"

"That's right. And you almost ate that entire stack of banana pancakes," Taylor remembered, chuckling, "and I was so convinced you were going to vomit on me on the way back to my mom's."

"You mean blueberry?" Dorothea smirked, tapping the singer with her elbow. "Who's the one with the bad memory now, hm?"

Taylor glanced her sideways, a single eyebrow arched. She then smiled as she approached the host and said, "Hi, we have a reservation?"

"Last name?" The tattooed, septum-pierced woman chirped.

"It should be under Madison," Taylor replied, lightly bouncing Ivy on her hip as she began to fuss.

"All right, let's see..." The woman hummed as she typed something into the computer in front of her. Her gray eyes traveled up the screen, then down. She clicked something. Eyes going up. Eyes going back down. Another click. Then she sighed, "I'm sorry, ladies, if you could just give me a minute..."

"Well, I believe it should be under Madison," Taylor said, gazing at the woman beside her.

"Because it is!" Dorothea exclaimed defensively, scoffing as the singer glanced away from her, "Come on, I swear I called—"

"I'm sure you did!" The woman, whose eyes were still fixed on the computer, chimed in happily, "Just give me one second..."

Dorothea muttered something, crossing her arms as she kicked idly at the wood flooring. After another minute or two, the hostess suddenly clapped her hands together. "Ah yes! Here we are. Madison, party of three at ten o' clock, yes?" she asked, head bobbing with a nod, "Great! Apologies about the delay, we just got this new system and we're doing our best to figure it out. Of course, it doesn't help that the one day of training happened on my day off, either...But anyway!" she sighed, plucking a couple of menus off of the shelf, "If you'll follow me...Does the little one need a high-chair?"

"I think we'll see how she does with a chair for now," Dorothea replied politely, glancing up at the back of Taylor's head as she followed her.

"We actually have you in a booth, if that's okay?"