Best Laid Plans

Sister-in-law

Perrie

I'm a lady who lunches now.

Just kidding. I've taken over Jade's home office as my own and I work from there. But I also lunch, because working for yourself means you set the schedule and besides, sometimes those lunches are working lunches.

Sometimes they're lunches with my new sister-in-law. Like today. Julia knows we eloped because unlike myself, Jade is not a coward. I'm going to tell my family too, I am. Next week after Peyton has her interview in New York. I can't possibly derail her focus right now by dropping a wedding bombshell on her.

That would be rude. We all agree on that, right?

What Julia doesn't yet know is that she's going to be an aunt, something I won't be able to hide for much longer because my stomach has sort of popped. I can still hide the bump by not wearing tight-fitting clothing, but it's there. Naked, it's really obvious. I've never been pregnant before, so I have nothing to gauge this by, but I swear it happened overnight. For what felt like forever my stomach showed no visible signs of this pregnancy, which I suppose is normal when the baby was the size of a blueberry. Now that we're heading into peach-lemon-apple territory it's not staying hidden anymore.

Jade is into it. Like, into it.

When she got home last night, I was examining my bump reflection in the bathroom mirror, which quickly escalated into a repeat of the first time we christened her bathroom. Me, naked and bent over the counter. Her, still dressed from work, pounding into me like we hadn't seen each other in a while. Then we took a shower together and she obsessively ran her hands all over the bump. The breast tenderness has disappeared too, so I think I've officially moved into the second trimester.

I've got a doctor appointment next week with my new OB/GYN in London. So many changes in so little time, but I suppose that's normal. Normal-ish. Life works like that so often. You can live a year of Groundhog Days and then bam, everything transitions at one time.

The doorbell rings, but as I'm running to answer it the lock turns, and Julia pokes her head inside.

"Hiiii," she calls out, still half hidden behind the door.

"What are you doing? Come inside." I reach the door and close it behind her as she steps into the foyer. I'm not sure why she's ringing the doorbell, she lives here when she's not at school.

"I didn't know if it was safe to walk in," she explains. "I don't want to accidentally walk in on the two of you doing it. It's not that I can't afford the therapy, but a therapist is not a magician, and a recovery is not guaranteed, so why chance it?"

"It's the middle of a workday. Jade's at work." I laugh, but she might have a point. We've been newlywed sexing all over the place and I honestly forgot she does live here on a part-time basis until just now.

"Sure," Julia agrees, drawing out the word. "But I don't know what you guys are into. She might have come home for lunch just to eat you instead. Don't know. Don't wanna know." Julia shakes her head, her ponytail cheerfully swinging.

"Fair enough. I guess ringing before you unlock the door doesn't hurt."

"I'll call in advance," Julia says, following me into the kitchen.

Tubbs is lying in a ray of sunshine on one of the sofas across from the kitchen. He lifts his head lazily and yawns at our arrival, then does a dramatic stretch before jumping from the sofa with a loud thump and walking over to wind himself between Julia's legs.

"Did you want to hang out with Tubbs before we go?" I ask, because I'm not sure what the etiquette is when visiting your cat. "I'm kinda hoping you never get your own place and take him with you because we've already become really good buds. He hangs out with me while I work and he's really non-judgmental about naps."