Gray Area (sequel to White Noise)

Ch 5 - Lady Parts

"Absolutely not."

I entered Tori and Calum's house late the next afternoon to find Tori in the kitchen, talking emphatically to someone on the phone.

"No, you can't!" she told the person on the other line. "Besides, I'm not sure Cal would appreciate you being down in that area."

She gave me a wave as I came into the room and took a seat at the bar, grabbing a couple of cookies from the plate nearby. Calum hadn't let me down. I shot Tori a questioning glance, and she mouthed back 'Ashton' with a roll of her eyes.

"Ash, sweetheart, I'm pretty sure you'd have to actually look at what you were doing... Uh huh... Well, nonetheless, I think I'd feel more comfortable if an actual doctor was there... Yeah, sure. I'll mention it to Calum... Yes, Ashton, I promise. I gotta go now, okay? Alexis just got here... Okay, I will. Love you, too." She hung up the phone and put her head in her hands for a minute before addressing me with a sigh. "Hey."

"Hey," I laughed. "What was all that about?"

She took a seat on the bar stool beside me before answering. "Apparently, Ashton's been watching a bunch of shows about child birth, and now he's convinced he's an expert. He's trying to convince me to have a home birth and let him deliver."

I let out a snort, nearly choking on the cookie. "Ha! Are you serious? Calum would love that."

"Yeah, that's what I tried to tell him. He says he can just close his eyes and catch the baby when he or she comes out. That way, he won't have to see any of my 'lady parts.'" She rolled her eyes again before changing the subject. "Anyway, enough about me. How was work?"

"Eh. What's there to say, really? I clocked in, I worked, I clocked out, and here I am. Let's just say that this is the highlight of my day, and leave it at that."

I don't know what had gotten into me lately, but work had started to become more of a chore than an enjoyment to me. I guess part of me was jealous that Tori didn't have to go through all that anymore, but I would never admit that to her. She had been fortunate enough to fall in love with a man who was financially stable enough to support her. That wasn't her fault. There's no need for me to rub it in her face.

"Aww, Lex," she sighed, taking my hand in hers. "Maybe you should take some time off. I know you have a ton of vacation time built up."

"True," I agreed. "But I'm saving that for the Hood wedding extravaganza."

At the mention of her wedding, her face immediately lit up. "Speaking of the wedding, I've made a couple of decisions."

"Shut up! Like what?"

"Well, the location, for starters. I've decided that I want to get married in Sydney."

I wasn't surprised by this. Tori and Calum had a very small, trusted group of friends and family in their lives, and it just so happened that most of those people were in Sydney. Actually, besides each other, neither of us really had anyone else in Chicago. My brother lived out of town, and I hadn't spoken to my dad and stepmom in years. Tori's relationship with her parents had been rocky her whole life. They were nice people, really, but they had always been the type to try to buy their daughter's love rather than earn it.

"That makes sense," I told her. "Any specific spot?"

"Nah, I haven't decided that part yet. I called Joy last night and let her know my plans, so she's supposed to be scouting out some spots for us."

"That's nice of her," I commented. "So, now that the location's out of the way... What about a date?"

Tori grinned at me again. "I think we've decided on that, too. I hope you're free on November 18th."

"Well, shit. I've totally got plans that day!" That earned me a punch in the shoulder. "Ouch! I'm kidding, you jerk. November 18th sounds like the perfect day for a wedding."

"Doesn't it?" She was smiling like a fool now. "It's crazy. Now that we've set a date, it seems more real somehow."

"Won't be long until you're Mrs. Hood."

"Wow. That's so damn weird."

We continued our wedding talk for quite some time. According to Tori, the plan was for the whole crew to fly to Australia about 4 weeks before the wedding. That would give everyone enough time to finish up some last-minute planning. Not to mention the fact that it would give me time to throw her the most epic bachelorette party ever. I got excited just thinking about it. Before long, our excited chatter was interrupted by the arrival of Calum and Michael.

"No, dude," I heard Calum mumble as they walked in the front door. "We're not talking about this ever again."

"But..."

"Michael! Enough!"

They rounded the corner into the kitchen then, Calum, of course, headed straight to Tori, giving her a soft kiss and rubbing her belly. "Hey, babe."

"Hi," she smiled back up at him. "How was the movie?"

"Oh, um... It was, uh..."

"Informative," Michael interrupted. "Very informative. Eye opening, even."

"Okay..." We both looked at them like they had two heads. They were up to something. That much was obvious.

Calum raced to change the subject. "I'm gonna go change clothes, and then we can all head out to grab something to eat. How does that sound?"

"Sounds great, babe." He gave her another kiss before leaving the room, Michael following wordlessly behind. I couldn't be sure, but he seemed more pale than usual. Kinda like he'd seen a ghost. As soon as they had rounded the corner, she turned to me with a confused look. "What the hell was that all about?"

I just shrugged and grabbed another cookie. "With those two, there's really no telling. And honestly, we're probably better off not knowing."

"True," she agreed, taking a cookie for herself. "Very, very true. Damn, we have some weird friends."

"Amen to that, sister." Then, after a pause, I added, "But I wouldn't trade them for the world."