A New Chapter

Chapter 25

I let out a loud cackle, throwing my head back at the horrified expression Sophie is currently sporting.

"That is disgusting!" She shrieks as I dip another french fry into my vanilla milkshake. I make sure to dramatically sigh in content as I swallow, making Soph fake gag.

"That has to be illegal." She mutters, biting into a chicken nugget.

"Says the one who has pineapple on a pizza!" I playfully shoot back.

She lets out an exaggerated gasp; "How dare you!" She squeals.

"Pineapple on pizza is a blessing." She mumbles, angrily sipping from her straw.

"Mmhm." I murmur with a playful grin.

"Don't 'mmhm' me! It's my duty to enjoy Hawaiian pizza, I'm half Hawaiian." She states with a proud smile, referring to her mother.

"You do know that Hawaiian pizza was invented it Canada right?" I try to hide my smile as she frantically googles it on her phone.

"My whole life has been a lie." She whispers dramatically.

We make eye contact and immediately burst into infectious giggles, like we used to when we were little and hiding away eating junk food in her bedroom.

"I'm so glad we're doing this." She brightly smiles looking around the retro diner in the mall.

"Me too." I smile back.

"I can't believe Christmas is a month from today." She blissfully smiles.

"Yeah, me either. Amelia has already started writing a list." I mumble before letting out a loud yawn, earning a glance from a nearby table.

"Tired?" She questions, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"What are you insinuating Ms Reed?" I snap with fake annoyance.

"I'm just saying, you and Ethan are getting close..." She trails off and widely grins.

"I told him I love him." I blurt out and giddily smile at the thought.

"Oh. My. God." She squeals, getting some glares from other restaurant goers.

"Keep it down." I whisper shout but smile at the sight of her huge smile.

"I'm so happy for you!" She shrieks grabbing onto my hand across the table and squeezing it.

"I'm-I'm really happy." I murmur, my lips breaking out into a toothy grin.

"Enough about me!" I wiggle my eyebrows in her direction, making her face heat up. "What about you and Jake?" I question, taking note of her rosy cheeks.

"What about me and Jake." She brushes off, not meeting my eye.

"Oh come on, don't play dumb. How do you feel about him?" I coax her on with my 'mommy smile' that I use when Amelia won't tell me something.

"He told me he loved me. Oh it was so romantic! We went for dinner and then a walk through the town and when he dropped me home, it was like a romance novel! He leaned in and kissed me, then told me he loved me." She rambles, frantically trying to tell me every detail.

I let out a loud 'awww' earning yet another annoyed glare from the table beside ours.

"I'm so happy for you Soph. You deserve everything in the world." I squeeze her hand and give her a soft smile, tears filling both of our eyes.

"Oh god. I'm such a hormonal mess." She mumbles, searching her bag for a tissue.

"Try being pregnant." I mumble, remembering the sobbing and endless tubs of ice cream.

"I'm really proud of you." She randomly comments and I tilt my head, silently asking why.

"You didn't put Amelia up for adoption, even under the circumstances. You're a great mom." She gives me a tearful smile.

"I couldn't have done any of it without my mom and you. And of course your parents, their money is a serious help, I'm so grateful for it."

"Of course, it's the least they could do. They're glad they can be in Amelia's life." She smiles before calling the waiter over to pay.

~~

A tired sigh escapes my lips as I flop onto my couch after a long day of shopping and gossiping with Sophie. It was nice to spend some time with her, like old times.

A knock at the front door has me huffing in annoyance as I rise from my previously comfortable position.

I swing open the door to come face to face with Natalie; Ethan's mom.

"Is something wrong?" I immediately question, before so much as a greeting.

"No, nothing's wrong." She quickly gets in, waving off my worry.

"Sorry, please come in." I give her a bright smile, opening the door further.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you like this Ashley, but I was wondering if you wanted to go for some coffee and we could talk." She adjusts her coat and gives me a friendly smile.

"Of course, I'd love that. I'll grab a coat." I smile back and throw on a coat and scarf.

We hop into my car and drive to a quaint cafe at the other side of town, we take a seat at a small table beside the window and order two coffees to warm us up from the cold weather.

"So, how have you been Natalie?" I ask, taking a sip from crisp white cup, steam warming up my face.

"I'm doing great, I've been wanting to have you over for dinner ever since last time, but Ethan always comes up with an excuse." She lets out a chuckle and I follow suit.

"I actually did want to talk to you about Ethan." I let out a small cough and sit up straighter, making eye contact.

"I really care about your son. He's an incredible man, and well...I'm in love with him." I scrunch up my face in fear of her response.

"I know." She states, a grin gracing her lips.

"Wait. You do?"

She laughs before reaching out and squeezing my hand; "The way you two look at each other, it's the same way I used to look at my husband." Her eyes glaze over as if she's entered a world of memories.

"Ethan told me that he passed." I comment with a sympathetic expression.

"There was an accident. Back in England, he was coming home from work and a..a drunk driver hit him. He died at the scene." She clears her throat before taking a drink from her cup.

"I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine..." I trail off.

"There's no point in dwelling in the past." She directs the conversation back to Ethan and I; "I can see how much you both care about each other, and I want to tell you that I'm really happy. Ethan seems so content with himself and I want you to know that I already see you as part of our family."

Tears fill my eyes and I give her a cheesy smile. "Thank you so much Natalie, you don't know how much this means to me. I truly love your son."

"I'm glad that he found someone as kindhearted as you." She gives me a heartwarming smile and I give her a teary one in return.

I return home, leaving behind one Spencer to sleep beside another.