Chapter 26 - Two Months

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Pete stood up with Paul, turning to the door. He smiled as Charlotte walked in. She had no make up and was wearing yoga pants and a worn out NASA sweatshirt, her hair tied up in a messy knot on top of her head. Pete had grown accustomed to this look when they stayed together over her April vacation. He almost laughed as he picture her running around the apartment looking for a pen that she had already stuck in her hair. Charlotte was smiling, but he could see the anxiety in the wrinkles on her forehead as she looked at her friend's fiancé. She put her bag down on the floor and hung her dress up on a hook near the door, then turned back to look at the two men.

"I thought you weren't supposed to get here until tonight for the bachelor and bachelorette thing in Burlington. You and your groomsmen were supposed to go golfing today."

Paul nodded. "I know, that was the original plan."

"But instead you decided to have lunch with my boyfriend in my room?" she asked. Charlotte had her arms crossed in front of her chest, one hip jutted out to the side. She was trying to joke but Pete feel the stress rolling off of her in waves.

"I decided to get here early and I just so happened to run into Pete."

Charlotte looked at Pete and raised her eyebrows. He shrugged, and said, "I was trying to do a romantic surprise for you but then I found Paul waiting outside of your door. We've kind of just been hanging out and shooting the shit since then.

She nodded. "Okay. Does Jeanie know that you guys are here?"

"I'm the one who asked him to skip golfing." Pete looked at the doorway and saw, standing behind Charlotte, a curly-haired brunette. She was petite, with a large sweatshirt draped over her small frame, and she was a least a couple of inches shorter than Charlotte. She walked up to Pete with her hand out. "I'm Jeanie," she said, shaking his hand.

"Pete," he said. He saw her face change from a smile to a grimace. She looked at Paul. "Did you guys get room service?" she asked.

"Like an hour ago," Paul said, gesturing to the garlic sauce-soaked pasta in the trash.

"I'll put it outside," Pete said, closing the bag and walking it to the outside of the room. He heard Jeanie say "Thank you!" behind him. As he re-entered the room, he saw Charlotte watching him. He smiled and closed the door before he walked to her, hugging her into his body and kissing the top of her head. She put her chin on his chest and looked up into Pete's eyes. "Missed you," he said.

"I missed you, too," she said, pulling him by the chin and kissing his cheek. He felt her warm breath on his ear as she whispered, "What the fuck is going on?"

"I think you'll want to hear it from them" he said, then pulled away.

Charlotte was visibly annoyed when she looked from Pete to the couple. "All right, why don't we sit down?"

The four sat, Paul and Jeanie in chairs across from Pete and Charlotte on the couch. Charlotte looked back at Paul, and Pete did the same, though he already knew what the conversation was about. He felt Charlotte sitting straight up, rigid. He took her hand, which was clammy.

Charlotte leaned her body slightly towards Pete as she asked, "So what's up? Is everything okay with you guys?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Jeanie said. She paused, a single tear running down her cheek, and then smiled and added, "I'm pregnant but we're fine."

Pete felt Charlotte slump. "I'm sorry, what?"

Jeanie wiped the tear. "We found out yesterday at the doctor. He said I'm about two months in."

"Two months pregnant?" Pete looked at Charlotte. Her eyebrows were stitched together, and then her face relaxed and she laughed. "You're fucking with me. Long way to go for a prank but you got me."

"Charlie, I'm not kidding. Remember how I said I was so exhausted and I thought it was just wedding stress? Well, it wasn't. I'm having a baby."

Pete watched Charlotte's face as she looked at her friend, first her face and then her well-hidden stomach. Jeanie was watching her, too, her mouth set in a line. Charlotte covered her mouth and let out a small sob. "Oh my God, I am so excited for you!" she went to her friend, and they both cried together as they awkwardly hugged while Jeanie was still sitting down.

Charlotte pulled away from her friend and looked at Paul. "Oh, get over here," she said, bending to hug Paul as well. He put one arm around her and patted her back. Pete wondered if he had ever touched her at all besides a handshake when they first met. Charlotte wasn't very touchy-feely and Paul seemed thrown at the physical contact.

She stood up and wiped her eyes and nose on her sleeve, making her way back to her seat with Pete. "So who else knows?" she asked.

Paul shrugged. "No one," he said.

Pete looked at the pair in front of him. "No one else?"

Jeanie wiped her eyes. "My family is really conservative. I thought my dad was going to have an aneurism when we told them we were moving in together last month, never mind hearing this. I didn't want to tell them before the wedding. Plus, we haven't hit the three month mark and I don't want anyone knowing that we are and then something happening."

Charlotte sniffled very loudly, sucking in air through her nose as she tried to stop crying. Pete put his arm around her and she curled into him. "Okay, so you're pregnant and you don't want anyone knowing. And as happy as I am that you told us, why are you saying it now?"

Her friend looked at her. "I need you and Emily's help. You're the only two bridesmaids that I can trust to keep it a secret. You know the other girls, they're going to want us to barhop tonight and drink like crazy at the wedding, and I don't want them to be suspicious when things change and I can't do that stuff."

"You guys are the only ones that will help cover this up and not tell anyone," Paul interjected. "Between you two, Emily, and her husband, we need to make sure that Jeanie's drinks are all virgin and her champagne toasts are ginger ale."

"Well I think we can do that," Charlotte said.

"I mean, there is one more thing that's kind of a team effort for you guys," Jeanie said. "So tonight, the girls wanted to bring me on a bar crawl, but I saw a really great alternative in Burlington that Pete could probably help us out with."

Pete looked at Jeanie for a moment before she asked, "How do you feel about improv shows?"

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