weekend's party from the corner of the leather sofa, my disgustingly swollen ankles propped up in front of me and a bowl balanced on my belly.
"How're you doing, mama?" Will asked. He nodded toward the bowl. "Better now that you have a snack?"
"Yes," I sighed. "It was a long ride."
"It was half an hour, peanut," he laughed. "But when Froggie's hungry, Froggie's hungry."
"Froggie is always hungry." Nodding toward the blonde guest seated on the floor beside Lauren, I asked, "What do you think?"
Andy met Val in on of her hippy-dippy yoga classes where it was cool to grunt and sweat like linebackers, and apparently thought she was prime material for Riley. I wasn't sure I agreed, but then again, I'd missed the signs when it came to both Andy and Tiel, and I could admit that matchmaking wasn't in my wheelhouse.
But I was a little protective when it came to RISD.
"I think I'm not qualified for this conversation," Will said under his breath. He stood, and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "I'm going outside to drink beer and watch your brother work the grill."
"Good luck with that," I said. Shifting back toward the discussion around the cute coffee table Andy had saved from a property we bought a few months ago. "So what's your story, Val?"
"Jesus, Shannon," Lauren sighed.
"That's okay," Val said, waving at Lauren. "Really. I'm thirty-two, never married, originally from Colorado. I'm an account manager at an ad agency, but yoga is my newest passion and I'm working on my--"
"Who's your Batman?" I interrupted.
"My what?" she asked.
"Here we go," Andy said from the kitchen.
"Your Batman," I repeated. "Keaton, Kilmer, Clooney, Bale, or Affleck?"
"Um..." Val frowned and glanced between me and Lauren. "I don't think I have an opinion on Batman."
I gave her a rueful smile and nodded. "You can stay for dinner but it's not going to work out with Riley. Thanks for playing."
9
An April Morning: A Walsh Family Bonus Chapter
Shannon
Matt was trotting the entire group out to discuss his vision for the Mount Vernon project, despite the blood-slowing late March chill. This house was damp and drafty, and it didn't look like he'd rigged the generator yet. To make matters worse, I was nauseous and dizzy, and too bloated to button any of my trousers this morning. Don't even ask me about bras, because none of them fit. My next best option was a pair of leggings with a tunic sweater and boots, and someone was bound to notice the decidedly loose direction my clothing choices were taking. I wasn't even wearing heels. I couldn't keep this to myself much longer.
"You look like death. Were you drinking tequila on a school night again?" Andy asked, the faux-disapproval ripe in her tone. "Without me?"
Blowing several slow breaths through my mouth, I closed my eyes and thought about my bed while another pukey wave hit me. It was warm and cozy and safe in my bed, and Will was there, and if I imagined myself there right now, I'd get through this.
"It's a flu-thing," I said.
"Mmhmm," Andy murmured, eyeing my baggy outfit. She stared at my boots a beat too long, but it was probably because she wanted a pair for herself. Hard-core boot whore. "Does your husband have this flu-ish thing, too?"
I wiped some cold sweat from my brow and kept breathing through my mouth. "He had to go down to somewhere with his private military contractor friend to do—you know what? I don't fucking know what he went there to do, but he's there—and I wouldn't be surprised if he was parachuting into Guam right now. He's supposed to be back from whichever foreign land he invaded tonight, and I wouldn't put it past him to jump out of a freaking helicopter and swim home. I'll have a motherfucking heart attack when I see him, all war-painted up, on my back porch."
"You know Guam is a U.S. territory, right?" Andy asked.
"Whatever," I said, waving a hand in her direction. "You know what I mean. He's out being a big, bad commando. Or something."
"You're in rough shape, lady," she said. "Let's skip this. You already know what Matt's going to say because you basically designed this remodel. Come on, I'll buy you some coffee."
"No, no, no," I said.
I was two seconds away from telling her that I was pregnant if for no other reason than ending this line of conversation and letting me talk myself out of vomiting. But...Will and I agreed we'd wait one more week.