Foundations - Kate Canterbary Page 0,9

clean clothes, and kept this baby dry and fed. That's the best I can do right now."

With a hum, she settled her feet on the ottoman. "But you're going back to work next week. Right?"

After a pause, I said, "Yeah, I'm back part time starting Monday. I'm working mornings until—"

"Don't kid yourself. You'll be there all day," she interrupted with a knowing smile. Perfectionists knew how to spot each other in a crowd.

"Yeah, probably," I admitted. "Or not. I don't know how it's going to go yet. I don't know how I'm going to feel about leaving Maddie at home. I'm having—I'm just not sure about anything yet."

Andy's lips turned down in a deep frown as she considered this. She sipped her drink and stared at the baby, then said, "The one thing I've realized in the past few years is that it's tough balancing it all. And I say that as a person with very little in need of balancing."

"Torsion," I murmured.

"Hmm? What was that?"

I smiled, shook my head. "Nothing," I replied. "Go ahead. I was just thinking out loud."

"I have Patrick and my job and that's it. We don't have kids or pets or any extraordinary family commitments. I have a couple of succulents but I can't call those commitments. I don't have much on my plate so I don't have much business complaining about the struggle of finding balance but it's legit."

"It is," I agreed. "I want to be able to do it all and do it well. I want to be a great school leader and a sexy wife and an awesome mom, and I want to spend time with my friends and accomplish more than showering and dressing and being tired each day."

"But sometimes showering and dressing is doing it all," Andy said. "As I'm coming to see it, balance requires a flexible view of success. Sometimes I have fifteen or twenty active projects and getting through the week without chucking my phone out the window is the best I can do. Other times, I can plan a dinner party, go to pedicure night, get in enough yoga to keep me sane, and give Patrick the attention he needs, all while keeping a handle on my properties and watering those succulents." She refilled her mug again. "It's all about how I choose to define my version of doing it all. It's whatever I want and 'all' doesn't have to be consistent. My all today doesn't have to be my all tomorrow."

"Yeah," I said. "And tonight, my definition of doing it all begins and ends with my husband."

She glanced down at her left hand, adjusting the diamond sitting on her fourth finger, the new wedding band behind it. "I might do the same thing."

I put my hand on her forearm. "I'm going to put Maddie down. Help me pick out something to wear, okay?" I glanced down at my yoga pants. "I don't know what looks good anymore and I'll die before I put on another maternity dress."

She topped off her mug and stood. "This is not a problem," she said. "You have something I don't which is boobs for days. You also have ride-or-die sexy lingerie. You can make those puppies look good. I'm talking Victoria's Secret runway show good."

"I'm not sure my lingerie still fits." I cringed. "My rib cage is a little"—I held hands apart, miming my new width—"not in the same place it used to be."

"Doesn't matter," she replied with a wave of her hand. "We'll stuff them in. We'll make it work. You have some coconut oil, right? That always works. If all else fails, we pack up the wee babe and take her shopping."

"All right," I said with a slow nod.

"Then we move onto shoes," Andy continued. "You, my friend, are the queen of Come Fuck Me heels. You could wear those things with a ratty old bathrobe and he'd sit up and take notice."

"I haven't worn heels in five months," I admitted. Another cringe.

"It's just like having sex which is not unlike riding a bike," Andy replied. "It doesn't matter how long it's been because you'll remember how to do it once you start."

"That's…encouraging," I murmured.

"We've got the fundamentals: boobs, lingerie, shoes," she said. "The rest is easy."

"Can that be the theme? Easy?" I asked.

Andy frowned. "As in convenient or slutty?"

"How about a little of both?"

"Yeah, totally," she said, nodding. "Comfy-slutty is my favorite look."

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, not certain I recognized the person looking