me would be coming out in spades. Here, one of the nurses said this is for you.” She handed Nina a cup of ice.
Nina accepted it gratefully and popped a few chips into her mouth. The chill was a welcome relief. “Thank you.” She took a closer look at her friend. “You look different. Where have you been?”
The Caitlyn Nina knew these days never looked anything less than perfect. Today, though, Caitlyn was simply dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, her caramel-colored hair pulled back into a ponytail. She looked more like an average, twenty-year-old college student than a budding socialite. Like the girl Nina had met when they were kids—the trust fund brat and the yearly scholarship student.
“I came as soon as I heard,” Caitlyn said. “Maddie said your mom bought everyone drinks at El Farallon when she got your call.”
Nina tried hard not to think about how the idea of Violet treating a restaurant full of strangers instead of coming to see her own daughter in the hospital made her feel.
“I went home to change first, though,” Caitlyn continued. “I didn’t think Chanel was really appropriate for the birthing room. Florian would kill me if I ruined it.”
Nina blinked. Ah, there was the new Caitlyn, loud and clear. But before she could reply, another sudden, much more violent contraction seized.
“Oh fuck!” Nina could barely breathe, but still managed to hiss a long stream of profanity for close to a minute.
When it was finished, Caitlyn was bracing herself against the chair, like she was expecting to be hit in the face or something.
“Sorry,” Nina breathed. “That was terrible.”
Caitlyn shook her head. “Honestly, it’s a bit of a relief to see you like this. Nina de Vries finally breaks.” She chuckled. “I never thought I’d see the day.”
Nina slumped into the pillows. Everything hurt. Everything. Too much for her to care about Caitlyn’s passive-aggressive punches.
“So…you want to tell me who Peppe is?”
Nina froze, eyes closed. Even through the heat, the sweat, the exhaustion, her skin grew cold. “What?”
“You were crying for him when I walked in.” Caitlyn bent closer, eyes gleaming. “Is it…is it the baby’s father?”
Nina opened one eye. “What are you talking about?”
But there was no guile on Caitlyn’s newly perfected face. Just care. Just sympathy. “N, come on. We’ve known each other since we were kids. I mean, we practically still are kids.”
Nina snorted. It was true, but like so many people from this city, they had grown up faster than most. Even in high school, half her friends were already starting to date men ten years their senior.
The habits of New York’s elite class.
“You were supposed to come home in triumph,” Caitlyn said. “Cynthia Devon went to Smith, you to Wellesley, and so forth.”
She sniffed. Nina knew it was because, unlike the rest of them, college hadn’t been an option for Caitlyn. Not with her grades or interests.
“Instead, you turn up after your year abroad engaged to…him?” She shook her head. “And now he’s not even here?”
They both stared at Nina’s bare hands, which had been too swollen for months for the ugly pear-shaped diamond.
Nina swallowed. Even then, she couldn’t reply, though she desperately wanted to. In all honesty, it would’ve been so nice to tell someone about the way her life had changed completely in Florence.
“So…Peppe?” Caitlyn asked again. “I’m guessing he was Italian. Handsome?”
Nina shrugged. Handsome, yes, but not in a typical way. It wasn’t quite the right word to describe her dignified professor.
She closed her eyes again. Just thinking about him was painful.
“Does he know?”
Eyes open, Nina shook her head in defeat. “No.”
But Caitlyn didn’t look away. Instead, she just watched somberly as the next contraction arrived.
“It’s okay,” she said as Nina’s eyes started to water. “You can tell me. I won’t say anything.”
“I want him to know.” The words tumbled out as the contraction tightened its iron grip once more. Nina grasped the rails of her bed, leaning forward, face contorted with pain. “I never t-told him! But now—oh fuck!—I want him to know!”
Caitlyn grabbed for her hand as Nina began to moan louder.
“It’s all right, N, it’s all right. Just…well, I don’t know what you’re supposed to do. I guess breathe, right?” Caitlyn started to mimic Lamaze-style breaths the way people did sometimes in movies or TV shows.
“Gah!” Nina shouted, though she almost started laughing through the gut-wrenching pain. Caitlyn looked absolutely ridiculous with her cheeks puffing out like a fish.