The Truth About Ever After

by Rachel Schurig

  I had heard enough. I spun on my heel and headed back to the table. Most of the group was now standing, gathering up jackets and purses. I joined them, picking up my purse and slinging it over my shoulder.

  “You okay, Kiki?” Kara, my closest sorority sister, asked. “Your face is like, really red.”

  “Is it?” I asked, breathing fast. “It must be cold in here.”

  I walked with my friends back to the entryway. Eric was standing there, looking sullen, but Matt smiled at me as we approached. “Ready to party?” he asked.

  “Are you?” I asked, my voice quiet. I hoped he actually wanted to be here. I would hate it if he felt like he just needed to tolerate my company for old times’ sake.

  “Sure,” he said. “Just so long as I can get a beer. They do serve beer at these things, right?”

  In spite of my rapidly beating heart, I felt my spirits lift a little. I remembered his defense of me: Kiki’s not a snob. Matt was my friend, no matter what his brother thought.

  I linked my arm through his, determined to enjoy what little time I had with him. “But of course,” I said. I pushed past Eric as we walked through the door, refusing to even look at him. I would not make a scene or make Matt uncomfortable by letting him know what I had heard. My mother had taught me long ago what to do when people made those kinds of assumptions about us. It wasn’t like it was rare; not since the money started coming in.

  I raised my head high and plastered a smile on my face. I would go to this party, enjoy myself, and never think about Eric Thompson ever again.

  Chapter Seven

  “Well, that trip went way too fast,” Eric sighed, picking up my bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “Can’t believe it’s back to the real word already.”

  “I know,” I sighed. “I wish we could have just stayed. We could be out on that sailboat right now.”

  Eric took my hand and led me through the crowds at the arrival area and outside, where a car was waiting for us. “Good trip, Mr. Thompson?” the driver asked, taking the bags from Eric.

  “Very good, thank you,” Eric said. He opened the door for me and I settled into the comfortable back seat.

  “At least it’s not too cold out yet,” I said, peering out the tinted windows at the blue sky. “Imagine if we were coming back next month and there was snow.”

  “Ugh,” Eric said, leaning back in his seat as the driver moved us out into traffic. “That would have been worse, you’re right.”

  “It was a good week, wasn’t it?” I asked. I was feeling very pleased with myself. After months of planning, I felt I had delivered the perfect wedding for Jen and Matt. And I’d had a blast in the days that followed. I hoped the others had, too. I felt my face fall a little. “Do you think I overdid it? You don’t think I made the others crazy, do you?”

  “No, Kiks,” Eric said patiently. “Everyone had a really nice time. You planned fun stuff for us to do. Besides, don’t you think Annie of all people would have told you to back off if she felt overwhelmed by any of it?”

  I giggled. He had a point. “I like hanging out with Jen’s friends. They’re such cool girls.” I felt a familiar pang of melancholy. Eric must have sensed it, because he took my hand.

  “You’re a cool girl, too,” he said.

  “We should have them all over for dinner,” I said. “To welcome Jen and Matt home.”

  “That would be nice,” Eric agreed.

  I wonder if Ginny would be able to get a sitter on short notice, I thought to myself. Maybe not. Maybe she’d have to bring the kids along. That could be good. I was convinced that the more time Eric spent with kids, the more likely he was to see that it was exactly what we were missing.

  “I think a dinner will be just the thing,” I said, more to myself than to Eric, who had turned his attention to the sports section of his paper. “Maybe just the thing.”

  ***

  “You’re here!” I squealed the moment I caught sight of Jen standing in the reception area of our office. “I can’t believe it!”

  “Kiki, I told you I’d be back today,” she said patiently, setting her briefcase down on the reception desk. “Hello, Barb,” she said, smiling at our receptionist. “How have you been?”

  “Welcome back, Mrs. Thompson,” Barbara said. “You’re looking very well.”

  “She looks totally fantastic!” I squealed. Barbara was nice and all, but she was a little too reserved for my taste. She hadn’t seen Jen in almost two weeks! Any normal girl would jump up and hug her. Speaking of which…

  I rushed forward and pulled Jen into a tight hug. “I missed you!”

  “I missed you, too, Kiks,” she said, squeezing me back.

  “I want to hear all about the honeymoon,” I said. “Seriously, tell me everything.”

  “Kiki,” Jen said, in her you-need-to-calm-down voice. “We have work to do. Let’s talk at lunch, okay?”

  I sighed. Just when I thought Jen had chilled out a little, she was back to her old serious ways. “Fine,” I said. “But we are doing lunch. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

  I headed back to my little office and sank into my seat. Powering up my computer, I pulled out my phone to text Eric. Jen’s back! Love you! Xoxo K.

  When we first started dating, Eric had been annoyed by my constant texting. Now he said he was used to it, and even admitted to liking it a bit. “It’s nice to know you’re thinking about me,” he had said. And sure enough, within minutes he had texted me back. Have fun catching up. Love you, too, E.

  Thinking how cute my husband was, I smiled to myself and pulled my legs up under me in my comfy desk chair. I loved my little office. It was a world away from where I had worked before. Back at Daddy’s company, I’d run the service management division. One perk of the otherwise boring job was my office—a large room in a high-rise building with sweeping views of the city. From my wall of windows I could see half of Detroit, all the way to the river and Canada beyond. Everything there was shiny and chrome, expensive and sophisticated. It was nice and all, but not really me. I always felt like the entire set-up was lifeless, being suspended so high above the city below without really being connected to it.

  This office, on the other hand, was filled with personality. Jen and I had rented the space three years ago when we started our firm. I had fallen in love with it from the moment we walked in, and that love had only grown the longer we worked there. It was a small space, tiny really, consisting only of two small offices, a reception area, a storage room, and a minuscule conference room, which doubled as a break room when we weren’t using it to meet with clients.

  When we’d first moved in, everything was a depressing shade of institutional grey. Jen and I, with help from Eric and Matt, had spent a fun weekend painting the entire place a light spring green—after everyone else vetoed my suggestion of dusky pink. Since the building was old and creaky, and we didn’t have money to invest in sprucing up the somewhat battered hardwood floors, we had decided to go with a shabby chic motif. Our furniture was a mismatch of white chairs and tables salvaged from thrift stores, which we had sanded and scuffed up a little to give the right feel. Jen and I had spent hours looking for all the right accessories—gilded mirrors, beaded lamp shades, antique urns to fill with plants, and sepia-toned nature prints for the walls. It was perfect.

  Once my computer had booted up, I opened my calendar to see what was going on this week. I was relieved to see we didn’t have any events; just prep work for things coming up. That would mean that I would have plenty of time to get my Baby Plan in action.

  I had come up with the Baby Plan on the way home from the airport Sunday. I figured that Eric just needed a little convincing to get him the rest of the way on-board. It wasn’t that I wanted to nag him, or trick him, or anything mean like that. I just knew he hadn’t put as much thought into the baby thing. He was a guy, and from my experience they didn’t spend as much time fantasizing about the future. But once he saw how great things could be with a baby�
��

  I opened my Internet browser and got busy. Within a few minutes I was immersed in the world of parenting blogs, hoping to find a few articles or testimonials to send Eric. I kept getting sidetracked by the pictures, though. Babies were so cute.

  “Kiki?”

  I looked up to see Jen standing in the doorway, holding a small vase of pink tea roses. She was smiling broadly at me. “Are these from you?”

  “Welcome back,” I said, returning her smile.

  She set the flowers down at the edge of my desk and came around to hug me. “You’re very sweet, you know that?”

  “Nothing but the best for my new sister-in-law,” I said.

  “Whatcha doing?” she asked, peering at my screen.

  “Uh, nothing,” I said, feeling like a little kid caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. From her vantage point behind my desk she could clearly see my Internet browser, opened to a webpage called Mommy Dearest.

  “I was just doing research for the Baldwin shower,” I said, inspiration striking. “You know, trying to get some ideas flowing.”

  She raised her eyebrow slightly, and I just knew she didn’t believe me. Oh well, it wasn’t like she was my boss or anything. And this gave me the chance to put phase two of the Baby Plan into action.

  “Eric and I want you guys to come over for dinner this week,” I said. “Welcome the newlyweds home, you know?”

  “That sounds nice,” she said. “What night?”

  “Whatever works for you. You know what,” I said, as if the thought had just occurred to me, “let’s invite the girls, too. We can look at each other’s pictures from the trip.”

  “They’d like that,” Jen said. “Maybe Ginny can get a sitter.”

  “Or she could bring the kids,” I said casually. “That wouldn’t be a problem at all.”

  As Jen walked back to her office, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. So far, so good.

  Chapter Eight

  “Eric, can you please check on the lasagna?” I called out from the bathroom. “They should be here any minute!”

  “The lasagna is fine,” he said, coming to stand in the doorway to watch me apply my makeup. “I checked two minutes ago, which was the last time you asked me. Kiki, you need to relax, okay?”

  “I’m just excited.” I leaned forward to add another coat of mascara. “We don’t entertain at home very often, you know?”

  “Yes, but we just spent an entire week with these people,” he pointed out. “It’s not like they’re strangers.”

  I sighed. Boys just didn’t get it. “Did you remember to put the magazines away?”

  “Yes, sweetie. And the shoes by the front door. And my porn collection.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Oh, very funny.”

  He gave me a roguish grin and came closer to stand behind me, putting his hands around my waist. “You smell good,” he murmured, sniffing my hair. He looked over my head to meet my eyes in the mirror. “I would much rather spend this evening alone with you.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively in the mirror and I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Let go of me, you creep,” I said, slapping at his hands as I giggled.

  “You love my creepy ways.” Eric leaned down and nuzzled my neck, kissing me lightly just above the collarbone. It sent little shivers down my back. Just as I was about to give in and kiss him back, the phone rang.

  “That’s probably the doorman!” I yelled, pushing him back. “Baby, please get the phone so I can finish my make-up.”

  “So much for getting you to relax,” Eric muttered as he walked down the hall.

  I heard Eric on the phone, instructing the doorman to send our guests up. I quickly finished my mascara and applied a last coat of lipstick. Smacking my lips together to blot, I double-checked my appearance in the mirror, then headed out to the living room to make sure everything looked okay.

  I had spent the afternoon cleaning, putting away all the junk that Eric and I let accumulate in the living room. I had gone out and bought several bouquets of flowers which were now scattered in vases around the living room. Hmm, I wonder if five vases are too many? I thought to myself.

  In the dining room I had set our formal table with the china from our wedding, something I usually only got to do if my parents were coming to dinner. There was something so fun about throwing a dinner party. For about the millionth time lately, I wished my best friend Kara hadn’t moved to New York. When she left, my social life had suffered immensely.

  The knock on the door distracted me from my melancholy and I tried to boost my spirits. You have these friends here, right now. Nothing to be sad about!

  “Hi!” I said, throwing the door open to see Jen and Matt standing in the hall. “I’m so glad you guys are here!”

  I hugged them both in turn, and then stepped aside so they could enter the condo. I peered into the hallway for the others, but they seemed to be alone. Behind me, I heard Eric greeting his brother and sister-in-law.

  “It smells great in here,” Matt said.

  “Thanks; I made lasagna.”

  Matt gave me a look of mock horror. “You made it?”

  “Shut up, I’m a good cook,” I said, pushing him. I looked at Eric and raised my eyebrow, clearly indicating he should be backing me up.

  “Uh, yeah. She’s a great cook,” he said, somewhat unconvincingly, and we all laughed.

  There was another knock on the door behind me. Eric opened it this time, revealing Annie, Nate, Ginny, and Josh—who, I noticed immediately, did not have their children.

  “Hi!” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. “Welcome!”

  After hugging everyone, I turned to Ginny, doing my best to sound casual. “I thought you were bringing Danny and Maggie.”

  “Oh, God no,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I know what a nice condo you have.” She gestured around the room. “Danny would destroy something within minutes, and Maggie would end up crying through dinner. No thanks.”

  “Plus, we found a sitter,” Josh chimed in. “If you ever have kids, you will find that when you can get a sitter, you take it, no questions asked.”

  I laughed politely along with everyone else, but inside I was trying to tamp down my irritation. Yeah, if I ever have kids, I thought. I was actually looking to you guys for some help in that department!

  As we herded the group in toward the living room, I caught Eric’s eye. He was looking right at me, a very amused and knowing look on his face. I tried to ignore it. With or without the kids, I was the hostess tonight and I now had a living room full of people.

  “So,” I said, putting on my brightest voice. “Who wants some wine?”

  ***

  “That was a fun night,” Eric said later, as we got ready for bed. “We should do stuff like that more often.”

  “You’re right,” I said, smiling at him as I rubbed my hand lotion in. “I love those girls. Jen is so lucky to have such good friends.”

  Eric came around to my side of the bed and wrapped me up in a hug. “You missing Kara?”

  “Yeah,” I said, hugging him back. “A lot lately, for some reason.”

  Kara and I had been friends since junior high, attending high school and college together—she had even been my sorority sister in college, and one of the few people I still kept in touch with. Even the other two girls in my wedding party were rarely in touch anymore, both married now and way too busy to hang out with girlfriends. Kara, though, had stuck with me, one of the few people in the world I could always count on. I hated that she lived so far away now.

  “You still got me, you know,” Eric said, kissing the top of my head. “I know I’m not as fun with the girly stuff, but I’ll be your stand-in best friend.”

  “You are my best friend.” I looked up at him and met his eyes, wanting him to know I was serious. “You always were, always will be.”

  He lowered his head and kissed me, lightly. “I love you, Kiks.”

  I chose that moment to yawn
loudly. Eric smiled. “Bed?”

  I nodded. Eric kissed me once more then released me, heading out to the living room to check that all the lights were off and everything was locked up, his nightly ritual. I climbed into bed and pulled up the covers, feeling suddenly very tired.

  Eric was right: it had been a fun night. Once I got over the fact that I would not be showing Eric the joy children could bring to our home, I relaxed and enjoyed the company. But all the cleaning and cooking had caught up to me now, and I felt like I could sleep for ages.

  Eric climbed in next to me and turned off the bedside light before pulling me close. I snuggled into him, feeling ready to drop off, when a rumble below my cheek told me he was laughing softly.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I was just thinking of your face when you realized the kids weren’t here,” he said, chuckling. “It was priceless.”

  “What?” I spluttered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Eric only laughed harder.

  “Tell me the truth,” he said, pulling me from his chest to his side so he could look me full in the face. “Did you want to have this dinner so I would be forced to spend time with children?”

  I squirmed, uncomfortable. When he said it like that it made me sound kind of manipulative. “I just thought it would be nice to spend some time with little ones,” I said. “Since, you know, we agreed to start thinking about it.”

  “Which is also why you keep sending me articles about the joys of fatherhood, right?”

  I stared at him. “You didn’t say anything about those! I was starting to think you weren’t getting them.”

  “Oh, I got them,” he said, laughing again.

  “Eric, you said it yourself. Having kids is a really big deal. I just wanted to give you some tools to help you think about it.”

  Suddenly he lay back on his pillow, pulling me close so my head was again resting on his chest. “I have been thinking about it.” His chest vibrated slightly beneath my ear as he spoke. “I’ve been thinking about it ever since you brought it up after the wedding.”