Two weeks ago, Joel’s friends Anna and Con announced the birth of a baby boy named Andrew. When Joel called to tell Cassie about it, he sounded more excited than the new parents were.
It worries Cassie. When she first brought up the prospect of kids with him, he acted like she was being silly—they were only together a month, after all. But now they’ve been together nearly six months. And furthermore, Joel made an offhand comment about wanting to be a dad before he turned forty. Except he’s now thirty-seven. That means he’s got three years to get engaged, get married, knock his wife up, have her spend nine months pregnant, and then have a baby. Working backwards, that means he’s got to get engaged…
Like, now.
Maybe he’s flexible on the whole forty thing.
Right now, they’re at Con and Anna’s apartment, paying a visit to the baby. Cassie likes their place better than Lydia and Pete’s four million dollar apartment—this place is cozier and the furniture looks like you can use it without having a panic attack that it could be damaged. Anna herself looks tired. She usually seems so put together—it’s surprising to see her in a camisole and leggings with two milk stains on her blouse that match those on the sofa. There are purple circles under her eyes and new white hairs are threaded through her messy ponytail.
“How are you doing?” Cassie asks her. “Are you sleeping?”
“I sleep when the baby sleeps,” Anna recites, as if it’s her mantra.
Joel grins at her. “I’d be happy to take him off your hands for a little while.”
Anna obliges by gently handing him the bundle in her arms. Joel is so careful with him, settling down on the couch and peering down at the little face. “Look how tiny he is, Cassie.”
Anna giggles. “Somebody’s got baby fever.” God, no.
Con comes out with a bowl of popcorn and sodas for everyone. He rests a hand on his wife’s shoulder, “Anna, if you want to go lie down, I’ll keep Cassie and Joel company.”
Anna yawns. “Are you sure?”
“Of course. You’ve been up with Andrew since four. Go to sleep— it’s my shift now.”
But just before Anna leaves the room, Con reaches for her hand, and for a moment, the two of them hold hands and look into each other’s eyes. What Cassie sees pass between Anna and Con in that moment reminds her of the love she used to see between her grandparents. Lydia and Pete are always bickering, but Anna and Con never do. They’re always staring at each other like they’re the only two people in the world. They have a Wuthering Heights sort of love.
Cassie looks over at Joel. Do I feel that way about him?
She has no idea. All she can think about is that watermelon-sized baby coming out of her orange-sized hole.
“She really needs some sleep,” Con tells us once Anna’s disappeared into the bedroom. “Andrew barely sleeps at night… it’s like hour-long stretches. And because I work during the day, she’s been taking on most of it.”
“How about a night nurse?” Joel says.
“That’s what I said.” Con frowns. “I tried to insist, but she wants to do it all on her own. But… well, I’m glad she’s taking a nap now, at least.”
Cassie makes a fuss over baby Andrew. He is awfully cute, after all. It’s fun to hold him without all of the responsibility of taking care of him. When he poops his diaper, she just hands him over to Con, who takes care of it expertly, before handing him back with a fresh diaper. She’s having a great time when the doorbell rings, and when Con goes to answer it, she hears Lydia’s voice in the hall.
Great.
“You didn’t tell me Lydia was coming,” Cassie hisses at Joel. She looks down at the infant in her arms and suddenly wants desperately to pass him off to someone else. And get the hell out of here.
Joel, who is messing around with his phone, looks up and shrugs. “I didn’t know they were coming.”
It’s been awkward around Lydia, to say the least. Cassie has socialized with her once since the night of that horrible Halloween party, and the two of them barely looked at one another. Cassie cringes as the clip-clop of Lydia’s heels grows louder.
Lydia seems equally surprised to see Cassie and Joel sitting in the living room when she comes into the room with Violet in tow. She gives Cassie a look. “Oh… it’s you.”
Given everything, that’s the best Cassie could have hoped for. “Hi, Lydia,” Cassie says tightly.
“Hi, Francesca,” Violet says.
Oh God.
“No, Violet,” Lydia says. “This is Cassie. Not Francesca. Definitely not Francesca. Not even close.”
Glad she clarified that.
Lydia eyes Cassie, her eyes sharp. “What are you doing?”
Cassie looks around, baffled. What is she doing? She’s holding Andrew. She’s not dangling him by one leg. She’s not feeding him beer.
“You’re not supporting the baby’s head,” Lydia snaps at her. “Haven’t you ever held a baby before?”
Cassie glances around, searching for Con, who seems to have vanished. He’s probably napping with his wife. The two of them both looked like they could use it.
Lydia lets out a sigh and shakes her head. “Here, give him to me.
Before you seriously hurt him.”
Lydia sits down next to Cassie on the sofa and practically yanks little Andrew out of her arms. It wasn’t like Cassie desperately wanted to hold him, but she doesn’t appreciate the insinuation, especially in front of Joel. She’s certain she was holding the baby’s head. After all, Con saw her hold the baby and didn’t say she was doing anything wrong.
Andrew had been fussing in her arms, but now that Lydia’s holding him, he seems to settle. She picks up the pacifier on the table and slides it between his lips. “There,” she coos to the little boy. “Isn’t that better?”
Cassie’s cheeks burn. “I thought he was okay.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Lydia says. “Not everyone is maternal.”
Violet sits down next to her mother, snuggling up against Lydia’s slim arm as she peers down at the baby. She’s wearing another one of her beautiful but completely impractical dresses, but she doesn’t seem to mind—she’s not itching or pulling at it. “Mommy,” Violet says. “May I hold him?”
“Yes, you may,” Lydia says patiently. “But you have to be very careful. Can you do that?”
Violet nods solemnly.
The little girl sits back on the sofa and Lydia gently hands her the little bundle. Violet treats the baby reverently, cradling him in her arms.
“You are doing a fantastic job, Violet,” Lydia coos. “You are supporting his head perfectly.”
Lydia flashes Cassie a pointed look when she says it. To emphasize the point that a five-year-old is able to hold a baby more competently than Cassie can.
Cassie looks at Joel to see if he’s caught any of Lydia’s veiled insults. He’s still busy on his phone. He looks like he’s texting someone. And as his phone vibrates with a received message, a smile plays on his lips.
Could he be texting Francesca?
She’s not sure why that thought pops into her head. Except that somehow, Francesca is everywhere. She can’t even visit one of his friend’s apartments without being mistaken for her.
But he’s done with Francesca. For a long time. Isn’t he?
