Girls in White Dresses - JENNIFER CLOSE [76]
“Oh, fuck,” Lauren said, lowering the glass. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“I can’t believe it,” Mary kept saying. “I just can’t believe it.”
“Well, it’s pretty good timing,” Isabella said. “I mean, you’ll be married soon.”
“Yeah,” Mary said slowly. “I just didn’t plan it. I didn’t think it was going to happen like this.”
Then she called Isabella a week later to tell her that she wasn’t pregnant anymore. “I’m not sure what happened,” she said. “The doctor said it’s normal.”
“Well then, I’m sure it is,” Isabella said.
“I feel so stupid,” Mary said. “I know I didn’t plan it, but then I wanted it. Now I feel like I wished it away.”
“I don’t think it works like that,” Isabella said.
“I guess not.” Mary didn’t sound convinced.
Now they were at Shannon’s wedding, and still all anyone could talk about was babies. “Do you know why Kristi said she couldn’t come to the wedding?” Katie asked. “Because they only travel when her mother-in-law can come with and she was busy. They can’t leave the baby even for a night, because Kristi only breast-feeds. She never even pumps. That is weird.”
“Isn’t the baby almost a year old?” Isabella asked. They both nodded.
“Gross,” Lauren said.
Ken was worried about Mary. He told Isabella after the wedding. “I’m worried about her,” he said. Isabella hugged him. He was a nice guy.
“I think she’ll be okay,” she told him. He nodded. Whenever he stood next to Mary, he had his hand on her arm.
Katie was talking about her birth plan for the second baby. Lauren looked at her with disgust and fear. This was nothing, Isabella thought. Harrison and Isabella had seen the actual video of Charles’s birth. It happened quite by accident. Katie and Tim invited them over for dinner one night, and as they were drinking wine, admiring the baby, and eating mini quiches, Katie asked, “Do you want to see the birthing video?” Isabella was sure that neither she nor Harrison said yes, but they didn’t say no either, and so they found themselves watching Katie writhing on the TV while a slimy Charles made his way into the world. When they walked out of the apartment that night, Harrison hit the elevator button and simply said, “Holy shit.” Isabella loved him for that.
“They aren’t that good of friends,” she felt compelled to tell him. He just shook his head and put his eyes to the ceiling. “Holy shit,” he said again. “Hooooly shit.”
Lauren had pulled the first layer of her bridesmaid dress over her head and was dancing around to “Beat It.” “I think maybe no more cocktails for Lauren,” Isabella said to no one in particular.
“That’s just really inappropriate,” Katie said. Isabella made a mental note to tell Harrison this later. “Do you believe she thinks that’s inappropriate?” she’ll say. “How about showing your friends a video starring your vagina?” And he’d laugh.
Isabella hadn’t seen Harrison in a while. He was probably avoiding being anywhere near Katie. Isabella was sure that he was afraid of Katie after the video. She didn’t blame him.
She walked outside and saw Mary and Ken on the other side of the stone patio that overlooked the ocean. Mary leaned her head in the nook of Ken’s arm and he kissed the top of her head. Isabella felt like she was spying, but she stood and watched them.
Harrison walked up behind Isabella and smiled when he saw that she was crying. “Are you crying?” he asked. She shook her head no. “You are the worst liar,” he said. Isabella always cried at weddings. (Although normally she cried at the ceremony and not the reception.)
“Everything okay?” Harrison asked.
Isabella nodded. “I’m just happy.”
“Clearly,” he said. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her so that she could blow her nose. Harrison always