I smiled as I looked at Ellie. She was holding Alex, and I’d never seen her look so happy in my life.
“Hey, Ells. How’s motherhood treating you, sweets?”
Ellie smiled even bigger. “It’s amazing…beyond amazing. I’m just ready to have sex though. ”
“Oh. My. God. TMI, Ells,” I said as I shook my head.
I put Luke down and watched him take off. I smiled as soon as I heard Susan calling out for me to get in the kitchen and give her a hug. I walked into the kitchen, and when I stepped in, I found myself wrapped up in Sue’s embrace. She pushed me back and gave me a once-over. I smiled as she tilted her head.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing. You just seem…different,” she said with a wink.
“Well, Jesus H. Christ, Mom. The love of her life doesn’t remember her, she left her job to keep a crazy bitch from getting her claws into said love, and she hasn’t been feeling good. Way to bust her self-esteem,” Ari said as she grabbed a jar of baby food out of her bag.
“You’re not feeling good? What’s wrong?” Sue asked as she picked up Luke and put him in his high chair.
I stood there and watched the whole scene play out. The way Ari moved around the kitchen and took care of Luke was wonderful. She seemed so happy, and her skin was glowing. I noticed she kept putting her hand on her stomach.
Oh. My. God.
“Ari!” I yelled, standing up quickly.
Ari and Sue both jumped at my sudden outburst, and Luke started laughing.
“Holy hell, Heather!” Ari said. “You just scared the piss out of me!”
“I need to talk to you. Now. ”
Walking in with a bottle, Ellie stopped and looked between Ari and me.
“Um, okay…right this second, Heather?”
“Yes. Yes. Right this second. Sue, will you excuse us?”
I turned toward Ellie. “Come on Ells. ”
As soon as we got on the back porch, I spun around to face Ari.
“Are you pregnant?” I busted out.
“Wait! What?” Ellie said as she turned to look at Ari.
The smile that spread across Ari’s face caused me to let out a gasp.
“Oh my god! Oh my god, Ari!” Ellie said.
“How the fuck did you know, Heather? I just found out this morning!” Ari said.
I walked over and gave her a hug. “You’re glowing like all get out, Ari, and you keep touching your stomach. ”
I reached for Alex and sat down with her while Ellie took Ari in her arms.
“Does Jeff know?” Ellie asked, jumping up and down with excitement.
Ari threw her head back and laughed. “Nope. I’ve been feeling like shit, so I bought a test yesterday. I used it when we got here this morning, but then everyone started showing up. I haven’t had a chance to tell him. ”
“How late are you?” I asked.