“Can you pay online?” I ask, hopeful.
“Have you seen the place?” She quirks a brow.
True. The place was very clean and nice, and the penises were delicious, but the owner sure hasn’t gotten with the times, as her place doesn’t even accept cards. Cash only. Gotta love it.
“Fine,” I sigh, knowing where it’s going. She’s tipsy, everyone else is nearly drunk, and Freya is pregnant. I was the only one who didn’t drink, so I have no choice. “I’ll drive.”
“Thank you, thank you!” She claps her hands. “I’ll get you the money.”
She disappears into the back room, and I keep wiping the tables.
“Thank you,” comes a quiet voice.
“For what?” I turn to Freya.
“For doing all of this.” She smiles and keeps collecting glasses from the tables.
“It’s not me. It’s everyone.”
She sighs and straightens her posture, rubbing her lower back. “You know what I mean.”
I glance at her tired face and decide not to beat around the bush. “No problem,” I say with a smile. “You’re stuck with us now, a part of our weird family. That’s what we do.” Then I point at the chair behind her. “You should sit. We’ll finish this—it’s your party, after all.”
“You’re probably right.” With that, she wobbles to the chair like she’s twenty months pregnant and leans on the back, rubbing her belly this time. “I’m very happy to be a part of your family.” Then she looks down at her still flat stomach with a slightly widened waist. “This little guy will be very lucky to have so many uncles and a kick-ass aunt.”
“A guy?” I ask excitedly. We’ve never had a baby in the family, and the prospect of spoiling a little munchkin makes everyone happy. “You know it’s a boy?”
“No,” she laughs and hugs her stomach. “But I think it is. What do you think?” She narrows her eyes. “You’re never wrong about anything.”
Oh, Freya. I’m plenty wrong.
“I don’t know.” I shrug with an easy smile. “But we’re going to love this baby like it’s no one’s business. Just like we love you.”
Her lips spread into a wide smile, and she whispers, “Thank you.”
I want to say that we’re the ones who are very thankful to her for helping Alex and giving him back to us as a whole person, but I’ll get all misty-eyed, and I don’t like that. So, I just smile and keep cleaning.
Chapter Nine
ARCHIE
Tomorrow is the night I rid Alex of me. Meaning he’s getting married, and I will have to stop coming here to drag him down.
Today is his bachelor party. Justin wanted to go to Springfield to get strippers—I didn’t even know small towns had those—but Freya warned me before that if Alex quote“sees someone’s ass other than mine, I will hold you responsible.”By ‘you’ she meant me as she solely distinguished me as the most responsible of the bunch (a totally false assumption, but I didn’t tell her that), and I don’t want to get on her bad side—it’s never a smart idea to aggravate the significant other of your friend. Even if you’re planning on disappearing from their lives. Leave a good impression, that’s all I’m saying. So, we’re going to go to a bar toget drunk. Maybe shoot some darts and play pool. No strippers or naked asses.
By the time we get everyone together and arrive at the bar by a taxi, it’s way past seven. Kenneth assured me that local bars don’t close at two like in Boston—they serve till the last client. I open a tab under my credit card, and we do rounds and rounds of drinks.
By eleven, Justin is sleeping on the table, his face resting on his crossed hands, his not-so-gentle snoring comes in waves. Kenneth is arguing with some bearded dude by the bar, clearly trying to prove something judging by his furrowed brows and narrowed eyes. Mark isn’t here since he told Alex he’s not coming until he makes amends with his girlfriend, Justin’s sister, and it’s scheduled for Christmas eve, which is just around the corner.
Aiden wanted to come too, but he’s not twenty-one yet, so he stayed home, stewing in anger. Poor guy. As for Alex, I never thought I’d see him looking so happy. With a silly smile on his very drunk face, he leans against his chair and looks ahead without seeing anyone. Well, I bet he’s seeing Freya. Lucky fucker.
We all drank about the same amount, but they’re all lightweights, and I’m the only one who can still comprehend our surroundings.
Kenneth’s gesticulation gets more articulate, and I feel like it’s a good time to get home. I get Alex and Justin into a taxi first. They’re both huge dudes who take up the whole backseat of the regular sedan. I could drive with them in the front, but I can’t leave Benson here since he’s evidently looking for trouble. So, I pay the driver and send them home.
I call Kayla and let her know that I just sent two drunk people her way. She laughs and tells me that she’s tipsy too but ready to receive the precious cargo, and she’ll figure out how to send Alexhome. Then I call the same taxi service, and they tell me they are out of cars.
“What do you mean out of cars?” I ask, dumbfounded. How can a town run out of taxi cars?
