Cara fidgets with the long ginger braid cascading over her shoulder. “Sorry, we’re late. I had to stop by the house to change out of my scrubs.”
“And I had to help,” Dean says with a smirk as he wraps her in his arms.
Cara backhands his chest and rolls her eyes.
My buddy, Dean, is a Clark Kent look-alike who spends his days in suits, working for some high-powered real estate developer. They’ve been together for almost three years, and we’re all waiting for the proposal.
He shows up to the gym a few times a week when Cara’s working nights in the labor and delivery ward. I think he gets lonely in his apartment when she’s not there. They split time between her house in Midtown and his apartment on Main Street. Honestly, I don’t understand why they haven’t moved in together, but it’s none of my business. I don’t know the first thing about healthy relationships; who am I to judge?
“So, what are we celebrating?” Ivy asks, leaning against her husband as they watch Aiden and Rylin play with rocks along the shore.
My eyes automatically travel to Ruby’s face, like they always seem to do, and she has a suspicious grin on her face. “What do you know, Goldie?”
She shrugs and hides her smile behind her glass of wine.
Paige glances up at her husband, seated next to her on a quilt, and he gives her a quiet nod.
“I’m pregnant.” Paige presses her hands against her lower belly. “And it’s a boy.”
“Ha! I knew it!” Maggie squeals, rushing over to pull her best friend into a hug.
“How did you know?” Paige asks.
“You aren’t drinking, and you haven’t even touched the cold cuts.”
“She’s also been uncharacteristically bitchy lately. No offense,” Ivy adds.
Paige laughs. “None taken. The first trimester was a nightmare.”
I lock eyes with Cade and raise my glass in a silent toast. He nods once and turns his attention back to Paige.
“Miles is a great name,” Miles says as he pops a handful of something into his mouth at the buffet table. “And you don’t run the risk of stealing our baby name because there won’t be any Miles Juniors running around.”
“Unless the vasectomy fails,” Cara replies offhandedly.
Miles’s eyes widen. “Wait, what? That’s a thing?”
She downs the rest of her wine and says, “Yep. Wrap it up, Barlow.”
Miles sulks like he’s just heard the worst news of his life. Maggie wraps her arms around his waist, and he looks at her like she’s the beginning and end of everything.
He strokes a hand through her long, dark hair and kisses her forehead. It’s nice to see him settling down. He chased Maggie for two years before she finally gave in, but the challenge was good for him.She’sgood for him.
It must be nice to be able to love someone so freely. Two years of mutual pining has nothing on ten years of unrequited affection, but I’m happy for them and not at all jealous. I down the rest of my beer and grab another.
Aiden stumbles over some rocks as he approaches Ruby, and she catches him in her arms.
“Whoa, buddy,” she says. “First day with the new feet?”
He giggles and rights himself. “Can we make s’mores now?”
Ruby pulls out the ingredients and skewers. She helps Aiden until he gets the hang of it, then she does the same with Rylin. I watch the whole scene play out, entranced by her kindness and patience. A lesser person would get tired of the barrage of questions and the dropped marshmallows, but not Ruby. She laughs it off and answers every query with a smile on her face.
The kids end up devouring two s'mores each before they get bored and ditch us to play hide-and-seek with Uncle Miles. Ruby scoots in closer to me and lays her head on my shoulder, and a quiet peace settles over us.
I never expected to have such a close-knit group of friends. I was reluctant to be brought into the fold at first, but I’m thankful I have them to lean on. Things have changed a lot in recent years. While they’re all breaking off into couples and starting their own families, I’m still figuring shit out. I’m happy for them, but even I can admit it’s sometimes lonely on the outside looking in.
Ruby stares out at the water with a far-off look in her eyes, periodically sipping on her wine. “It’s peaceful out here,” she says. “It’s almost possible to believe the world has just… stopped… even with the tide still moving. Like maybe if I stand still long enough, everything will start to make sense.”
