I opened the drawers of the matching dresser; they were

empty except for the bottom drawer, which was filled with baby

blankets embroidered with teddy bears, puppies, and kittens. I

tried to imagine my new niece or nephew swaddled snugly in

them.

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Robin Alexander

“Oh, these are so cute,” I heard Hailey say. She picked up

a stuffed giraffe that shared a shelf with what I figured were as

many animals as the New Orleans Zoo.

“Since we don’t know the sex, we decided to decorate in

stuffed animals.” Kalen rubbed her stomach lovingly. “Can’t go

wrong with those. I figure at some point, they’ll all be covered

with slobber, and when Shannon’s through with them, we’ll get

the baby new ones.”

“Ass, I’m gonna tell mom I found a bag of pig skins underneath

the changing table.”

“Oh, don’t you dare.” Kalen grabbed handfuls of my shirt.

“She’s dead serious about the diet. Nothing goes into my mouth

without inspection.” Kalen’s eyes widened. “You have no idea

how bad the cravings are! I’ve been good despite the Gatorade

incident, and for the record, the Cheetos belonged to Todd, but

she won’t believe me.”

“Then I suggest you start being real sweet to me.” I plucked

her fingers from my clothing one by one. “I will be expected to

give her a full report on your diet when she’s gone, and I can

make it real rough on you, sis.”

I kept an eye on Hailey as Kalen and I bantered back and

forth. She seemed to be in a world all her own as she looked at all

the baby things. I left her and Kalen in the nursery when Mom

called for me. Kalen had been friendly toward Hailey, but it made

me uneasy to leave them alone.

“Take the bread out, honey,” Mom said as I walked in. She’d

filled just about all the plates and had the table near about set.

“The nursery is precious, isn’t it?”

“It is,” I agreed. “I’m sure you’ve got the baby shower all

planned out by now.” I was looking forward to the baby, but not

the festivities that always preceded one. I’d never attended a

wedding shower until Kalen’s, and now I’d be expected to attend

a baby shower.

“If you’re over there thinking up ways to skip out on the

shower, give up,” Mom said, knowing me all too well.

“I was thinking about jumping from a fast-moving vehicle.” I

laid the bread out onto the counter and sliced it.

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“I imagine you’ll sneak off to hang out with your father and

Todd anyway.” Mom gave me a playful nudge. “I bet Hailey will

hang out with us girls, though.”

“Judging by the way she’s fawning over the nursery, I won’t

disagree.”

I put the bread into the serving dish and moved it to the table.

Mom gave a nod as she looked everything over. “We’re ready. Go

get the girls.”

When I walked into the nursery, Kalen and Hailey were

teary-eyed and wrapped in each other’s arms. “Kalen, if you’re

jumping the fence, go find your own woman. This one’s mine,” I

said with a teasing grin.

“I hope you can put up with her,” Kalen said as she released

Hailey. “You know she’s adopted, right? My parents found her in

a cabbage patch just outside of Chernobyl.”

“I think I can handle her,” Hailey said with a smile, “but if

not, I’ll call you for backup.”

“Dinner’s on the table.”

“Thank God.” Kalen pushed past me and hurried down the

hall.“You okay?” I asked Hailey as she met me in the doorway.

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. “Kalen and I discovered we had

something in common. I’ll tell you about it later.” I gave her a

quick kiss and led her down the hall.

Kalen had already pulled out a chair. “The bringer of the pie

sits next to me, you and Mom over there.” Mom moved the salt

shaker in front of me. “I wasn’t going to ask for it anyway,” Kalen

said defiantly.

Everyone was quiet as we dug into our salads. Mom was first

to start questioning Hailey. “Where are you from, sweetie?”

“I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but with my dad in

the military, we didn’t stay there long. We’ve lived all over the

country, but I finished high school in Washington.”

“Any siblings?” Kalen asked. “Like a pain-in-the-ass younger

sister?”

Hailey blotted her mouth with her napkin and smiled. “I wish,

but no, it was just me.”

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Robin Alexander

“You’re lucky then.” Kalen made a face at me. “I had the

world at my tiny fingertips until Shannon showed up and ruined

it all.”

“Don’t let these two fool you,” Mom said. “They’ve been

close since the day Shannon was born. They slept in the same bed

together, even though they had their own. Bathed together and

ate off the same plate until Kalen started kindergarten. It nearly

killed Shannon when we dropped Kalen off each morning.”

“Yes, my loving sister that couldn’t stand to see me go went

home and painted all my dolls green.” Kalen shot me a look.

“And you always left the lids off my Play Doh and dried it

out,” I said.

“Such sweet memories,” Kalen said with a wistful sigh. “I

think my favorite was when we were in college and Shannon—”

“Shut it, Kalen.” I waved my fork at her. “I’ve got a few stories

I could share.”

“Touché. Damn it.” Kalen looked over at Hailey. “How about

you? Are there any humiliating college stories that you’d like to

share?”

Hailey chuckled. “No, you’d find me incredibly boring. I

went to Georgetown on an academic scholarship with dreams of

medicine, and quickly found out that I didn’t have what it took.

The closest I got was pharmacology.”

“I can’t picture you as a pharmacist,” Kalen said.

“I couldn’t either after a year of it. Much to the chagrin of my

parents, I went into sales for a pharmaceutical company. Being

tied to a pill counter was not for me.”

As Mom and Kalen talked to Hailey, I sat back listening and

learning about the woman I had shared most intimate secrets with

the night before. I realized then that there was so much about her

that I didn’t know before jumping into bed and dreaming of a

future together. Nothing that I learned detracted from the way

I felt about her, but I did sort of feel like I was giving my heart

away to someone I only knew half of.

Hailey insisted on cleaning up after dinner, and I was more

than happy to help. The quicker we got out of there, the quicker

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we’d end up in Hailey’s bed or mine. I didn’t care which as long

as we were naked. Kalen put my intentions on hold when she

slapped the kitchen table and practically yelled.

“Oh, my God! I forgot to tell you what Zoe Martinez sent

me.”I pretended not to hear her exclamation, and Mom had to ask,

“What?”

“She videoed Shannon’s speech. Y’all can’t leave until we

watch it.”

“Oh, yes, we can.” I dropped the dish towel on the counter. “I

lived through that once. I don’t want to experience it again.”

“Kalen told me about how wonderful you did, and Angela

raved,” Mom argued. “Stay, I want to see it.”

“I’m tired. Hailey aren’t you tired?” I asked, looking to her

for help.

“I’d like to see it, too,” she said, looking at me and Mom.

I learned another thing about Hailey. She was not good at

picking up on my subtle clues for escape. That was something

we’d have to work on if she still wanted to see me after watching

the video.

“Wow,” Mom and Kalen said in unison as the camera zoomed

in on me at the podium. Kalen looked over at me with a satisfied

grin. “Sis, I think you’re beautiful, but Marvin made you look

like a supermodel.”

I thanked her for the compliment as I cringed, not knowing

what to expect. My memory was still vague about that night, and

I was afraid that I was about to look like a super-ass. The camera

zoomed in closer. My eyes looked like two saucers, and I was

sporting a crooked grin.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s an honor…”

Zoe and someone else were speaking in hushed tones off

camera, but their voices came in clearly over mine. Kalen paused

the video and caught me in mid-blink. My mouth was hanging

open, making me look like I was about to pass out. “I’m going to

choke her. She’s gossiping right over Shannon’s speech.” Kalen

hit the play button.

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Robin Alexander

“…four successful salons in New Orleans.”

Whomever Zoe was speaking to said, “So that’s the other

Brycen sister.”

“Yeah,” Zoe whispered.

Between Zoe’s conversations, we could only hear bits and

pieces of the speech, but with the camera in my face, there was

no denying that I was half out of my mind. “…specialized service

provided by Angela Kennedy—”

Kalen hit the pause again. “Were you drunk? What’s with the