BLAIR
“Girl’s Night isn’t exactly the same when I’m the only one that can actually drink.” Emory motions to the two virgin strawberry daiquiris that Angela and I are drinking and then back at her mixed cocktail. She’s not wrong, I miss when we could blow off steam with alcohol, but now I have something to look forward to. I wasn’t old enough to drink when I was pregnant with Hayes, not that being under twenty-one ever stopped me from having a drink or two, but I didn’t have to think much about giving it up.
There were a lot of things about this pregnancy that were different. Granted, it had been a long time since I was pregnant before, so maybe I forgot a lot of the small day-to-day discomforts, but I was a lot more exhausted this time around and also had the appetite of a lumberjack. I chaulked that last one up to being so busy during the day that by the time I took a break to eat, I ate three times what I normally would. I’m embarrassed to admit that I downed two double cheeseburgers for dinner the other night. I’m pretty sure I’m taking in double the number of calories I’m supposed to. The growing baby isn’t the only reason for my growing body.
“I’m sorry, Emory. I know we’re just two boring, pregnant ladies now,” I give her a sympathetic smile. “It just means that our first post-baby girl’s night is going to be epic.”
“I guess I will just have to hold the two of you to that. The newborn baby cuddles times two will be worth it too. It has been some time since being Auntie Em meant snuggly babies.”
Angela giggles and rubs her belly, “You realize that you’re not technically this little one's aunt, right?”
Emory waves her off, “Nonsense, my dear. Your baby is going to be my little niece or nephew just the same as Blair’s will be. DNA don’t mean shit to me.”
“I guess I’ll take the extra love then. With Harrison being an only child and Chaz not being around often, I kind of feel bad that they aren’t going to grow up with a lot of extra love.”
“Aww, Ang!” I reach over the take her hand, “Don’t feel like that, sweetie. That baby is going to have so much love. Your mom is here, plus Harrison’s parents. Not to mention, my mom and dad are excited about both new additions to the extended family. You’ve got me and Em and I have a sneaky suspicion that Hayes is going to be great with the babies.”
“I guess you’re right. I just get a little emotional for a moment. After putting off the idea of having kids for so long it is becoming obvious that the way I thought it would be isn’t becoming the reality. I guess it isn’t all doom and gloom though. I am sad that Chaz won’t be around as much.”
“Never say never, Ang. Now that he’s done with Kayla, maybe he’ll see the light and move to Strawberry too. I’m sure he doesn’t want to miss out on his niece or nephew growing up,” I remind her.
“If he needs a place to live, I’ll have no issues offering him a place at my place,” Emory offers with an eyebrow wiggle.
“Oh no!” Angela exclaims, “It is like my childhood all over again when all my friends thought my brother was soooooooo cute.”
“I’m not calling him cute. Your brother is Grade A beef.”
Angela makes a fake gagging sound, “Please, save me your rating of my brother. I’m not getting morning sickness anymore, but the waves of nausea still come easily.”
“Oh please, I have to hear this one,” she hooks her thumb in my direction, “talk about my brother all the time.”
I look at Angela and smile, “Not to mention, you’re married to my cousin and have no qualms sharing information about your sex life with me. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it, sweetheart.”
Angela laughs again, “Yeah, okay, I get it. I love you, Emory and I’m sure you’d make a fine partner for somebody, but I don’t think it is going to be my brother. He might not have Kayla anymore, but he does have his construction company and I can’t see him leaving that anytime soon. He makes more money in a month working in Sacramento than he would a full year here.”
Emory sighs, “That’s a bummer.”
“Speaking of brothers,” I use the segue, “what has it been like working with Cody? He seems to like what he’s doing for the vineyard and winery.”
“Well, I do love being the head bitch in charge, but he also makes it pretty easy. I can see why he was so successful as a manager. He just has this way of talking to people that makes them ready to hand over anything to him.”
“Maybe we should have offered him a marketing job with the inn,” Angela says.
“Based on those numbers we talked about at the beginning of the week, I think you’re doing just fine.”
“Yeah,” she absentmindedly rubs her belly again, “but I do wonder how the future is going to look when we’re both on maternity leave.”
“The two of you will figure it out. You’re both hella smart businesswomen. We should toast to that.” Emory puts up her glass and clinks it against mine and Angela’s.
“You are too, Emory. We all know you’re going to take over the family business once your parents retire.”
“If they retire,” she kids. “I’m just happy that my dad is willing to listen to some of my ideas that are a bit out of the ordinary. That is another reason having Cody around is great. He’s kind of like back-up for me.”
“Ooo, what ideas?” Angela asks.
“No kidding, Cody hasn’t said anything to me.”
“He is probably waiting until Dad gives us the go-ahead to run with it. For years now I’ve been wanting to pitch this idea of having a music festival at the vineyard during the Strawberry Festival.”
“Like Coachella?”
“Not even close to that big, but the same concept. Everybody loves the Strawberry Festival and this would just be another reason to bring people to our slice of heaven for the week.”
“And you finally talked to your dad about it,?” I inquired.
“I did and he seemed pretty interested in it. Cody helped me put together a better plan and we presented it to Dad. He’s going to look over it, make a few calls, and if it seems like something enough people are interested in, we’re going to present it to the city.”
“Oh wow,” I say, impressed at my friend’s plan, “that could be huge for the city.” I look over at Angela, “Are you ready to be even busier during the Strawberry Festival?”
“Holy shit, if we could provide accommodations to artists coming in to perform, do you know what that could mean for us?”
Emory scoots to the edge of her seat, even more excited about her idea. “That’s what I’m saying! Sure, it would be a huge money maker for the vineyard, but if we attach it to the town, it’ll put the entire town on the map and would help everybody financially.”
I loved seeing how excited Emory was about this idea. Strawberry is my home and I know how much the festival means to the people here. The farmers make money through their crops, every place that sells food or drinks makes money from the flow of visitors during the harvest time, and now with the inn operational again, it adds another layer to the charm that is my hometown. I can’t believe Cody hasn’t said anything to me about this yet, but if he wanted Emory to have her day of excitement, well I love that.
YOU ARE READING
Strawberry Wine (Strawberry Inn Book #2)
RomanceAt just 17, Blair and Cody were high school sweethearts with big dreams. They were both headed to university on athletic scholarships when a positive pregnancy test changes everything. Coming from two traditional families, they get married right aft...
