The Two of Us... Continued: A Richpez Fanfic

Chapter 6

1 week later

Lauren's PoV

"Hey Joey can you come here for a sec?" I yelled.

"Yeah what's up?" he asked as he walked in from the kitchen.

"I need to run to the store really quick to pick up a few things for dinner and the rest of the week. Is there anything you can think of that we need?"

"Umm maybe something to snack on. Just some chips or whatever" he said.

"Alright. That's not very specific so don't be upset if you don't like what I come back with" I told him.

"I'm sure whatever you pick out will be just fine" he said, smiling.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah whatever. I should be back in about an hour. I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Bye, love you" he said, giving me a kiss on the cheek."

"Love you too" I said and walked out the door.

I got to the store and started to do my shopping. I was picking out some vegetables to go with this week's dinners when I heard someone call my name. I turned around to see Traci smiling at me. I still felt so awful about how I had reacted to Joe's joke. Traci hadn't even noticed, but that still didn't get rid of my guilt. I walked over to her with a smile on my face, trying not to let my feelings show.

"Hey Lauren. What's up?" she asked me.

"Oh you know, just trying to guess what types of food Joey wants when all he tells me is 'I don't know, just get whatever.' The usual." I told her with a laugh.

"Tell me about it" she said. "Joe is the same way."

"Men, right?" I chuckled.

"Exactly" she laughed. "Anyways, it was good seeing you."

"Yeah you too" I said. She began to turn to walk away, but I knew I needed to talk to her to get this feeling off my chest. "Traci wait!" I shouted after her. She turned back around.

"Yeah Lo?" she asked.

"Umm... Do you maybe have time to get coffee when you're finished shopping?" I asked

"Yeah sure. Joe has to work late tonight anyway so I'm in no hurry" she said.

"Okay. Why don't we both finish up shopping and we'll meet at the front of the store?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon." Then she turned and continued to shop.

My mind began racing, trying to figure out a way to bring up the subject gently. I couldn't just come out and say 'Hey Traci, I heard you can't have babies. That's terrible.' I went through so many options before I was done shopping and had no choice but to check out and face the conversation. I walked towards the checkout lines and saw Traci waiting on the other side. I picked the shortest line and hurried my way through. When I had paid, I walked over to meet Traci.

"Hey, I hope you haven't been waiting long" I said.

"Nope. Just a few minutes" she said.

"Good" I smiled. "Where should we go?

"How about we meet at the Starbucks around the corner. That one is closest I believe" she said.

"Okay, see you in a few" I told her.

We walked out to our cars, coincidentally parked right by each other and loaded our groceries in. A few minutes later we pulled into the parking lot. We both got out of our cars and walked in. I still didn't know how I was going to bring this subject up.

Traci's PoV

We walked into Starbucks and I couldn't help but be a little confused. It's not that I didn't love hanging out with Lauren, I just wasn't sure why this one seemed to have some sense of urgency. I hoped she wasn't mad at me or anything. I tried to clear my head as we ordered our drinks.

We sat down at a table and Lauren's face looked super concerned. She also seemed a bit apprehensive so I decided to break the ice.

"Lauren is everything okay? You seem kinda on edge" I asked her.

"Um, well... There is something that's been on my mind since our 4th of July party."

"Okay... Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes I do" she said, I could sense the nervousness in her voice.

"Lo, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" I asked.

"I know, I just... Well I guess I'll just come right out and say it." I was kind of nervous now. "So the morning after the party, Joey said he had been talking to Joe the night before and Joe had told him that... that you guys had been trying to get pregnant for a while but the doctors said it was unlikely and I just feel so awful Traci and I was so mad at Joe and Joey and everyone for things they were saying and I was just so insensitive and I feel so awful." She spat it all out so fast that I barely understood, but I got the main idea and could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I didn't want to make her feel bad because it wasn't her fault, but I couldn't keep myself from crying. Lauren's face started to contort and she began to cry as well. I didn't want her feeling guilty for something she couldn't control so I pulled myself together and spoke up.

"Listen, Lauren. Yes this is heartbreaking for me, but there is no need for you to be feeling this way about it. I've started making my peace with the fact that maybe it just isn't meant to be. We're still going to keep trying for a while, but I'm learning to not get my hopes up too high anymore."

She wiped away her tears, sniffled, and looked up at me. "Traci I still feel so awful. I was mad at Joe for making a joke and Joey for taking his side and I didn't know until the next morning that Joe was just trying to make you feel better."

"Oh Lauren I'm sorry. I didn't know that stuff made you feel bad. I'll talk to Joe and tell him not to joke like that anymore" I assured her.

"Don't worry about it" she said. "But Traci, if there is anything at all I can do for you, just let me know. I am happy to help in any way I can even if you just want to talk."

"Thank you so much Lauren. That means a lot. And I don't want you to feel like you can't talk about baby and pregnancy stuff with me. I'm here for you too."

"Thanks Traci" she said with a soft smile.

We talked a bit more about random stuff before it started getting late. We said our goodbyes with a big, slightly tearful hug and walked out together. We got to our cars and hugged one more time and then got in our cars and drove away.