Cheryl and Reed had a whirlwind romance. Reed swept Cheryl off of her feet. Her family and friends thought things between them were moving too fast. Did Cheryl know Reed?
How much does anyone know about a person? Especially when they only show you...
Tank kisses Kandie on the forehead before the guys head to the back patio. She joins me in the kitchen. She places her pasta salad in the fridge to keep chilled till we're ready to eat.
"Hey, are you feeling okay? We missed you at work." She looks at me, concerned.
"Um... yeah. I'm fine. I just needed the day. Reed and I needed the day together. We had a rough morning." I tell her about Todd's plan to ruin Reed's and my marriage.
Kandie was furious. "So this asshole drugged his friend and girlfriend and made sure that you found them in bed together?"
"Yep," I say.
"That's a whole shit load of fucked up!" Kandie exclaims.
"Tell me about it! I'm struggling with getting the image out of my head," I admit.
Kandie raises her eyebrows. "Wow! That's tough. So Patty drove all the way here after Todd kicked her ass just to let you know that Reed was telling you the truth."
"She did, but now I can't help but feel like she's in danger. Especially if Todd discovered she came here to ensure I knew the truth, we told her to go to the police."
Kandie looked surprised at my statement. "Damn! No wonder you took the day off."
I lean back on the counter and cross my arms. "Right! It's a lot to take in."
"It is." Kandie agrees
I sigh, "Well, that's all behind us now. Reed is cutting all ties with Todd."
"Finally! That guy always gave me the creeps. Especially the way that he would look at you." Kandie reveals the same feelings that I got when I was around Todd.
I nod my head in agreement. "I know. I have done my best to avoid him for the past two years. Reed and he have kept in touch, but honestly, I don't think he liked how Todd was towards me either."
"Well, that does not surprise me." Kandie frowns.
"Thankfully, we don't need to worry about creepy Todd anymore," I say, relieved that Todd will not be part of our lives anymore. "Can I get you a drink, wine, beer, lemonade, iced tea?"
"What are you having?" Kandie points at my glass.
"Lemonade," I reply.
Kandie smiles. "That sounds refreshing. I'll have that."
Kandie and I gather the items to prepare the patio table for dinner. Reed places the chicken on the table, and we enjoy a wonderful meal together. I'm so excited about dessert.
Reed winks at me. "I hope you two kept room for dessert."
Tank replies, "You know we did!"
Tank gives Kandie a sweet smile.
"Honey, can you help me?" Reed reaches his hand out to me.
"Of course." I smile, knowing that we are going to reveal to our friends our happy news.
Reed and I go inside to get the cupcakes. We both take off our button-down shirts to reveal our pregnancy tee shirts. I don't think that I have ever seen a smile as big as the one on Reed's face.
We take the tray of cupcakes out to the patio to see Tank and Kandie standing with their arms around each other, smiling, wearing the same tee shirts as Reed and I.
Kandie and I scream.
"Oh my God! Are you serious?" I shout loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
"I can't believe we're going to be pregnant together!" Kandie proclaims.
Tank pats Reed on the back. "Congrats, man."
"Right back at ya!" Reed shakes Tank's hand.
Kandie and Tank have been trying to get pregnant for three years. They went through infertility testing, and everything always came back normal for Tank, but Kandie had trouble ovulating regularly. This past year, the doctor put Kandie on Clomid to regulate her ovulation.
I'm so happy for them, for all of us! "So, when did you find out that you were pregnant?"
Kandie replies, "Three months ago. How far along are you?"
I look at Reed. "I don't know. I just found out. Wait...three months, and we're just now finding out?"
Kandie glances towards Tank. "My doctor recommended, with our history, to wait till I started my second trimester."
"But we're best friends? You could have told me," I complain.
"Please, don't be mad. I didn't want to jinx it. Only Tank and I have known. We wanted to tell you guys before our family." Kandie tries to smooth over my disappointment.
I lower my voice, "I'm not mad. I understand."
Kandie changes the subject. "These cupcakes are adorable."
"They were Reed's idea. My reveal to him ended up being pretty disastrous." I look over at Reed, and he gives me an understanding look.
Kandie gives me a knowing smile. "I'm just so happy we get through this together."
"Me, too." My mood brightens.
We hug, and each grabs a cupcake. We look down at our choices and smile. Kandie chose a pink one, and I picked up a blue one.
Although the day ended so much better than it started that day, I still couldn't shake the ominous feeling deep inside me.
*****
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