You haven't seen it yet."

Mom nodded. "Go, I've got this. Check the room for snacks.

I found a bag of Cheetos in the baby's dresser."

The walls were painted a soft mint green, and most of the hardwood floor was covered with a rug bearing the alphabet.

"This is the coolest bed." Kalen patted the blond wood that matched the floor perfectly. "It folds down into a youth bed when the baby grows out of the crib."

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.

201.

*"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 s.e.x, 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 s...o...b..r, and when Shannon's through with them, we'll get the baby new ones."

"a.s.s, 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.

202.

*"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 Chern.o.byl."

"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 G.o.d." 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-a.s.s younger sister?"

Hailey blotted her mouth with her napkin and smiled. "I wish, but no, it was just me."

20.

*"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."

"Touche. d.a.m.n 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 204.

*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 G.o.d! 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-a.s.s. 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 pa.s.s out. "I'm going to choke her. She's gossiping right over Shannon's speech." Kalen hit the play b.u.t.ton.

20.

*"...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 giggling and pointing?"

"I was nervous," I shot back.

Hailey came to my rescue. "It's not so bad, especially for someone who has never done public speaking." Mom agreed, and Kalen pressed that d.a.m.n play b.u.t.ton again.

I could tell that Zoe and her compadre had moved away from the camera, but the mike still picked up their voices over mine, which sounded like a blur in the background. Apparently, Zoe had not watched the video before she sent it to Kalen because of what she said next.

"I've always wondered if there was something going on between Kalen and Angela, even though they claim to be straight, but I was wrong about which of the Brycens Angela was servicing. They were into it hot and heavy the other night in that bar bathroom. If I hadn't have walked in when I did, Angela would've been giving Shannon the works."

The TV screen went black. I looked over at Kalen, who looked mournfully sad for me. I looked at Mom next, who sat with her mouth hanging open, then last at Hailey, who had no expression at all.

"That's not what happened." I hoped that Hailey would believe me.

"No, it wasn't," Kalen agreed. "Zoe was p.i.s.sed because Shannon rejected her, and she didn't want to look like a loser."

I could only imagine how Hailey felt. She smiled weakly.

"We weren't really even dating then, so I have no right to be upset even if it were true."

20.

*"Well, it's not," Kalen said. "That a.s.shole. Wait till I get a hold of her."

And that concluded our peaceful evening.

In retrospect, I suppose Zoe's comment was a good thing because it opened up a very candid conversation between Hailey and me on the way home. I told her about kissing Angela and why.

Hailey got a kick out of it, but she wanted to know who Angela was."She's a straight sales rep for Natural Beauty and a friend of Kalen's. I'm not interested in her, and I can a.s.sure you she has no interest in me."

Hailey squeezed my hand. "Good because I don't want to see other people, and I don't want you to, either. Does that bother you?"

"It's official, we're a couple," I said with a smile.

"But I'm not looking for anything serious," Hailey said, returning my smile.

"The h.e.l.l you aren't." Hailey's laugh thrilled me.

"I should tell you something that I told Kalen tonight. I probably should've told you first, but I got so caught up in the baby talk that it all just came out." Her tone turned serious, somber. I waited silently for her to continue. "I had a miscarriage, well, actually an ectopic pregnancy in the second year I was married. I was told it was going to be very difficult for me to conceive."

"Hailey, I'm sorry." I wished she had waited until we were home to tell me, so I could take her in my arms. "I wish I would've known. We would have skipped the nursery visit."

"No." Hailey shook her head. "If I'm going to be a part of your life, then Kalen will be a part of mine, and I don't want either of you walking on eggsh.e.l.ls around me. This is an exciting time and I get to be a part of it, and that really makes me happy."

I was truly excited about having a niece or nephew to spoil, but my own pitter-patter of little feet? No thanks, unless they were four fuzzy paws. And then a startling thought hit me. What if Hailey did want a baby and wanted me to carry it? My palm started to sweat on the steering wheel, and the one that Hailey