Father Knows Best Part 24

Freak-ay. I don't even get males half the time-not that I'm complaining. It's just, everything in my world seemed to be changing. My girls back home were taking care of our former enemy-turned-friend, and I am knee-deep in testosterone-ville, smack in the center of NYC.

It's just funny how things work out sometimes.

Just then, my BlackBerry bleeped.

I let go of Joaquin's hand and wrestled it out of my bag to check the display. The girls. I grinned, then told the boys, "Be right back," as I stood to head to a quieter location. One thing about a pack of guys, they were d.a.m.n loud and they all talked over each other like it was some big compet.i.tion. People say girls are screechy-Ha. No way could I carry on a convo in the dudes' presence.

I glanced toward Thomas as I left-habit-and he gestured for me to stay inside and right by the front door where he could see me. I nodded, feeling cared for. Thomas rocked. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Caressa!" came Meryl's giddy voice. "How was the show?"

"Fantastic! Three curtain calls and a standing O. Joaquin was amazing."

"Not that you're biased or anything," came Lila's wry response.

"Am I on speaker?" I asked, with a laugh.

"Yep," Meryl said.

"Have you guys opened presents yet?"

"No!" Meryl and Lila barked, in unison.

Message received: don't ruin the surprise.

My heart started to beat faster, and I swallowed to steady my voice and sound upbeat. It's not like I'd never talked to the girl before. "Jennifer?"

"Um, yeah? I mean, hi. Sorry. How are you?"

"I'm great. Happy birthday."

"Thanks," she said, and the relief came through loud and clear in her tone, as though she'd jumped some hurdle. "I hear you're having the time of your life there."

I sighed and glanced at Joaquin's back. I knew every inch of it now, every muscle striation. The smell of his skin, the taste of it.

They had no idea.

But I wasn't about to spill all on a speaker-phone call, and not with Jennifer. Sorry. I was willing to be nice to her, but some secrets were for the Three Amigas only. I'd tell Lila and Meryl about Joaquin and me, later. "It's amazing. I'll give you guys the rundown when I get home."

My stomach twisted at the thought, and I shot another glance toward my boys, but my attention drifted to Joaquin. Beautiful, sweet, talented Joaquin. "Just a few more weeks now," I said, sounding chipper to my own ears, despite the lump in my throat.

"How do you feel about that? Honestly?" Meryl asked. She was always way too insightful for my own good.

I decided to answer down and dirty. "Torn," I said, with a ravaged laugh. "On the one hand, I can't wait to see you guys and my mom and dad. But being away from Joaquin-" My voice caught, and tears stung my eyes.

"We understand," Lila said, softly.

"Maybe he can come visit," Jennifer said.

"Yeah. But still." I honestly don't think they understood the pa.s.sion, the intensity. I mean, I wanted to wake up next to Joaquin, every day. I certainly hadn't expected that when I'd arrived in New York a couple months ago.

Lila said, "It's one school year, and then you can head back if you want."

"Oh!" I bounced up and down. "Oh my G.o.d. I can't believe I forgot to tell you right away. They did offer me a real job after graduation. Just today!"

I had to hold my BlackBerry away from my ear because of the super-loud cheering. It made me laugh, which was good, because every time I looked at 'Quin, it felt like my heart was being torn out. When the cheers died down and Meryl and Lila had finished ripping me a new one for holding out, I told them, "I owe it all to Sasha. She's the best, I tell you. You guys will love her-" I cut myself off. Whoops, almost blew it. This was too hard, hiding the trip. "Enough about me. How's the birthday party going?"

"Lila baked me a cake," Jennifer said, triumphantly. "My favorite-German chocolate."

"Did she, now?" I said, in a tone that I knew would get under Lila's skin a little. I settled against the wall, the cleanliness of which was questionable, but I didn't care. "That sounds really awesome."

"We'll freeze you a piece," Meryl said.

"Thanks, Mer." I cleared my throat. "Jennifer, how's the adoption stuff going? If it's okay to ask that."

"Of course it is. Everything's motoring right along," she said. "Reese and Kelly are beyond excited. We were worried that they'd run into problems as a same-s.e.x couple, but they've already been home-study approved."

I shook my head. "Uh...sorry, out of the whole adoption loop. What does that mean?"

Jennifer laughed self-consciously. "Sorry. I tend to think everyone speaks teen-pregnancy and adoption lingo. Home-study approved is sort of like being pre-approved for a mortgage, to put it in a cra.s.s way. See, Social Services has to a.s.sess every adoptive household and give it the stamp of approval, but you can do it ahead of time in preparation to adopt, and Reese and Kelly did. So, since they already went through that, it'll cut down the red tape and speed up the legal process of me relinquis.h.i.+ng the baby to them."

"Cool. They'll be great moms."

"I know. The best. Right now, we're going through all the other paperwork with the attorneys-"

"Like what?"

"Oh, you know, when I can visit, how I'm going to be identified to my-excuse me, I mean to their daughter. Details, details, nightmare details. But when Christmas rolls around, it'll be all worth it. They're going to be Mom and Mommy, and I'm going to be Auntie Jen."

A part of me melted. "That's so sweet. Who's Mom and who's Mommy?"

"Reese is Mom, Kelly's Mommy." She exhaled. "The whole process has been easier than I imagined, thanks to Chloe's help. And Lila's, of course. I'm just starting to feel relieved."

"I bet." I swallowed, impressed with Jennifer's maturity in spite of myself. "You're a strong person to go through this without any support."

"Oh, I have support. Just not from home."

I got her point. We all fell silent.

"So, how's that hottie dancer of yours, Caressa?" Lila asked, in an overly bright tone.

"He's..." I sighed. What could I say? So much had happened between us recently. I was so in love.

Meryl chuckled. "Enough said."

I couldn't agree more, because I did not want to go there. "Okay, I think you should open presents, Jennifer. Right now, while I'm on the phone so it'll feel like I'm there, too." Before I slipped and said something to blow the surprise is what I really meant.

"Open mine first," Meryl said.

I heard the paper tearing, then Jennifer exclaimed. "Oh, cool! Meryl gave me a book about Blessingway ceremonies."

"You'll have to explain that to me later," I said, with a laugh. It's like they were speaking a different language, I swear.

"I'm with you on that one, Car," Lila said, wryly.

Meryl said, "It's a Native American tradition to transition a woman from pregnancy to motherhood-"

"And it involves skinning three rabbits, eye of newt, and a ton of peyote," Lila quipped.

Everyone laughed, but Meryl said, "Be quiet. It's a beautiful, powerful, women-centered ceremony. Very celebratory." And then, to Jennifer, "I was thinking we'd host one for you, Reese, and Kelly a little closer to the birth instead of a regular baby shower."

"Really?" Jennifer said, in a vulnerable tone that was so not the Jennifer I remembered. "I'd love that. Thank you."

"We'll explain the details to you and Ms. Smart Aleck later," Meryl said.

"Okay," I said.

"Now open my present," Lila said, and I could tell she was nervous. Heck, I was nervous, too.

"Okay. Oh," Jennifer said to me. "Caressa, Reese and Kelly gave me an original oil painting, sort of an abstract mom-and-baby thing that's called Auntie Jen. It's so..." Emotion cracked her voice.

"It's awesome," Meryl said. "Reese painted it."

"That sounds really cool," I said. I glanced up, and Thomas tapped his watch face. "My bodyguard is giving me the hurry-up signal," I told them. "Open!"

"Yes, open, open!" Lila said.

"Sorry. Okay." I heard more paper tearing, and then dead silence. My heart started to pound.

"A map of Manhattan? What's this?" Jennifer asked.

Lila struggled. "It's...well, it's..."

"Not that hard to explain," Meryl said, with laughter in her voice. "Just tell her, Lila."

"Yes," I said, unexpectedly caught up in the excitement of bringing something good to Jennifer's worst summer ever. "Tell her."

"You guys are making me nervous," Jennifer said.

Lila cleared her throat. "The thing is, my dad gave me a long weekend trip to New York City for my eighteenth, which isn't until September. But they wanted me-well, us. Meryl, Chloe, and me-to see Caressa's show. So we're going in two weeks."

"That's awesome, but-"

"You're going, too," Meryl said, obviously giddy. "That's the present. Lila set the whole thing up."

"What?" Jennifer asked, in a rasp-whisper filled with wonder and clogged with emotion.

"I only suggested it," Lila corrected.

"That is so awesome of you, but trust me, there's no way my mom and dad-"

"My dad already spoke to your parents-"

"What?"

"-and believe it or not, they agreed."

"You're kidding?" Jennifer said.

"Nope. Chloe is taking us. And you are going."

For a few moments, everything seemed silent. But then I realized Jennifer was crying quietly.

"Are you okay?" Lila asked.

"Yes." A large sniffle carried over the connection. "I can't believe you'd do this for me."

"We just thought you deserved one good memory from this summer," Lila said.

Jennifer laughed, a watery sound. "Believe me, I have more than one, and it's all thanks to you guys."

"Happy birthday," I said, wis.h.i.+ng I were there right then, wis.h.i.+ng I'd been part of this transformative summer with my friends. But then I'd never have met Sasha, or the guys. Joaquin. He'd been my transformation. "I can't wait to see all three of you. Introduce you to Joaquin and Thomas and Sasha. Just...everyone. You can come backstage before the show." I started to tear up myself. The silent cacophony of emotion from four girls was way too much. I needed to escape back to the straightforwardness of the guys for a bit. "I have to go. It's really late here, and Thomas has to take me home before the Rosenthals kill us both."

"Okay. Love you!" Meryl said.

"Me, too," Lila added.

"I can't wait to get to know you better, Caressa," Jennifer said, with another huge sniff. "And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for all the times I was a jerk to you guys before. I wish I could change the past, but all I can do is apologize for it. Which I wish I didn't have to do, but there you have it."

"Don't sweat it, Jen. It's ancient history, and now's not the time for that kind of talk anyway, okay?" I smiled. "Happy birthday. Just have a blast."

"Thank you. Really. Enjoy the rest of your time in New York," she said.

My gaze shot toward Joaquin, and my stomach clenched. "I plan on doing just that. Talk to you guys soon."

Chapter Fifteen.

We caught a later flight to New York City (cheaper) and landed at LaGuardia Airport in Queens too late to see Caressa until the next day. But believe me, that was the only b.u.mmer. During the cab ride into Manhattan, all of us sat there awed into silence by the ma.s.sive, glittery skyline.

After we'd checked into our hotel and changed into pajamas, I picked up the designated bucket and announced happily, "I'm going to get us some ice." I didn't know why. We were going straight to sleep. But when you're in a gigantic, super-cool hotel in New York City for the first time ever, a trip to the ice machine seems mandatory.