Page 11 of Chubs

Before Mom can answer, the entire bed drops to the floor with a crash. Stunned, my hold on Lisa releases, and she scrambles away. Mom simply repositions herself a little further from the edge and smiles serenely.

Leaning over the edge of the bed, I see the broken slats of wood that used to support the bed springs and mattress.

“I should have had this bed replaced years ago. We’ll order a new one today. Get moving, ladies. Breakfast will be ready in five minutes,” Mom announces before squeezing my kneecap, knowing it will make me squeal then she leaves the room.

“Brat,” Lisa tosses over her shoulder as she heads for my door.

“Snitch,” I holler back as I climb off the broken bed.

Me: Sorry Pips but I won’t be in today.

Pippa: No worries. Thanks for all the help this week. Hope you have a fun trip.

Me: You’re welcome. Remind Craig that him and I have a lunch date when I get back. I haven’t forgotten.

Pippa: I will but there’s no way he’ll forget. He loves his lunch dates with you!

I tuck my phone into my back pocket as Mom comes into the room. Walking straight to me, she looks my face over carefully. I know she notices the slight swelling around my eyes from the crying jag I had, but she doesn’t mention it. Instead, she gives my forehead a brief kiss before taking a seat in her favorite chair. With far less grace, I flop down on a loveseat and sigh.

“Where’s Lisa?” I ask.

“She’s in the kitchen on the phone and pouring iced tea for us. Said she’ll bring them in when she’s off the phone.”

“That sounds good,” I murmur while staring out the nearest window.

“Things will work out how they’re supposed to, Lucy. Might be how you want them to, might not be, but either way, you’ll get through it. You’re a fighter, a survivor. You always have your family to lean on, but you also have that club. Chubs might be the club member, but you have earned their loyalty and respect just as much as he has. Bailey loves you like a sister. Axel, that overgrown man-child, feels the same way. I don’t always understand his type of craziness, but I know his loyalty to you runs deep. As your mother, that means way more to me than his quirks. The kids see you as their aunt, especially little Alex and Craig. If things don’t work out for you and Chubs, you’re not losing them too. They won’t allow it. I promise you that,” Mom says with firmness in her tone.

I nod slowly then meet her eyes.

“I’m not afraid of them cutting me out. I’m afraid that I’ll pull away from them.”

“Because it would be painful to be around them if Chubs is there too,” she states knowingly.

“Yeah, but then I think of not having Bailey as my best friend anymore. How that would gut me too. Or spending time with Craig and the rest of the kids. How much I’d miss working with Pippa or laughing over Tessie’s latest driving lesson and who it traumatized.”

“You’re getting way ahead of yourself. Quit thinking about all of it as one big crisis and take things one day, one problem, at a time. This may be just a bump in the road, honey. All couples have them, and maybe it’s just your turn,” Mom advises.

I nod in agreement, even though I know it’s more than a bump.

Lisa walks into the room, carefully carrying three glasses, and I hold my breath until she sets them down on the coffee table. Grinning, she throws up the victory sign.

“What is it Mac calls the weird things that happen when you’re around?” Lisa questions while taking a seat next to me.

“Being Lucy’d,” I answer while Lisa hoots in laughter.

“You’re a force of nature, Lucy. That’s something to be proud of,” Dad says as he enters the room and takes a seat near Mom.

“Dad! Will you ever admit that the universe revolts—” Lisa starts her old joke before Dad cuts her off.

“Coincidences. Force of nature. Magnetic pull. No idea why things seem to happen near Lucy, but I do know she’s not to blame for any of it,” he insists for the thousandth time.

“Jinxed. Cursed. Snakebitten. Catastrophic,” Lisa counters with a saucy grin at Dad’s sigh.

Having heard enough, I pull the throw pillow from behind my back and smack Lisa in the face with it. Lisa grabs for the pillow, but Dad snatches it away from me first.

“Is this the behavior we can expect for the whole trip?” Mom asks in a resigned tone.

“Yes,” Dad, Lisa, and I answer at the same time.

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