Page 9 of Happily Never After

CHAPTER THREE

To Do:

- Write victim impact statement

- Thank you note for Jeremy

“I will never eat again.”Mindy put her fork down and pushed her syrup-covered plate away.

“Same. At least not for another two hours, anyway.” Kyle stretched an arm around Nicole and leaned back to look at everyone. “We have some news.”

Claire’s fork dropped to her plate, splattering hollandaise sauce onto the tablecloth. Surely it must be bad news. This week was full of it. Were they moving? Was someone sick?

“Maybe we could cheers?” Nicole suggested to Kyle.

“Perfect idea.” They lifted their glasses, and everyone else followed, clearly confused.

“To Baby Collins.” Kyle smiled broadly.

An explosion of noise came from the table. Everyone began talking at once.

Claire leaped out of her chair, knocking it over and sending it crashing to the floor. Heads turned in the restaurant, but she was already embracing Nicole. Tears streamed from her eyes as she pulled back, grabbed her best friend by the wrists, and looked her in the eyes.

“Nicole, you are a wonderful human being. You are so smart, so beautiful, and so kind. This baby is the luckiest baby on the planet, and I would die for either of you. I have two thousand questions for you, but I will wait.”

Nicole laughed and flicked a tear away.

“Scoot.” Mindy shoved Claire away to embrace Nicole.

After congratulating Kyle, Claire sat back down and watched her friends celebrate the newest, tiniest member of their group. Luke squeezed her hand under the table. Wow. Her best friend was pregnant. In less than a year, there would be a tiny, screaming human at their brunches. Nicole couldn’t do margarita nights anymore. The very foundation of their friendship had just shifted ever so slightly.

“When are you due?” Luke asked as everyone settled.

“Early January. It’s very early,” Nicole said, clearly noticing everyone mentally counting backward. “We thought about waiting until the first trimester passed, but we both suck at keeping secrets. And if something…unexpected happened, we knew we would need everyone’s support.”

Claire reached over and grabbed Nicole and Kyle’s hands. “I’m glad you told us. I know nothing is guaranteed, but you’re going to be the most amazing parents. I just know it.”

Hours later,Claire’s mind was still buzzing with the news about Baby Collins as she paused at a red light on Broad Street.She glanced in her rearview mirror. The white van that had followed her for ten blocks idled behind her. A knot grew in her stomach and goosebumps ran down her arms. Just because it was a creepy white kidnapping van didn’t mean it belonged to ESA, but the thought didn’t ease the tension in her shoulders.

It was a good thing she was headed to dinner with her biological father, Jack. He was an FBI agent and, until recently, had been estranged from Claire for twenty years. He had abruptly re-entered her life when he discovered she was marked with a symbol associated with ESA. It wasn’t the best way to re-meet an absent father, but they were making some headway.

The van drew her eyes again. What had he said about vehicle counter-surveillance at their dinner last week? Oh, right. Drive like an asshole. Claire sped forward at the green light and turned right without signaling.

Her phone rang, and she answered it without looking. “Hello?” In her rearview mirror, the van continued along its straight path. Worried for nothing.

“Claire. It’s me. Tell me you watchedStepwives of Seacaucuslast night.” Ah. It was Charlie, Claire’s sister who lived in Los Angeles. She was a publicist to the stars, adept at spinning embarrassing stories and covering up dirt. They didn’t have a ton in common, but they did share the occasional obsession with trash TV.

“No, you know Luke’s party was last night.”

“That’s right. Shoot. Call me when you’ve watched it. How was the party?”

“It was great,” Claire said with a smile. “Luke freaked out over the Streamster deal. Brianna was such a huge help with that. I’m on my way to dinner with her and Jack, actually. Did you want me to pass on any messages?”

“Yeah, eat shit and die,” Charlie said flatly.

“Charlie,” Claire warned. After Jack had taken a bullet for Claire the previous summer, their mother, Alice, had finally forgiven him for abandoning their family. Charlie, on the other hand, would rather get a root canal than reconcile with her father.

“Sorry,” her sister said. “It’s not Brianna’s fault. She didn’t ask to be born. Jack can still eat shit and die, though.”

---