Page 35 of Shining Pearls
Leaning in, Meg whispered even though we were all alone in her kitchen while the girls were at karate class. “Thatpoor girlhad sex with your husband.”
“I know,” I nodded. “And at first it really bothered me.”
Meg sounded surprised and almost scandalized when she asked, “At first?”
Ignoring her question, I went on with my explanation. “I felt hurt, self-conscious, and insulted that Alex had moved on so quickly, while I was locked away and unable to get home to him.”
Meg was nodding vehemently as if she concurred that I had every right to feel all of those negative emotions and more.
“But he didn’t know when or evenifI would ever be back. I might have done the same thing if the situation had been reversed.”
“Oh, you would not.” Meg scrunched her face into a frown. Seeming to back down a tiny bit, she added, “At least not so soon.”
I shrugged. “In any case, I was concerned that he might have lingering feelings for Josie, but he has proven to me without a doubt that I am his one and only love.”
I couldn’t wipe the wide grin off my face as I thought about the many and varied ways Alex had proven to me over and over again that I was the love of his life. Our sex life had been off-the-charts hot since I had clarified with him that he didn’t need to hold back, due to any emotional or physical traumas I might have suffered at the hands of Kevin Durley or because of any danger it might cause to our unborn child.
“Okay, I get it,” Meg groused when she saw my dreamy expression. “You two can’t keep your hands off each other. What else is new?”
“It isn’t just our sexual chemistry that has been renewed, though. Alex and I appreciate, care for, and listen to each other like we did when we were newlyweds. Our bond with each other feels stronger than ever.”
Meg gave me a strange look. “It almost sounds like you’re glad you were kidnapped.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far!”
We both had a good chuckle. Continuing with the dark humor, I gave my sister a serious look and said, “Promise me you won’t go berserk and attack Josie on the sidewalk or something crazy like that.”
“I would never!” Meg pretended to be outraged that I would insinuate such a thing, but I heard her mutter under her breath, “At least, not while she’s pregnant.”
“Speaking of pregnancy,” I dug around in my purse before emerging with the first picture of my unborn child. Beaming down at the ultrasound photo, I handed it over to my sister’s grabby hand.
“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Meg gasped as she gazed at the alien-esque photo that only an immediate family-member could love.
I nodded my agreement with her generous assessment.
“Did you find out the gender?” Meg looked just as excited as I had been to find out the news.
“Mm-hmm,” I nodded.
“Well?!?” She bugged her eyes out at me as if she couldn’t believe I would hold her in suspense another moment.
“It’s another girl,” I told her.
“Yay!” Meg pulled me into a hug and said near my ear. “Hannah’s going to have a sister. She’s so lucky. I don’t know what I’d do without mine.”
It was a rare show of emotion from her. I didn’t want to make her feel awkward about it, so I simply said, “Same.”
When we finally pulled apart, I admitted, “I think Alex might have been hoping for a boy.”
Meg shook her head to brush off my concern. “Alex will be thrilled to have another daughter because she’s a part of both of you.”
I nodded, trying not to let the tears that were burning behind my eyes fall. I must not have been able to hide them as well as I’d hoped because concern shadowed Meg’s eyes as she asked, “What?”
As much as I didn’t want to admit what I was worried about, I couldn’t keep it bottled up inside any longer. After taking a deep breath, I said to my sister, “With my luck, you know Josie’s going to give him a son.”
33
Josie
