Page 128 of Play the Game
The four of us have gotten really close over the four months that I’ve been on maternity leave with Emmy. Along with Cooper’s brothers, they’ve all been here almost every day since Emmy was born, bringing meals and groceries and presents, hanging with her and letting me and Cooper take naps, changing diapers, doing laundry, and taking care of a million other things I didn’t even realize we needed help with.
The girls, along with Cece and Pam, let me cry on their shoulders when I doubted whether I have what it takes to be a mom, listened with support and absolutely no judgment when I talked about the things that scare me, and walked with me on endless loops around the neighborhood when being inside for too long made me anxious.
It helps that we all live in the same house, but I suspect that even if we didn’t, they would’ve been here anyway. Babies are fucking hard, but having them all around us made it easier. Emmy is mine and Cooper’s, but she’s theirs too.
Me
Does ending it in style involve shopping for work clothes? Because I can’t get a single one of my skirts over my ass. I’m giving them all away and starting from scratch.
Amelia
Your ass is amazing.
Jo
I would literally maim another human if it meant I could have an ass like yours. Like, who has a baby and ends up with an even better ass than she started with?
Me
Thanks, pals, I just have no clue how to dress this body. Everything is in a different place and it’s fucking weird.
Hannah
Well, we’re here to help. We’re going to need you up on bitch mountain at ten this morning. Don’t be late. The guys will all be at your place to hang with Cooper and Emmy.
Bitch mountain is our name for the empty fourth floor apartment in the brownstone where Noah lived before he moved in with Hannah on the top floor. With Cece’s blessing, the four of us took it over and turned it into a little space of our own with places for all of us to work, a massive TV and comfortable couch for girls’ nights, and a kitchen stocked with snacks. Jo once called the brownstone a frat house but better because there are clean sheets, headboards, and full sets of dishes.
She’s not wrong, but I just like to call it home.
The best one I’ve ever had.
My favorite place, with all my favorite people in the world.
Me
What are we doing up there?
Amelia
Would you hate it if we told you it was a surprise?
Me
As a matter of fact, I would.
Jo
I’ll never understand why you don’t like surprises. They’re the literal best.
Me
Once upon a time I got pregnant by accident. That was a big enough surprise to last a lifetime.
Hannah
Fair, but you ended up with the best, most gorgeous baby ever to live, so it was worth it.
Amelia
