Page 51 of The Homecoming

“Yes, it’s Dan’s. I’m five months along.” Autumn poured the champagne into plastic disposable flute glasses as Weasel opened the fridge and removed her bottle of ginger ale.

“So that’s what this is for…” He took one of the glasses, pouring the ginger ale and handing it to her. He then placed the other flutes on a tray.

“So, how long have you suspected?” she asked.

“You’ve been sucking down gin and tonics, but not getting even the slightest bit tipsy. So, either you’re a raging alcoholic, or there wasn’t any gin.” He smiled, picked up the tray of drinks, and left the kitchen. She followed him into the main room of the barn where he handed a glass to Rebecca, who was now behind the deejay booth scrolling through the computer. He then walked around and passed out the champagne to the others.

“It’s almost midnight,” Rebecca called out. The seven of them counted down to the turn of the new year and the moment it struck, they all cheered and hugged. Of course, the couples shared their traditional midnight kiss. Autumn turned to hug Rebecca, but discovered Weasel had snuck behind them and tugged Rebecca by the hand out of the booth. He pulled her to him, laced his fingers into her hair, and planted a kiss. Autumn quickly tapped a song on the computer, and the lights went into dance mode. Then she stealthily moved to the front of the booth to give them some privacy. There she hugged the others, and they all danced the night away.

26.

The weeks trudged by slowly as White Oak grew darker and colder each day. The landscape was dusted with snow just as Autumn decided she hated the stuff. Luckily, interest in fall weddings with a gorgeous backdrop of foliage appeared to be all the rage, helping the excitement in their venue skyrocket. Autumn tried her best to sound enthusiastic when talking to potential clients when what she really wanted was to cut to the chase and tell them, she would help make the fall wedding of their dreams if they signed on the dotted line, handed her the deposit, and got out. She was in a foul mood most of the time and no longer knew if it was the winter, the pregnancy, Jason, or the lack of communication from Dan. Perhaps it was a combination of all of the above. Jason appeared, for the time being, to be keeping his fears in check, aside from how he felt about Dan.

Autumn, now being a walking billboard for the fact she and Dan had screwed at least once, didn’t help matters. She’d started feeling the baby move, which her friends all found very exciting, but all she could contemplate was how the kid never stopped tumbling. It constantly rolled around inside her like an over-caffeinated gymnast.

“Hi, I’m Scottie Hopkins,” said a small, wafer-thin girl with far too much enthusiasm. She was wearing a bright yellow dress under an opened royal purple coat that stood in stark contrast to the frost-tipped grass and bare trees outside the window. “I’m the temp,” she clarified after Autumn stared at her for far too long with a giant, eager grin.

Autumn rubbed her forehead. “For starters, Scottie,” she said, “dial it down, by about a million. Cause my head hurts, my back hurts, my hips hurt, and my feet hurt. I might be hungry, or it might be morning sickness. Who the hell knows?”

Scottie stared at her as if Autumn had just kicked a puppy in front of her. Autumn sighed. “Come on in and sit on the couch,” she said. “I’m pregnant, hormonal, and cranky, so you’re just gonna have to ignore it. But that’s why you’re here. I’m going on maternity leave, and these guys can’t find their way out of a paper bag with a map. I keep them organized and this place running like clockwork, especially after we open. Which will be a month before I’m due, so that’ll be fun. Any questions?”

“When are you due?” she asked.

“In three months. We open in two with the wedding of our friends.”

“I don’t really have any experience in this,” she said.

“Neither did I, so let’s get started.”

A couple of hours later, Brandon poked his head around the door. “Hey, you must be Scottie.”

She nodded. “You must be Brandon.” She stood and went to shake his hand. “I met Ben already.”

“Is Autumn getting you acquainted with everything?”

“Yes, she said I’d have to hunt you down to sign invoices.”

Shaking his head, he smiled. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear. But that’s true,” he said, making Scottie laugh.

Brandon produced a bag from behind his back and placed it in front of Autumn. It smelled divine. “It’s Rebecca’s Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich.”

Her mouth watered. “Wow, someone just earned himself some brownie points,” she said, opening the bag.

He pumped his fist. “I can use all of those I can get.”

Scottie laughed again.

“Don’t give him pity laughs,” Autumn said, “or he’ll never stop.”

Brandon waived a dismissive hand at her. “Ignore the crabby preggo.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, but he smiled and turned to Scottie. “Have you had a tour of the farm?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Let me show you around while Autumn eats. Maybe she’ll be in a better mood afterward.”

When Scottie’s back turned, Autumn gave him the finger and with an exaggerated grin, he turned and was out the door.

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