Page 138 of Side By Side

“He loves falling on his ass, doesn’t he?” Belle joked.

“It’s his favorite thing.”

They skated over to the door, and Chandler’s heart started racing as they headed into the changing room. She stood back and watched Belle as she sat on the bench and removed one skate and then the other. Chandler leaned against the row of lockers opposite her and waited.

“Are you going to get out of your skates?”

“Oh, right.”

She’d forgotten about that part.

“You okay?” Belle asked.

Chandler sat down on the bench across from her and removed her skates but didn’t make any effort to put on her shoes.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” she replied.

She stared up at the lockers behind Belle, who was putting her own shoes on, and wondered when Belle would turn around.

“Do you want to change here?” Chandler asked. “Into your jeans, maybe?”

“Are we going someplace fancy? I was just going to wear my leggings.”

“Um… Maybe take the shoes back off and put on your jeans.”

“Okay. Why are you being so weird right now?” Belle laughed but still kicked her shoes back off and turned around.

She pulled open her own locker and tossed her jeans onto the bench. Then, she closed the locker, and her hand gently touched the tape on the locker next to hers. Instinctually, Chandler touched her cheek with her own hand. Belle had claimed the locker next to hers as Chandler’s shortly after Chandler had moved into her apartment, and there was still a piece of tape on it with Chandler’s name and a little red heart in the corner of the tape. Chandler wasn’t even sure if her wife knew she did it, but whenever Belle closed her own locker, she would touch the tape on Chandler’s, and whenever Chandler saw her do it, she’d touch the spot on her cheek that Belle had kissed all those years ago now.

“Babe?” Chandler asked as Belle turned toward the bench and away from where Chandler needed her to look.

“Yeah?”

“Can you turn around for me?”

“Turn around? Why?”

“Just…” She pointed to the locker on the other side of Belle’s.

Belle turned, seemingly saw nothing, and turned back to Chandler.

“Did you see a spider or something?”

“No.” Chandler laughed a little. “Babe, look.” She pointed again.

Belle turned around once more, and this time, Chandler knew Belle saw it because she didn’t turn back around immediately.

“Really?” she said so softly that Chandler almost didn’t hear her.

“Yes, really.”

Belle turned around then with tears in her eyes.

“You’re…”

“Pregnant, yeah,” Chandler replied.

On that locker, she’d put a piece of tape that read, ‘Baby Elrod-Wolfe,’ and she’d been waiting all day to tell her wife that they were going to be parents. Belle covered her mouth with both hands.