Page 73 of The Lucky One
In the middle of the night on Saturday, the door burst open and Papa stumbled in, totally drunk. I knew because he was screaming all over the place. I hid under the stinky covers and waited. By the time Mama picked me up the next morning, Papa was still knocked out. At least I got to cuddle with Pitus.
“How was your weekend?” Mama asked when I hopped into the car.
“Good,” I said, smiling.
The first lie I ever told in my whole life.
Now...
It’s funny how life can undergo a complete transformation in just a month. A smile played on my lips as I leaned my head against the brick wall of Walmart, relishing the fresh air and the sun on my skin.
Paul and I had put our plan into action. When we made pancakes one morning and he brushed against me while reaching for something in the cupboard, I squealed, “Grilled cheese!” and he stepped away with a smile. I unintentionally overstepped when I decorated his pancake with a smiley emoji made out of fruit and whipped cream. He yelled, “Tomato salad,” which earned us confused looks from Gena and Henry.
I had also told Paul that I’d talked to Jon. He had a hard time believing Jon had nothing to do with it, but let it go when I insisted that I trusted him.
Natalia held out a pack of cigarettes. “You want one?”
I promptly shook my head. “I’m good.”
“Look at you,” she teased, tucking the cigarettes into the back pocket of her jeans. She threw me a devilish smile, though the effect was mitigated by the two cute buns on top of her head. “You and Jon looked happy last weekend. I assume you got lucky?”
I felt the blood rush into my cheeks. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Damn, he’s that good?” She snickered, and I shrugged, grinning. My mind kept slipping back to it—that tremendous feeling in my chest when we became one.
“Oh, Emily,” Natalia said, throwing her arm around my shoulders and kissing my cheek. “It’s too bad you won’t be my coworker forever.”
“Let’s not think about that yet,” I said. For now, life was unfolding in unexpected, delightful ways and I couldn’t help but enjoy the twists and turns. Caroline kept reminding me there was still a lot we had to work on. But my little black book kept right on filling with reasons why everything was better than fine.
The cash was quiet today, so I moved to the aisles and shelved packages of tissues instead. I was just about finished when someone said, “Emily, I need your help.”
“Madison?” I gasped. She stood there in a wool jacket, perfectly straightened hair and—a pregnancy test!
She pulled me further down the aisle. “Please, I need you to buy this for me! I can’t have anyone see me with it.”
I raised my brow at her. “You expect me to help you after you told everyone about my breakdown?” The audacity of her request should’ve surprised me, but then again, this was Madison. She only really cared about herself.
“I only told my boyfriend Jackson. He promised not to tell anyone, but he... It was a traumatizing experience for me too,” she said defensively.
The nerve. “Traumatizing for you to see me break down?”
“Y-Yeah!” Madison stammered. “You were my friend, and knowing you veered so far down the wrong path like that, I felt terrible.”
“Madison.” I let out a breath. Not everything is about you, I wanted to say, but I didn’t get to.
“Oh, girls! How wonderful to see you two chatting.” Mrs. Stone walked up to us with broccoli in her cart. Madison’s face turned pale.
“Is that—” Mrs. Stone’s mouth opened, and I could see the gears working behind her eyes.
“It’s mine!” I squeaked, grabbing the pregnancy test from Madison. “Thanks for buying it for me so my coworkers wouldn’t know, Maddy.” I squeezed her shoulder. I couldn’t let her suffer like I had.
“I knew it!” Mrs. Stone stamped her foot, making the tissue boxes tremble on their shelf.
I turned to her with pinched-together lips. “What did you know?”
“That you’d end up pregnant!” Mrs. Stone pointed at me. “I’ve been feeling so guilty for accusing you of not being trustworthy, but here’s the proof. I was right all along. I made a mistake picking you as our exchange student! I wasn’t crazy!”
“You know what?” I looked her straight in the eye, chin raised. “I’m glad I didn’t disappoint.”