Page 64 of Under the Influence

Tuesday grins. “No worries. A hag like you has every reason to be jealous of a superstar like me.”

We share a smile before she tips the result toward me so I can see. My heart beats too fast as my stomach drops. Both laughing and crying, I don’t know how to feel.

Tuesday hugs me to her and promises she won’t make me eat dirt until after the baby is born.

“Then, you’ll be fair game,” she murmurs and kisses the side of my head.

Wiping my eyes, I ask, “What do I do now?”

“You’ve already got a plan. Duke is coming to dinner tomorrow. Let him meet the family and get that drama out of the way. Then, you’ll have dinner with Lola, Clover, and Erin. Once everyone is happy with the surprise relationship, Duke will feel calmer. That’s when you drop the news on him.”

“I could wait until I’m a few months along.”

“That’s your Earlham crazy side talking,” Tuesday says and hugs me. “Remember how quickly everyone started talking about Oana’s pregnancy? There’s no way the homestead can keep our mouths shut around Lola and Clover. Duke will find out as soon as the family knows.”

“I know you’re right. I’ve gotten so used to thinking everything needs to be kept out of sight or shouldn’t inconvenience anyone. But keeping secrets made me go crazy today.”

Tuesday snickers. “You’re funny when you scream like that.”

“I hope it doesn’t become a habit. My throat hurts.”

“We’ll get you a cup of tea and settle in for the evening. I just need to run over to my parents’ house and explain how I’m not preggers. Everything will quiet down for the evening so you can rest up for dinner tomorrow.”

After we hide the test, Tuesday and I emerge from the bathroom. My brothers stand in the living room with their women. All four of them stare at me.

“Are you okay?” Betty asks. “I heard you lost your marbles. All of them, too. Not a single one remains.”

Otto bumps his wife as she likely repeats his words.

“I found most of them,” I explain. “But I can’t have anyone bugging me today or else I might start squealing again.”

While my brothers and their women soothe me with a group hug, Tuesday slips out to give Poppy the news. I assume my aunt will fake-faint out of disappointment and then move on with her day.

Instead, hours later, the homestead throws an impromptu party to celebrate Auntie Poppy’s bravery against bad news. I learn Lola and Val are on their way over, along with her family.

Duke texts to ask if we ought to do the family intro today rather than waiting for dinner tomorrow. His suggestion should make me happy. Duke isn’t trying to squirm out of exposing our relationship. That’s great!

Except I’m worn out by my earlier freakout. I keep crying over nothing. Pa-Donovan came home to find me losing my shit over my inability to open a Snapple bottle.

That’s why I ask Duke to wait. Having held my tongue for weeks, I don’t want to ruin the big moment by going full Earlham and throwing another flip-flop.

DUKE, AKA EMBRACING THE MAGIC

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I’m suffering through an honest-to-goodness Edith withdrawal. We haven’t seen each other in days. We’ve been mostly communicating using texts. Last night, when we did talk, Edith barely said anything. I ended up talking too much and sounding like someone’s grampa who’d lost track of his point.

Edith was clearly upset. Or possibly, she’s losing interest. Am I too blind to see the truth?

After watching Lola marry Val, my family’s curse felt like a joke. They’re crazy about each other in a weird way I never saw growing up with my mom and her husbands.

I want to believe Edith and I share the same all-encompassing need. Now, with her recent silence on the phone, I’ve begun to believe the curse isn’t a joke after all.

Today, Edith shifts gears by asking me to visit her family for dinner tomorrow. We’re back on track, except she doesn’t want to talk on the phone, choosing only to reply to me in texts.

A few hours later, I get a message from Lola saying the homestead is having a party and I ought to join them. My mind is awash in what-ifs and warning signs. I can’t imagine the timing is a coincidence.

Except no one gives me any mind when I arrive at the homestead. People are mostly wandering around, talking to each other while rock music plays over the outdoor speakers.

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