Page 113 of Class Clown

“Does Nico feel the same way?” Meredith teased, tossing a look over her shoulder at the man gracefully moving across the dewy soccer field, holding the hand of a dark-haired little girl who was as bundled up as hermama. “Because the way he’s marching over here says he knows exactly what you’re going to try to do.”

I sighed. “I can’t get away with anything these days.”

Meredith pulled gloves from her jacket pocket and pulled them over her slender fingers. The sun was still below the horizon, the streetlights still glowing, and it was chilly. “This is why I waited so many years to marry Brooks. I had to make sure he fully understood how things would be between us. He stopped trying to boss me around years ago.” She paused in putting on her gloves to smile at the gold band she’d only recently acquired.

Meredith had taken her time to be ready for marriage, and Brooks hadn’t seemed bothered by it. Their commitment to each other hadn’t depended on her agreeing to be his wife. When she had finally stated that the time was right, they’d married in a small ceremony this past spring, using Ford’s beautifully landscaped backyard, and keeping the guest list to under fifty people. It had been perfect for them.

I scoffed. “You only think he isn’t bossing you, but he’s been pulling strings in the background all this time.”

“Hah!” Meredith huffed. “Lies.”

“I can guarantee that if you were eight months pregnant right now, he’d be headed this way too.”

“If I was eight months pregnant, I’d still be in bed, but that will never be an issue for me, thank goodness.”

Meredith looked across the field at the five enormous balloons that were being spread out by their crews and tucked her now-gloved hands into her pockets. Not for the first time, I wanted to ask why the decision to have no children, but just like she’d been quiet about her reasons for holding off on matrimony, she wasn’t open to discussing it.

I personally felt like it had something to do with her neglect-filled childhood after the death of her mother. In many ways she’d already raised a child, by caring for her younger sisters throughout those years. Meredith taught school, and was surrounded by children every day, and she knew herself in a way the rest of us didn’t always. Also, she’d recently turned forty-four, and that probably played a role as well.

At the end of the day, the subject was rarely discussed because Meredith was loved for exactly what she chose to be.

“This had to cost more money than me and Brooks make together in one year,” she pointed out.

“It’s not every day you turn fifty,” I reminded her. “If I could afford it, I’d do big things like this all the time. I’d ride a camel to work every day.”

She raised her eyebrows at me. “That sounds like it would get old really fast.”

“The cool thing about being filthy rich like Hailey and Ford is that itcouldget old really fast, and I’d move on to something else.”

“Ford doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would want this type of recognition on his birthday,” Meredith said.

I smiled. “Ah, maybe you’re forgetting that Ford and Hailey’s love adventure began at his fortieth birthday party, which was much bigger than this.”

“Speaking of . . .” Meredith pointed her chin to the parking lot area where a high-end SUV had just pulled up. We watched as the front doors opened, and Hailey’s always perfect blonde head of hair appeared out one side, while Ford exited the other. “There’s the birthday boy himself.” The back doors also opened, allowing their kids to pile out.

“Maybe Ford didn’t organize this. Maybe it was Hailey’s idea?” I said, somewhat sad that I didn’t know the answer to that. In the past, I’d have known every detail about this party and it’s planning, but after Hailey had birthed her twins six years ago, she’d quit teaching school to stay home with them and I’d seen far less of her. “She’s does love to celebrate him.”

Nico arrived at our side then with our four-year-old daughter, Sofia, and immediately put his free arm around my shoulders. Sofia looked so much like her dad that it made me wonder if my genes had been invited to the party. Named for Nico’s mother, she had his dark wavy hair and deep brown eyes, but a tiny tip-tilt at the corner of them proved she was a little bit mine.

If I’m honest, her attitude was mostly me as well.

“You’re not thinking about going up in one of the balloons are you, Bee?” Nico asked, giving me a gentle squeeze.

Meredith shot him a look and laughed. “Of course she is. She’s a grown woman who can do whatever she wants.”

Nico, well-used to Meredith’s sarcasm after nearly a decade of friendship, grinned. “Then I arrived right in time.”

“Fun police,” I accused.

“Once you’ve safely delivered our son you can be reckless once more,” he promised, kissing my temple with a smile.

“Maybe his destiny is to be delivered in a hot air balloon.” I nudged Nico in the ribs. “You can’t mess with fate.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

Sofia squealed then, clapping her hands together as Aryn and Wesley’s mini van joined the growing group of cars in the parking lot.

“They’re here!” She let go of Nico’s hand and took off running, her short little legs pumping with joy, her pink earmuffs almost falling off.

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