Page 64 of The Girlfriend Game
“Carver, I’m fine. I just need a few Saltines and some Ginger Ale.”
As if he’s just been given his mission, he jumps to his feet, scanning the small powder room as if they’ll magically appear out of thin air.
“I’m on it.” The crazed look in his eyes has me stifling a laugh.
The sound of my chuckle must reach into his muddled head and seems to switch him back to ‘on’ mode, flipping on the lightbulb of acknowledgment and recognition.
“Dr. Rush? Wait, what are you doing here?” Carver asks, his gaze connecting once again with mine, bouncing between me and his wife.
Logan’s mouth opens and she tilts her head toward me.
I smile at them both, the oddity of this situation like something out of a comedic TV show.
“Well, this is a little awkward,” I say, flattening my palms in the air before giving a one-handed wave. “Hello, Carver. And hello Logan, nice to meet you.”
I turn to Logan, who sits next to me with an embarrassed expression. Leaning over, I gently bump her shoulder with mine in solidarity and sympathy.
Logan lowers her eyes, thumping her forehead in her hand, and then shakes her head, soft, stray strands of blonde hair covering her sweet face.
“Oh, my God, this is so humiliating,” she whimpers, hiding her face in her hands.
I reach out and lay a hand on top of her knee. “Logan, this is nothing to be embarrassed about. What you’re going through is natural and, sadly, sometimes part of the pregnancy cycle. You can’t help the way your body responds to the life you’re carrying inside you.”
Logan’s face lights up in response, a sweet blush sweeping over her high cheekbones and neck. “That’s sweet of you to say. It still doesn’t make it any less embarrassing, but thank you so much for your help. You probably thought I was just a wasted party-girl who couldn’t hold her liquor.”
Laughter rings out between the three of us as Carver helps his wife to her feet and I stand up on my own. Once he has her steadied on her feet, he gives her a hug. I watch him bury his face in her neck, the love so clearly evident between him and his wife.
I remember him telling me the story of how they met a few years ago when he began counseling with me. They were teenagers at the time, attending a camp in Canada. He said he fell madly in love with Logan, and it was love at first sight. But life and circumstances pulled them apart and they missed out on four years while he was away in college. As fate would have it, though, they reconnected, mended fences, and have been together ever since.
It’s news to me that they’re planning to expand their family. During his therapy sessions with me, we discussed the guilt he carried for years and his reluctance to forgive his own father for making Logan keep it a secret from him.
Things seem to have ended in a happily ever after for them, after all. After getting back together, he and Logan were able to find the adoptive parents of their son and they’ve forged a unique bond with their son. As for Carver’s father, I encouraged Carver to reach out, work on letting go of that pain he held on to for years, and give his father an opportunity to rectify his past mistakes.
Dusting off the pleats of my sundress, I shake my head at Logan’s comment.
“I hadn’t even considered that. I was surprised, of course, but that thought didn’t even occur to me. In fact, I was about to ask you if I should avoid the shrimp cocktail.”
Logan laughs at my lame attempt to make light of what just happened and the three of us turn toward the door when another knock comes from the hallway.
Carver makes a face and then waggles his brows. “Whoever is out there is going to think I just got really lucky in here with you two.”
And when the door opens, Zeke stands there, wearing a very strange expression. His wrinkled forehead is a sign he’s thinking exactly the same thing.
We all burst into laughter as Carver pats his friend and teammate on the shoulder and we each head out into the hallway.
“Great party, man,” Carver teases, draping one arm around his wife and the other around me, peering over his shoulder at Zeke. “Plenty of fun to be had.”
