Can't Look Away(101)

“Yeah?”

“Same girl. ‘Sisi’ was an old nickname. She goes by Sabrina now.”

“What?” Liz’s jaw drops even lower, and Molly is caught off guard. The Liz she used to know was hardly fazed by anything. She’s never seen her this flustered.

Everly adjusts her round John Lennon sunglasses on the bridge of her nose. “I’m very confused.”

“Same,” says Nina. “Is she Sabrina, or Sisi, or Caitlin?”

Molly draws in a breath, studying the shock that lingers on Liz’s face. “Are you sure it’s the same person, Lizzie?”

“I’m positive. I would bet my life on it.” She swallows. “I remember because … she gave me weird vibes. Really weird. I was glad when she stopped coming to the gym.”

A sinister feeling wobbles through Molly, pooling in her gut. Regardless of the way Liz has treated her and how far apart they’ve drifted, she knows her old friend wouldn’t lie to her about this. Liz is telling the truth. Molly hears it in her voice.

“And I’ll never forget…” Liz pauses. She swallows and locks her eyes on Molly’s. “The last time I ever saw Caitlin, or whatever her name is, I … told her you were pregnant. And that you and Jake were over.”

The sinister feeling in her gut churns as Molly lets these words land, her mind reaching for their implication.

“It’s still so crazy to me that you’re friends with Jake’s wife,” Everly says.

“Wait. You’re friends with her?” Liz’s eyes grow even wider.

“Moll!” a voice calls, and Molly turns to see Becky striding toward her. She’s holding a platter of chicken fingers. “Can you go get the rest of the food from the kitchen? It’s in the oven. We need to make sure these kids eat.”

Molly nods, then looks back at her friends. “Let’s talk about all this later, okay? After everyone leaves.” She gestures toward the makeshift bar. “Go get a drink. Becky made rum punch—it’s strong.”

Molly trots down the wide slate steps and into the house, her mind a tornado. She can’t possibly process what Liz has just told her about Sabrina—not now, not with how perfect she needs to make this day for Stella.

Still, it’s only half an hour into the party, and she’s already dying for it to be over. She considers mixing herself a stiff gin and tonic, but smiles when she remembers why she can’t. A warm glow spreads through the base of her belly. Molly thinks of the budding life there—her baby—and feels the tension drain from her shoulders. Nothing else matters, not actually.

She switches off the oven, sliding the array of crispy mozzarella sticks and pizza bagels onto a platter.

Back up at the pool, Hunter helps her serve the lunch onto Frozen-themed paper plates, arranging them all on the long, folding banquet table that Becky rented for the party. The children eat, lured from the pool by fried food, while the grown-ups drink and mingle in the sun.

After lunch, Hunter initiates Pin the Nose on Olaf—Jade Patel wins by a landslide—followed by cookie decorating and, finally, the pi?ata. When Emma Duffy is the one to knock out the biggest surge of candy, Stella’s face crumples, reddening, her bottom lip quivering. From across the pool, Molly sees what’s about to happen. She rushes to her daughter, opening her arms just as the tears begin to fall. She smooths the back of her long, blond braid.

“It’s okay, Stell,” she soothes. “You’ll have another turn.”

“There … are … no … more … turns,” Stella sobs, the coarse material of her costume scratchy against Molly’s neck.

Molly glances at the pi?ata and sees that her daughter is right—it’s been thoroughly smashed. A dozen five-and six-year-olds scavenge its contents on the grass below.

Guests are beginning to stare, and Molly can sense that Stella, convulsing in her arms, is on the verge of a full-blown meltdown. She scans the scene for Hunter, but he’s over by the bar chatting with the Patels, oblivious.

“Hey, Stell.” Molly uses her thumbs to swipe the tears from her daughter’s cheeks. “How about opening a present?”

At this, Stella stops crying. The trembling subsides. “A present?” Her tearstained, ocean eyes bloom. “I thought I had to wait till everyone goes home.”

“How about you pick just one to open right now?”

Stella sniffles and nods, and Molly helps her to her feet, triumphant. It’s already one thirty; the party ends in half an hour. She’s almost to the finish line.

Stella runs to the pile of presents and, of course, selects the biggest. The one Sabrina brought. Or Caitlin. Or whoever the hell she is.

“All right, guys.” Molly stands, clearing her throat. “The birthday girl is going to open one present. Then we’ll have cake!”

The kids begin to gather around Stella, whose expression is now happy and buoyant. A passing storm. Phew, Molly thinks.

“This is from Sabrina and Jake,” Molly announces as Stella tears into the paper with the ferocity of a wild animal. Or a six-year-old.

“Whoa, cool!” Stella’s smile widens as she flings away the last of the wrapping. “Look, Mommy, it’s the Frozen karaoke machine! Jade has this!”

Molly didn’t know that a Frozen karaoke machine existed.