In a Book Club Far Away(60)
She hummed an agreement, then closed her eyes for the tedious process of removing most of the unsightly hair from her face. To her left, she heard the sound of Adelaide’s happy squeak; she must have been thrilled with her manicure.
“How are you feeling these days?” Janis asked.
Instinctively, Regina’s hand made its way to her belly, and she chose her words carefully despite the temptation to let loose a joyful scream. She was aware that Janis’s husband wouldn’t be part of the advance party, so she was careful not to rub it in. “I feel pretty good! Baby’s doing well, too. I’m grateful Logan’ll be here for the birth—it was a miracle that the request was approved. I know I’m lucky.”
“Okay, breathe.” Janis had applied paper under one eyebrow. With quick movements, Janis pressed the paper against her skin and tore the hair out. “You okay?”
Regina patted the sides of her eyes; waxing always made her tear up. “Yes. Man, the stuff we have to do. Wax, dye, have babies. We should get hazard pay, too!”
“You’re telling me.” Janis handed her a mirror, and Regina inspected her face. Nope, not a strand of dark scraggly hair.
“Thank you for taking care of me the last couple of hours.” In the mirror, Regina took in her reflection. Her hair was now highlighted with ash brown—her OB had given her approval for the third trimester—and layered for more volume. “I wish I could duplicate this blowout. Can I just have you with me on reunion day?”
“He’s going to be so happy to see you—no matter what,” Sophie said, from the waiting room area.
The patrons in the room nodded in solidarity. Still, Regina couldn’t help but be a little worried.
Her husband had left a woman who was trim and fit. And now here she was almost seven months later, with a belly big enough to take up half their queen-sized bed, quite literally. She was now eating kimchee over rice every day, because cravings. The movies that she’d loved now made her cry—she refused to watch Titanic, her favorite of all time, because she couldn’t think about all that death right now.
Adelaide stood from the manicurist’s chair and tugged Regina out of hers. “C’mon, we need to celebrate with some ice cream before we all lose touch.”
Regina gasped at the implication. “Lose touch? We won’t lose touch.”
“There will be a little bit of losing touch, and that’s okay.” Adelaide smiled pensively. “It’s natural for the attention to shift.”
Regina and Adelaide paid and met Sophie outside. Sophie’s appointment was scheduled for the next day but she had joined the two and shopped when they were in the salon. She was holding two bags from Dillard’s.
“Someone was busy! What do you have in there?” Adelaide asked, using a finger to peek inside.
Sophie widened the opening. “A little somethin’ somethin’.” She winked. “Lingerie.”
“Getting serious,” Regina teased. “But I only say that because I’m jealous. My lingerie wouldn’t fit over my thighs at this point. I did, however, fill the freezer with Logan’s favorite ice cream. That should count for something.”
“Don’t worry about that belly,” Sophie said. “Be proud of it. That and the stretch marks after. I have an added bonus of a C-section scar.”
“I didn’t know you had a C-section!”
“The girls came early, at around seven and a half months. I had high blood pressure, but we were all well taken care of. They stayed in the NICU to feed and grow. So, see? Imperfect bodies are strong bodies.”
Next to her, Adelaide heaved a sigh, heavy and mournful, and the expression on her face was the absolute opposite of her cheerful, glittering nails.
Guilt overcame Regina, and she flashed Sophie a look. As if understanding, Sophie slinked her arm around hers. “Let’s go have some ice cream.”
“I change my mind. I don’t want ice cream. I want my husband back,” Adelaide said quietly, shoulders dropping. She stuck out her bottom lip. “I want him back so we can resume our life. I miss him.”
“C’mon. I have to talk to both of you about something anyway.” Regina tugged Adelaide by the elbow.
“Fine,” Adelaide relented.
“Where do you want to go?” Sophie asked.
“Let’s go back toward home. I think the ice cream shack opened up.”
Regina had learned that ice cream was sacred in their part of the world. These mom-and-pop ice cream shops were set up like tiny homes along the sides of the highways, each complete with a walk-up counter and a couple of picnic tables. Full fat and full flavor.
For what Regina wanted to propose, they deserved the best dessert.
Fifteen minutes later, all three women had ice cream cones and were sitting in Sophie’s minivan, still running with the heat on. Regina, in the second row behind Sophie in the driver’s seat, made good progress on getting her rocky road ice cream down to a manageable size before saying, “So, I’m not sure how to do this, but I was wondering… you two have been everything to me the last seven months. You really took me under your wings, you know? And while my mother is going to kill me because she fully expects me to ask my cousin who I haven’t seen in ten years and who’s, like, sixteen years old… will you be my baby’s godmothers? Being a ninang is a big deal. It’s not just about presents, but being there for them, when I need a standin.”