California Girls(52)

“Speaking of Hayes, how did you get the sperm?”

Zennie’s mouth twitched. “Really, Ali? You’ve been with a guy.”

“You didn’t have sex.” She thought for a second. “Oh no. You’re kidding. He had to do that at the doctor’s office.”

“Yup. In a separate room. I tried not to think about it while it was happening.”

Ali giggled. “I’m sure he was grateful. I know it’s really great that you can do this for them and when they have a baby, they’ll be so happy, but sometimes, science is just plain weird.”

“Tell me about it.”





Chapter Fourteen


Sunday morning Zennie met her friends to go running in Griffith Park. The sky was clear, the air cool. Bernie had texted to say she was sleeping in and wouldn’t be joining them. Zennie felt a faint sense of relief. She knew her friend was anxious about the possibility of a pregnancy and would be watching for any signs. As it had been less than forty-eight hours, no one was even sure there was a pregnancy, let alone signs.

Zennie told herself that wasn’t fair. Of course Bernie wanted to know what was happening. They all did. It was a big deal. But the only thing they could do was wait. She was determined to put the pregnancy out of her mind as much as possible and just live her life. Somewhere between two and three weeks from now, she would take a pregnancy test and they would all know—unless she got her period first. Regardless, she was not going to dwell on the fact that she might be “with child.”

Two more cars pulled up in the mostly empty parking lot. The friends would run up in the hills, close to the observatory. The path was steep and challenging, but they’d done it before. Zennie enjoyed the change and the fact that there was more focus on running and less on conversation. For most of the circuit, they could only go single file.

Cassie, a short, plump blonde, and DeeDee, a lithe Korean with deep purple streaks in her long hair, had come together. Gina, a tall, fit brunette, got out of the second car and waved.

“How’s everyone feeling?”

Cassie pulled on a baseball cap and squinted at the sun. “Hungover. Ugh. I was out too late.”

Gina grinned. “Didn’t you have a hot date with that new guy? How did it go?”

“The parts I remember were great.” Cassie sighed. “He’s really sweet. He owns a pool-cleaning business and he’s been divorced for two years. No kids.”

“I sense a third date in the making,” DeeDee crowed. “And we all know what that means.”

Cassie and Gina shared a high five. “Sex!” they yelled together. “Woo-hoo!”

“You’re all in a mood,” Zennie teased, thinking her night of yoga, movies on demand and herbal tea had very little in common with how her friends had spent their Saturday evening.

“One of us is going to get some,” Gina said. “Hey, you passed three dates with Clark before it all ended. Did you do the deed?”

“I don’t keep to a calendar.”

DeeDee put her hands on her hips. “Zennie isn’t like us. She doesn’t allow herself to be ruled by her base nature. We should admire and emulate her.”

“I’d rather get laid,” Gina admitted. “I’m in a dry spell and I’m running out of batteries.”

They all laughed and headed for the trailhead.

The first mile was on relatively flat ground where they could run abreast. Conversation flowed easily. Most of the talk was about who was dating and who wanted to be. Cassie filled them in on every detail of her date, including the heavy petting before she’d gone home.

“What about you, Zennie?” Gina asked. “What’s new with you?”

Zennie thought briefly of her Friday afternoon procedure but knew it was too soon to bring that up. “I spent yesterday morning at my mom’s house,” she said instead. “She’s getting the house ready to sell so she can move to a smaller place by the beach. There’s thirty years of crap everywhere. Ali and I finished the bonus room, so at least that’s done. But there’s still every other room.”

“We’re entering that stage of life,” DeeDee told them. “First they downsize, then they start getting sick.”

“That’s cheerful,” Cassie muttered.

“You know it’s true. Soon we’ll be the sandwich generation, raising our own families while caring for our aging parents. It’s a thing.”

“Don’t tell me that,” Gina said. “I’m an only child. There’s no one but me.”

Zennie hadn’t thought about the next few years, but realized if something happened to either of her parents, their care would fall on her and her sisters.

They reached the next section of the trail, where the path was steep and narrow. Gina took the lead, as she always did. She was an X-ray technician who had run hurdles all the way through college. She competed in triathlons a couple of times a year and often talked about how she should have tried harder to make the Olympic team when she’d been younger.

Gina set a challenging but achievable pace. Zennie was right behind her with Cassie and DeeDee bringing up the rear.

The trail was well marked and well used. There were wider areas for groups to pass and the underbrush was kept trimmed, something Zennie appreciated. She might have grown up as a tomboy, but she still had a deep fear of snakes. The foothills around Los Angeles were home to rattlesnakes and Zennie was convinced that in the rattlesnake community, she was a prize.