always been a little bit of a princess. Her husband, Tom, has only made things worse because he gives her everything she wants without question. He’s some hoity-toity businessman that works way too much and gives Valerie the highly coveted, limitless Amex card to keep her quiet about his workaholic tendencies.
Sure, it’s textbook dysfunction, but it seems to work for them. Although, sometimes I think he only proposed because she got knocked up. However, I keep thoughts like that to myself….for the most part.
After work, I call Brandon and let him know I’m headed to the party planning, front lines.
An hour later, I arrive at Valerie and Tom’s mansion just outside the Seattle city limits. On the drive over, I debated with me about whether or not I should tell them about Brandon and me getting back together and that I am moving to California. I mentally weigh the pros and cons all the way there but still can’t make up my mind.
I park in the driveway and take a deep breath before cutting the engine and going up the walk to the front doors.
“Baby sister!” Valerie exclaims as she opens the door.
I have no idea why she calls me that, it’s always grated on my nerves.
I plaster on a smile. “Hello Val.” I pat her round tummy. “How’s my niece today?”
“She’s amazing. Come in and I’ll show you the latest sonogram pictures.”
I follow her into the monstrous house and go to her gourmet kitchen, where everything is stainless steel and granite. Valerie retrieves a large envelope out of a drawer and pulls out the black and white pictures and hands them to me.
The pictures take my breath away. It’s so amazing to think that there is this little person just waiting to come into the world. Valerie and I may have our differences but I am going to have to set all that aside when she has her baby. I want to be the best auntie ever!
I take one last look and then carefully slide the pictures back into the envelope and hand it back to Valerie. “Where’s mom?”
“She’s up in the nursery. Come on,” she says, heading toward the staircase.
We go upstairs and down a hallway that seems to go on forever, before arriving at the nursery. I gasp when I walk in. I’m not sure there is a theme, per se, unless color counts as a theme. Everything is pink.
Pink stuffed animals, pink walls, pink clothes, pink bedding, and pink curtains.
“What do you think?” My mom asks, beaming. She is sitting in a (pink) chair in the corner.
“Love, right?” Valerie says, expectantly. “The designers just finished last week.”
She is beaming and I can’t bring myself to burst her bubble.
Her big, obnoxious, pink bubble.
“It’s great, Val, I’ve never seen anything like it before!”
Which is completely true.
“Tom thinks it’s a little over the top. I think he is secretly hoping the doctors are wrong and that it’s a boy. But it’s a girl, I can just tell,” she says, wrapping her arms across her stomach.
Oh, how I hope so. Otherwise…poor kid.
“So what’s the big emergency?” I ask, wanting to get down to business and get out of this room before the color pink is forever ruined for me.
“Well, I was calling the bakery today to change the flavor of the top tier of the cake and it seems they “misplaced” the order for the other pastries and desserts we were going to have,” Valerie explains, using air quotes. “They offered to put in the order now, and they said it could still all be done, but I just can’t trust anything they say now, so I cancelled the whole order.”
“ You cancelled the whole thing?” I say, unbelievingly.
“Yes, Charity, I can’t work with people like that.”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, Val, clearly they purposely lost an order that was worth thousands of dollars of business. That makes total sense.”
I’m so glad I drove an hour each way for this…
“Now, now Charity, this isn’t the time to argue. We just need to find a solution,” my mom
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