The nearest furniture store is forty minutes away. Only used furniture is available in Athens. This is one of the 4,724 reasons I want to escape this town.
“Hey Madison,” Adrian greets when our FaceTime connects near the end of September. “How’s college life treating you?”
“I love my methods classes. The professors are cool. How’s everything in Athens?” I wonder if the camera angle shows I’ve put on a little weight. It might only be five pounds, but I see changes in my face and stomach already.
Adrian jumps right in. “I get to go first; my news is juicy.” She wiggles her eyebrows up and down. “I am officially dating Winston.”
I puff up like a peacock. I’m proud that Adrian listened to me during our phone calls and recent texting sessions. I encouraged her to take a chance. She never would have without my encouragement.
“Hey, where is Savannah?”
Salem answers before Adrian can. “It’s deer season, silly,” she giggles. “You know how much Savannah enjoys bow hunting this time of year.”
“Before you groan, we know. Deer season in Athens seems like a holiday, and it’s one of the reasons you couldn’t wait to leave Athens.” Adrian attempts to sound like me when I complain about their little town. They’ve heard my complaints a million times.
“You forgot to complain about the disgusting deer carcasses hanging from trees in peoples’ front yards during deer season,” Bethany adds, and I groan loudly.
“And last but not least, she hates how half the grocery store parking lot doubles as the deer check-in station where people hang out and compare racks in the back of their trucks.” Salem adds.
“Nice guys, real nice,” I admonish. “Let’s just say, I am not missing any part of deer season this year.”
“So, you aren’t curious to see if the guys have a deer yet?” Adrian asks.
I remind them Savannah’s the only one that participates in archery season. Since she’s missing the call, she must not have one yet. Since the guys only go during gun season, they don’t have theirs yet either.
Our call tonight is shorter than usual. I claim I need to read chapters for tomorrow’s classes, but I’m exhausted. The first trimester of pregnancy is taking its toll on me.
Several days later, Adrian calls as soon as I am home from classes. She shares that they’ve developed a new couples habit. Winston tends to bring her lunch at the store, and she takes him dinner at the theater.
“So, last night, I grabbed a pizza and spent the evening keeping him company in his office. I enjoy the nights all the part-timers show up for their shifts, letting us chill in the office instead of covering their shifts.”
“I announced I had an idea after we enjoyed a few bites of our meal. I told Winston he should hire an assistant manager to allow him a couple of nights off each week. He didn’t respond while he pondered my words. Then, he smiled and motioned for me to join him on the other side of his desk. He pulled me onto his lap.”
“We discussed hiring an assistant means we could enjoy evenings together, go on real dates, and attend parties. I was relieved he liked the idea immediately. I had planned to convince him, so I decided to push my luck and share my other idea.”
“I rose from his lap and closed his office door. When I turned back, Winston’s blue eyes were liquid, and his lips quirked up on one corner in a devilish smirk. I licked my lips while I stepped closer to him, explaining I had an even better idea I wanted to share with him.”
Winston got the wrong idea. He said, ‘While I want nothing more than to bury myself deep inside you, we really should act responsibly while I am at work.’”
“I stated while I loved where his mind went, that was not what I wanted to share. I mentioned one of us should get an apartment. I explained it would be nice to spend an evening together that isn’t in our parents’ house.”
“He added we wouldn’t need to use his truck to park in the country either. He could ravish me in a bed, and we could even spend nights together.”
“We spent the rest of the night discussing rentals: where we could find one, who to call, and how nice it would be to have alone time there. We pulled a few listings up on the internet. Of the five we found, two were cute little houses.”
“So, I think we will be looking at rentals later today and tomorrow. Winston liked the idea so much, he’s eager to move forward as soon as possible.”
I share in Adrian’s excitement as we discuss all the good points of a place of his or her own. I’m glad she is enjoying her time with Winston instead of fighting her feelings. I share a bit about my classes, assignments, and the Bible study I enjoy each week at Alma’s church before we say goodbye.
The next Monday night, Adrian texts me a photo of a house. Her text claims Winston decided to buy this house instead of rent. This news is much too big to be texting about.
I dial her phone. Adrian shares how he surprised her by blindfolding her as he drove her to the house. She explains as he gave her a tour, he mentioned how each room reminded him of her and that it had plenty of room for their future children.
Of course, I have to calm her worries that he is moving too fast. We discuss that he bought the house; they didn’t buy it together. He plans to move in and didn’t mention the two of them living together yet. I’m sure it’s the mention of their future children that causes her concern. I know she is eager to run her business, marry, and start a family, but she is scared of the feelings Winston gives her.
We chat for more than an hour. Before I feel she is in a good place, and I can let her go.
Two months later, I’m counting down the minutes until my call with the girls. Adrian claims to have good news to share with all of us.
“Hello girls,” I greet when the video call connects with my phone. I take great care to only frame my face in the camera view. At five months pregnant, my body is beginning to show my added weight.
Adrian is not visible on my screen. She’s usually up front in the center.
“We have been dying to call you for three hours now,” Salem states.
She explains. “Adrian texted us this afternoon that she had a juicy secret to share on the video call tonight,” Savannah informs.
“She wouldn’t give us hints or let us call you early either,” Bethany fake pouts.
“So, where is Miss Adrian with this juicy secret?”
At my question, Adrian appears behind the three girls. She doesn’t speak; she simply slips her left arm through the girls and wiggles her ring finger.
“No way!” I scream.
Savannah, Salem, and Bethany swarm the diamond then wrap Adrian in a tight group hug. As the celebration calms, Adrian assume her usual position in front of the webcam.
She shares in great detail how Winston proposed last night while recreating the drive-in movie date we concocted for their first real date months ago. A permanent smile graces her face.
“We’re planning a May wedding. Oh, and Madison, will you be my maid-of-honor?”
I’m sure my eyes are the size of saucers. I quickly calculate the time from my due date to a May wedding. I might have lost most of my pregnancy weight by then.
“I will be honored to be your maid-of-honor,” I inform my friend.
“Madison gets to plan the bachelorette party!” Bethany squeals.
“Adrian, you’ll need to call me, so we can start planning,” I state.
Later, as we say goodbye, I’m sad I’m not there to celebrate with them. I wish I could have driven up to share news in person. I must continue to hide my secret, so I pretend my schedule doesn’t match theirs anytime they invite me up. This is my sacrifice. For my little one and for Hamilton, I can hide here in Columbia. My classes and homework keep me very busy. The visits each week with the girls keep them in my life. Although I regret my slow withdrawal from them, I must think of my future and of my baby.