Chapter 60: I Can't Wait to Get to the Good Times

*AMY'S POV*

After the wedding, Zoey and Terry go kind of "newlywed crazy".  I guess I can't begrudge them that, but it's still...I don't know...lonely I guess is the right description for it.

I spend most of my time in front of the TV lately, because I have an interesting and glamorous life.  Insert sarcasm here.

As if things couldn't get any worse, my only companion these days is AJ...and he's just as intolerable as he's always been.

"Hey, how about making me a sandwich?" He asks one day when he sees me moping on the couch.

"Don't make me smack you," I tell him, "I don't have the energy."

"Yeah, I can see that," he observes, "okay, scratch the sandwich, how about I fix you a drink?"

"You can make drinks?" I ask, disbelieving him.

"I'm working on it," he says, "come on."

Having nothing better to do, I follow him into the dining room and have a seat in front of the bar.

I watch carefully as he puts together what looks to be a simple cocktail, but at the end, the drinks don't look exactly appetizing.

"How about that?" He asks, obviously proud of himself.

"There's no way in hell I'm drinking that," I tell him, "those look awful."

"Aw, come on, they can't be that bad," he brushes my comments off.

"There are green fumes coming from them, that can't be good." I say.

"You don't know...maybe they're supposed to have green fumes...shows there's alcohol in them," he tries to convince me.  Key word:  tries.

I shake my head, "Nuh-uh, no way am I even touching those drinks."

He groans and rolls his eyes, "fine princess, I'll make a new one."

I watch as he tries again, and I think he might be getting it this time.

"What made you want to work on your bartending skills?" I ask, making polite conversation.

"Eh, you can never be too knowledgeable about stuff like this.  I can make some hella tips picking up bartending gigs." He explains.

"So are you going to try to get into a bar here, or what?" I ask.

He shrugs...and drops the shaker he was holding on to.

"Shit!  Okay, I can't answer questions and focus on making your drink at the same time." He complains.

"Why not try walking and chewing gum first...maybe work up to it," I snark back at him.

"Har, har, har.  You're a real cut up, you know that?" He digs back.

"Yeah, well, some of us have our talents..." I tell him.

He smirks before saying, "I wasn't aware that bitching was a talent."

I glare at him, "Some call it bitching, I call it motivation."

"Hmph," he says, "you would."

"Okay," he starts, sitting a drink in front of me, "try this."

"Hmm, at least it's not fuming green..." I say as I pick it up to taste.

I taste it, "What's this supposed to be?"

"An Amaretto Sour," he says.

I smack my lips together to taste it again, "Hmm, there's an odd after taste, but not too bad."

"I guess that's the best compliment I am going to get from you," he complains.

"Probably so," I tell him as I finish my drink in a couple gulps.

****

A couple days later, as I leave from volunteering at the hospital, I get a call from Kelsey asking to meet her at the coffee house.

When I get there, she has a big smile on her face.  

"Hey, you look happy," I comment.

She laughs, "Yeah, I am...I have news..."

"Oh?" I ask.

"Okay, here it is:  I'm pregnant!" she exclaims.

I feel like an outside force has punched me square in the gut.  I honestly don't know what to say, but she's looking at me expectantly.

"Wow!  Th-that's great!  Congratulations!" I tell her all the appropriate things and give her a hug.

"When did you find this out?" I ask.

"I just came from the doctor," she says.

I give her another hug, "I'm really happy for you sweetie."

I don't know if it's the news of the pregnancy, but Kelsey looks so grown up to me right now.  It's hard to believe that little wild haired pistol grew up to be such a stunning woman.  It's enough to make me get teary.

"Are you okay?" Kelsey asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine...I'm just...so proud of you." I tell her.

Kelsey and I have some coffee and a quick lunch before parting ways.  She tells me that work is going fine as well and Eddie is doing great too.  Of course he's tickled about the pregnancy as well...and so is Rebecca.  I guess it'll be good for her to have another person she knows with children.

Throughout the conversation though, there's a sinking feeling of dread in my gut.  I don't know what it could possibly be, but I feel like this pregnancy is the last thing she needs right now.

When I get home, Kelsey is still on my mind.  I can't wait to talk to Zoey about this.

I get my chance when we sit down for dinner.

"So I've got some news...of the 'are you sitting' variety," I tell her.

"uh-oh...who?" she asks.

We made up the "Are you sitting?" code right out of college when a lot of our friends were getting knocked up.

"Kelsey," I tell her somberly.

Of course, she doesn't seem all that upset about it, "Oh, well...that's not too bad, right?  I mean, she's married..."

"That doesn't give her automatic license to procreate," I complain, "I'm not sure she's ready."

As we're talking, AJ sits down at the table with a plate of food.  He asks, "Hey, what are y'all talking about?"  but we're too wrapped up in the conversation to acknowledge him.

"I don't understand what the problem is.  She's married, at the top of her career, her husband is at the top of his, and they have a house.  What isn't ready?" Zoey asks.

I scoff, "You've got to be kidding me!  She's...just not ready." 

Zoey gives me a look in response.

"What?  Don't look at me like that," I say.

"Okay...are you sure this isn't just you being a little peeved about her having a baby before you?" she asks.

My chest is hit with an intense pain and I know that she hit the nail right smack on the head...and then jammed it into place with her shoe.  I swallow a big, dry lump down my throat.

"I don't know," I say quietly, not wanting to admit the truth.

"Look, just because she got pregnant before you doesn't mean anything," she tries to comfort me, "it's not the end of the world."

"I don't really want to talk about it," I tell her.

As if by magic, Terry walks in then and starts talking to Zoey about going out to a movie, so she gets up from the table.

Before she goes, she looks at me once more, "Are you okay?"

I look up at her and give her my best fake smile, "Yeah, I'm fine.  Go one.  Have a good time."

As they leave, I hear someone clear their throat and I remember that AJ is still sitting at the table.

"What!?" I ask him defensively.

He says nothing for a minute, than speaks, "I feel like I just sat in on a bomb defusing test or something."

"Shut up," I tell him and get up from the table as well.

*ZOEY'S POV*

To tell the truth, I'm really kind of happy to get out of the house after that whole conversation with Amy.  Even though she's my best friend and I am always going to be there for her, she has been a massive grouch lately, and I think Kelsey's pregnancy is only going to make matters worse.  I get it, I really do, but having someone in such a sour mood when you're supposed to be at the happiest point in your life has been hard.

After the movie, Terry and I walk around town, and just enjoy each other's company.

We pop into the library really quickly to see if there are any new books we might want to read and he corners me in the kitchen.

"Hey Vi, can I talk to you about something?" He asks.

"Of course, what's up?" I ask.

"Okay, do you remember me talking about why I wanted to be a cop?" he asks.

I nod, "Yeah, because of the lack of faith people have in police officers."
"Yeah, I wanted to give people a reason to believe in law enforcement again," he says, "and my dream is to work in Butterfly Acres again and revamp the police force there, right?"

Hmm, I don't like where this is going, "Yeah..."

He takes a deep breath and blurts out what is on his mind, "Well, I got a job offer...in Butterfly Acres."

"So?" For some reason, it doesn't occur to me exactly what that means.

"So...I wanted to talk to you about...the possibility of moving there," Terry says.

Suddenly panic takes over...I just married him...and he wants me to move...what the...?

"Did you know about this before we got married?" I ask.  Somehow, if he says yes, I might divorce him right now.

"No!  Of course not," he swears, "Why would you ask me that?"

"I don't know...I'm kind of panicking right now," I confess.

"Why?  You knew this was a possibility," he says.

"An eventual possibility, yes...just not this soon after getting married." I say, "I thought we would get a little big more time."

"So what?  You don't want me to take the job?" He asks, obviously exasperated.

I'm quiet for a minute.  I know how much it would mean to him to work in Butterfly Acres.  He likes this place okay, but he's definitely a hometown boy at heart.  How can I possibly ask him to give up that dream? 

On the other hand, how can he ask me to leave my home?

"I don't know," I tell him, "I can't leave here."

"Why not?" he asks.

"I can't leave all that I've worked for all these years," I say, "...and I can't leave my best friend."

He sighs, "that's what this is about.  You don't want to leave Amy."

"She's my best friend, T," I say, "You knew this when you married me.  We're a package deal."

"Vi, you're going to have to live separately eventually." He says.

"Yeah, in houses next door to each other." I tell him.

"So you never intended on supporting me in my dream?" He asks.

"I never said that!" I exclaim, "I'm just not ready to move right now..."

"Well then, what are we going to do?" He asks, "Do you want me to tell them no?"

I can't bring myself to tell him to turn the job down.  It's his dream after all, but I can't agree to move to Butterfly Acres, some little backwoods town where I don't know anyone or anything.

"I don't know." Is all I can muster right now.