Chapter 4 Best Friend

Talia thought about the pregnancy test results in her wallet. She threaded her fingers so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "No present for me?" Lucien chuckled. "It's alright. You're a busy woman, Dr. Ainsworth. The fact that you took time off to have a meal with me is a great birthday gift in itself." "I have the next week off, Lucien. Let's go on a trip somewhere," Talia said. Lucien looked surprised. "I thought you'd be busy working on that report. Are you sure you have the time for a trip?" "I can make it work," Talia insisted. Lucien considered this, then said, "Sounds good. We didn't get to go on our honeymoon when we first got married. A trip now could make up for it." "Okay." Talia countered, "It won't get in the way of your work, will it?" "We won't leave until next week, so I'll make some arrangements this week in advance." "Okay, great." "When's your shift tomorrow?" he asked. "I switched shifts with a co-worker, so I have tomorrow off," replied Talia. "I have a high school reunion to attend tomorrow. Why don't you come with me?" Lucien suggested. In the three years Talia and Lucien had been married, she'd never met any of his friends from high school. She was too busy with work most of the time, and she didn't think meeting his friends was necessary. But given how she'd changed her mind about giving him a birthday present this time, she made up for it by going along with his suggestion. "Sure." … Talia had worked and stayed up for a whole night and two days. On the second night, she finally slept soundly. She woke up to find that she was alone in bed, not that it was a rare sight. She was a doctor, after all, and she was expected to be on call whenever her patients needed her. Most times, she and Lucien could be in the same bed and not exchange a word at all. After washing up, Talia headed downstairs. Brenda spotted her and said, "You're awake, Talia. Lucien's already waiting at the door for you." Talia hummed in acknowledgment and hurried out the door. Sure enough, Lucien's white Cayenne greeted her like a familiar friend. She walked up to the car and opened the door of the passenger seat, only to be taken aback by the sight before her. The person in the passenger seat was also startled. "Dr. Ainsworth?" "Ms. Griffin…" Talia greeted slowly. Thalia must have dolled up on purpose today. There was no hiding the swell of her baby bump, but she wore a long, crimson dress nonetheless. Her dark hair fell loosely past her shoulders like a glossy waterfall, and she appeared to be wearing light makeup as well. However, for reasons unknown to Talia, Thalia's eyes were rimmed with red, and her voice was nasally, too. "Uh, I'm going to the high school reunion, too. Lucien asked me to come along." It was only then that Talia remembered Lucien and Thalia had been classmates throughout grade school and high school. Naturally, she would be included in his high school reunion as well. Then again, it was one thing for Thalia to tag along to the reunion, but it was an unspoken rule that the passenger seat belonged to the wife or girlfriend of the car owner. Talia waited outside for Thalia to shift to the backseat, but the latter showed no intention to move at all. Talia prompted quietly, "You may want to take the backseat, Ms. Griffin. You'll want the extra room to make this a more comfortable journey." A giggle escaped Thalia as she raked her fingers through her hair. The Cayenne was an SUV and sported a high chassis. Thalia was practically looking down at Talia from the passenger seat. "I have terrible car sickness, and the backseat just isn't ideal for me." For some reason, Thalia seemed different than she did yesterday. Talia even sensed some hostility from her. Talie's heart tightened in alarm, but she maintained a congenial smile as she asked, "What are you trying to say, Ms. Griffin?" "That maybe you could find it in your heart to let me ride shotgun during my stay while you take the backseat? Seeing as I'm pregnant and all," Thalia said. "During your stay?" Talia repeated questioningly. "That's right." Thalia explained innocently, "It's been years since I came back, so I decided to stay a little while longer. Besides, I have no plans of giving birth abroad. I'd rather the baby be naturalized in my homeland." Thalia was six months pregnant. Presuming she planned to give birth and recuperate in the country, she could very well be staying with the Reeses for another half a year. Talia probed, "Does this mean you'll be undergoing postpartum recovery at the Reese estate, Ms. Griffin?" Talia pointed out, "My parents are in a sanatorium in the hills, so I've no choice but to move in with the Reeses for now. But the Reese estate is a little far from the city, so it's hard for me to go to my pre-natal appointments. "I heard you and Lucien are staying in the heart of the city now, near the hospital. I was hoping to move in with you guys after I give birth and recuperate there instead." This time, she didn't follow up with a "please" or "if that's okay". She sounded confident, like the decision was already set in stone and she was simply informing Talia about it. Talia angled her head to look at Lucien. "What do you think, Lucien?" Lucien, to his credit, winced in apology. "Our place is closer to the hospital…" "So, what, the both of you have already worked this out between yourselves?" Talia asked. "Lia's pregnant, Talia. Besides, she's my best friend…" Best friend. Had Lucien brought up his so-called "best friend" once or even spoken to her on the phone in the three years of his marriage, Talia might have bought his story. And yet, he and Thalia had zero contact in the last three years. What could have possibly happened to make this pair of best friends cut each other off for that long? More importantly, was there a reason Lucien had chosen to keep this friendship a secret from Talia instead of coming clean to her in her office the other night? Lucien urged, "Come on, Talia. We need to get going. The reunion's about to start." He was directing this at Talia, not Thalia. He showed no intention of having the latter move to the backseat, either. Talia lowered her head, sputtering as she opened the door to the backseat and slid in. The reunion was held at a dry bar, which was quiet during the day and offered plenty of space. It was the perfect spot for school reunions. Lucien drove carefully, presumably because there was a pregnant woman in his car. Thalia was strapped into the passenger seat and holding up a small mirror as she powdered her nose. "Do I look okay, Lucien?" Lucien tipped his head to the side and spared her a sidelong look. "Yeah, you look fine." Pouting, Thalia sounded a little disgruntled as she said, "I can't even put on heavy makeup because I'm pregnant. I look like I barely have any makeup on!" "You look nice even without makeup," Lucien said placatingly. "But that's different! High school reunions are all about leaving a strong impression." Thalia set her compact mirror aside and asked Lucien casually, "Where's my phone?" Exasperation colored Lucien's face. He didn't even hesitate as he fished a phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here. You keep losing your phone, just like you always used to in the past. You never look for it until you need it." Thalia took the phone with a carefree laugh. "Wow, this takes me back to when we were in school! You kept my phone with you at all times." Lucien looked like he was reminiscing too. "Yeah, and I was always the one who replied to those guys who confessed their feelings for you through texts." Thalia let loose another irreverent laugh. "Those guys were annoying as hell. By the way, I think I heard my phone buzz. Could you see who texted me?" As she spoke, she tossed her phone into Lucien's lap, not at all concerned that he was driving. She continued touching up her makeup. Seemingly used to such treatment, Lucien didn't even grumble and simply did as he was told. He picked up the phone from his lap and swiped to unlock it, then asked, "What's your password?" "It's still the same. You know it." In the backseat, Talia peered over Lucien's shoulder to see him tapping away on Thalia's phone keyboard. He worked on it for a while and was still keying in the password as he frowned. "Why must you set up such a complicated password? It's like a cipher or something." "You complain, Lucien, but you've committed it to memory all the same." Thalia's voice dripped with honey. "Are you done yet?" "Almost. Just give me a second—" "Lucien!" Talia looked up and suddenly noticed the traffic up ahead. A cry of alarm escaped her. "Watch the road!"