Twisted Fate by Summer Cooper
3
Keily
“How long have you got left on your shift?” Rosa asked from the opposite side of the booth she and Keily occupied.
“A few hours,” Keily said with a complete lack of enthusiasm. Another month had passed, her bump had grown at least another inch, or so her pants told her, but little else had changed. “I just want to go home.”
“So why don’t you just quit, Keily?” Rosa was a little exasperated with her, but sighed before she went on, her face downcast. “I’m sorry, Keily. I didn’t mean to be so harsh.”
“I know,” Keily said, reaching across the table for her friend’s hand. “I just don’t want to spend what I have saved up. I’m getting through school alright, and when I’m done with that, I might take a break, or find a less demanding job with the degree, but right now, I want to save that nest egg for my maternity leave and any future problems I might need to spend my way out of.”
“I guess that makes sense. Although...” She paused as if to consider what she was about to say, her left eyebrow, dark and perfectly shaped, arched over her brown eye “If you told Logan about the babies, he’d probably help you out. The state may insist he pay child support anyway.”
“If I put him on their birth certificates,” Keily answered promptly, feeling the sting of truth in Rosa’s words. “Life would be simpler, I know, if I just told Logan but you know what he’ll say. First, he’ll ask if they’re his, then he’ll think I did it on purpose.”
“You do know it takes two to make babies, right?” Rosa asked with a soft laugh, to take the snark out of what she’d said.
“I do.” Keily laughed in return, her gray eyes wide with delight. “I know that too well. But you know how men can be, it’s always our fault if we get pregnant, our fault they didn’t wear a condom when they should, our fault we didn’t do…something.”
“I’m not sure Logan is that kind of guy. He’s so…caring sometimes. Like all the people in California that work for him, he gave them weeks off with pay, has made sure his worker’s comp insurance company doesn’t stiff any of them, and he’s always checking on everyone, even while he’s been in California. He still calls me, the other supervisors, even the employees that got friendly with him. He takes care of his people. I’m not so sure he’d blame you for those little wiggle worms in your tummy.”
“Wiggle worms, fuck, don’t say that. I’ll have nightmares about it when I can actually get some sleep.” Keily looked around, even though the diner was empty. She wanted to be sure someone hadn’t sneaked in without her noticing. With a sigh she let Rosa’s hand go and leaned back in the booth.
Lisa was around somewhere, probably preparing hash-browns for the cook or sweeping somewhere. She was always busy and even did some of the chores Keily was supposed to do because she didn’t want Keily doing them. Especially the mopping. She was terrified Keily would slip and it would hurt the babies, so she wouldn’t let Keily anywhere near a wet floor.
It was kind of her, but Keily felt a little bit like she was taking advantage of the older woman, even if she did insist on doing it.
“That new smock, ahem, suits you.” Rosa pointed at the white shirt with light pink stripes.
The top of the smock was too big, but her breasts were ballooning so she’d gone two sizes too big when she bought it. There were pleats gathered just below her bustline that would accommodate her stomach as it grew. Not her idea of high fashion, but she had a limited choice when it came to work clothes. The pink stripes were pushing it, but they were very light so hopefully, they wouldn’t get her in trouble with the boss.
“I think it looks like I’m wearing a tent, but what can you do?” Keily shrugged and smiled, brushing her hand over her blonde hair to make sure it was still in a neat bun. “I even had to buy maternity pants.”
“Oh no, are they awful to wear?” Rosa cringed and looked down at Keily’s waist, even though the table covered most of it.
“They aren’t bad really, that stretchy part even helps my back a little. And I found this support thing that cradles the bump too, that’s a big help.” Keily’s hand came down from her hair and settled on her ever-expanding stomach. A smile twitched at her lips and she sighed with something like happiness. “I know I’m always talking about how miserable this is, but it’s nice too, you know?”
“No, I don’t,” Rosa said, her brown eyes rolling in her head, but the smile downplayed it. “And I don’t want to know right now.”
“How’s it going with your couple?” Keily slid her glass of water over to sip at it innocently, but the grin that formed took away that innocent look.
“It’s going,” Rosa said primly, her eyes giving away just how pleased she was with the situation. “I’m seeing them later.”
“I’m glad you’re happy, Rosa.” Keily meant it too. Even if she was currently miserable with her love life she was glad Rosa had found happiness. “You deserve to be happy after your divorce.”
“I am. I just wish I could fix things for you.” Rosa sighed again and looked away. Keily smiled at the pretty picture her friend made.
Rosa had pushed her sunglasses up on top of her head, sweeping her black hair away from her tanned face. The woman could have, should have been a model, she was so beautiful, but that wasn’t the life Rosa had reached for. She’d divorced around the same time Keily had and moved into town hoping for a new direction in life, a change. She’d not only made friends with Keily, but she’d also started a romantic relationship with a married couple.
“I have to admit, at first, I kind of thought it was a crazy thing for you to do, but I wasn’t judging you, by the way,” Keily added quickly. “I just didn’t see how it would work with a married couple. Don’t you, or they, get jealous of each other?”
“No, we talk things out and treat each other with respect. There would be issues if we were sneaking around behind each other’s backs and doing things with only one but not the other. We communicate and that’s important in all relationships.”
“You’re right.” Keily nodded, knowing that was one thing that was really lacking when she’d been with Logan. Oh, they’d talked about things, even had some long discussions about politics, how to fix the world, other things they wanted to do or see, and a little bit about their pasts, but they’d never really talked about emotions, needs, or what might be bothering the other. It wasn’t a good way to maintain a relationship, that was for sure.
Keily glanced up, about to ask Rosa something else, but she saw a woman with a baby in her arms walking up to the door. Her jaw dropped open before her entire body froze.
“What? Who is it?” Rosa asked and turned around. “Isn’t that your sister?”
“It is. Shit, what do I do?” Keily glanced back at Rosa, her stiff body tense now as she leaned forward.
She’d begged her sister to talk to her, had sent her hundreds of messages, emails, and phone calls, but she’d never replied. Violet had looked Keily right in the eye as she walked in, so she knew Keily was there. She hadn’t turned around and walked away, did that mean she wanted to see her sister at last? Or was she coming to gloat at Keily’s fall from the top of the world?
“You should greet her and give her a menu, I guess, Keily,” Rosa whispered. “Just don’t be snippy. See what she does and don’t let her get to you.”
“You’re right,” Keily said quietly, lost in thought. Why was Violet really here?
“Well, go on then.” Rosa hissed, her eyes wide and curious. “See what she wants. She might have gotten over it all. You won’t know until you go talk to her.”
“Okay,” Keily whispered under her breath and pushed up from the booth. She walked over to the counter to grab a menu and a booster seat before she plastered a fake smile on her face. Violet had taken a booth by the windows at the front of the diner, further down from where Keily and Rosa sat.
“Hi, Violet, how are you today?” Keily asked in her most businesslike voice.
Her eyes were on her niece, not her sister. Alice, now two years old, had a mass of blonde curls on her head and a face that matched her mother’s and Keily’s. Was that what her babies would look like, Keily wondered, like miniature Alices? Her heart melted at the thought and for a moment she thought tears would overcome her, but she took a deep breath and fought them down.
“Fine, Keily. How are you?” Violet looked Keily up and down while Alice, her daughter, fidgeted in her lap. Her eyes went wide when she noticed the smock and her eyes quickly went back up to Keily’s, a question there that Keily didn’t want to answer. Even if it was obvious what the answer was.
“I’m good,” Keily replied, fake smile brittle as could be. How was she going to get through this?
Alice continued to fidget until Keily handed the seat over to Violet. Violet put the seat down beside her and put Alice in it before she looked back up at her older sister.
“When is the baby due?” There was no judgment there, just curiosity.
“In March,” Keily answered automatically. She’d already become accustomed to people asking her that. Even the sister she hadn’t seen in over a year and a half.
“I see,” Violet answered, and Keily could tell she was doing the math, confused.
It was unusual that Keily had such a noticeable bump at this point in her pregnancy, but that was what happened when you were carrying around three growing humans inside of you.
“I’m going to have triplets.” Keily supplied and saw understanding mixed with shocked surprise.
“You’re kidding!” Violet whispered dramatically, her eyebrows high on her forehead. “Triplets?”
“Yes, triplets.” Keily thawed a little as she talked about her babies and decided what to do next. “Look, I know I’m supposed to be asking you what you want to eat but it’s been a long time and, well, you’re here so either you want to gloat, or you want to talk. Can I sit down?”
“Sure, yeah, that’s fine,” Violet answered and pointed at the booth across from her.
“Alright,” Keily replied and slid into the booth. “I guess since you agreed and you’re here you don’t want to gloat.”
“No, not really. I heard around town that you were working here and about where you were living and I just wanted to check on you. I said some pretty awful things to you and then I ignored you and, wow, I still can’t get over triplets. A lot has happened.” Violet looked contrite and Keily felt her own guilt flare-up.
“You didn’t say anything that I didn’t deserve, Violet. I was awful to you, to Alice, to myself. I’m really sorry I’ve been such a bitch your whole life, too.”
“I guess that was more Mom’s doing than yours. I saw what she did to you, how she treated you, and while she thought you were some kind of precious angel, I could see she was using you. I should have understood that better.” Violet smiled sadly across to her sister.
“Why should you? You were a kid and I was a monster. And yeah, Mom’s to blame for a lot of that, but I made my own choices and I regret a lot of them.” Keily looked away this time, her eyes full of tears she tried desperately to hold back. “A lot has changed, a lot will change again shortly, when I have these babies, but I won’t ever stop feeling bad about how I treated you for far too long.”
“Oh, let’s just... damn it, Keily.” Violet reached for a napkin and wiped at her own eyes, her eyeliner smudging as she dabbed. “I needed time to come to grips with things, but I understand now. And I’m willing to give being your sister another chance if you are?”
“I am. I really am.” Keily reached to grab at Violet’s hand and almost sobbed with relief when Violet grasped back.
“Oh my God, you two are going to make me cry too.” Rosa sobbed from her booth and they all laughed then.
“Rosa, come meet my little sister,” Keily called out before she looked back at Violet. “You’ll love Rosa, she’s my best friend.”
“You have a best friend, Keily? You hate other women.” Violet exclaimed, surprised all over again.
“I told you things have changed,” Keily said with a huge smile just as Rosa came and slipped into the booth with her.
“Hi, I’m Rosa. Nice to meet you.” Rosa held out her hand to Violet with a huge grin.
“I’m Violet, nice to meet you too,” Violet answered and shook Rosa’s hand. “And this is my daughter Alice.”
“Oh, she’s adorable.” Rosa smiled at Alice before she looked back at Keily. “Think your munchkins will look like her? She looks just like you and Violet.”
“Probably. Although, I’m not sure the world is ready for three more of me.”
“Maybe you’ll have boys.” Violet was quick to add. “But you aren’t Mom, so maybe your kids will be, uh, different.”
“Nice save, sis.” Keily laughed but nodded too. “I don’t think my kids will be anything like me, or well, how I was. I am most definitely not Mom.”
“I know I don’t know her, but from what you’ve told me Keily, and what Violet just implied, I don’t think you’ll be anything like her. Nothing at all. Besides, you’ll have us to temper that snobby attitude if it comes back.”
“I was never snobby to you.” Keily protested immediately, her eyebrows up.
“No, but you weren’t exactly Miss Congeniality at work for a while. With everyone but me.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Keily admitted. “But I just wanted to focus on doing a good job.”
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me, I get it. Others might have taken it for snotty superiority, but I know it was just your defense mechanism.” Rosa held up her hands and leaned into Keily. “That you don’t need anymore.
“No, I don’t. And it seems I have my sister back at last, too.” Keily smiled and looked over at her sister. “I’m so happy you stopped by.”
“I am too. Now, what kind of food do they make here? I’m starving.” Violet laughed as Keily handed over the menu. Keily felt herself blushing but didn’t care. Something had finally gone right and nothing could take away her smile.
