Part 18 (1/2)
I tapped my palms on the table. ”Well, by the look on her face, you would have thought I'd asked her to throw her newborn baby out the window while she was at it, and maybe a couple puppies too. She gave me the evil eye, then walked away, window still closed.”
”Skinny yoga b.i.t.c.h,” Andie said.
”So that was the end of me and yoga. Namaste.” I pressed my palms together and did a little bow.
”What about running?” McKenna took a sip of her wine. ”Have you found any good routes around your neighborhood?” Back in San Francisco I'd never been in great shape, but I'd run more or less regularly, or at least enough to make up for my more or less regular ice cream consumption.
I frowned. ”I know I should get into some sort of a routine, but I just can't seem to make myself. I've gone for a run a handful of times, but that's about it. I suck.”
Andie picked up her wine gla.s.s and waved her free hand dismissively. ”I still don't know why you would want to do that anyway.”
I looked at her. ”You mean run?”
She nodded. ”It's just so, I don't know, unnatural.”
McKenna laughed. ”Unnatural? What do you mean?”
Andie set her wine gla.s.s down and cupped her cheeks with her hands. ”I mean just think what all that jarring up and down is doing to your skin, which is already in a losing battle with gravity. I like to think that by not running, I'm preserving the structural integrity of my face.”
I laughed. ”Did you just say you're preserving the structural integrity of your face?”
McKenna pretended to look for a pen. ”I'm writing that one down too.”
Andie nodded. ”My mom used to say that all the time when I was little. Now that I think about it, it may be the one thing she and I actually agree on.”
I laughed again. ”You're nuts. Did you know that?”
”We'll see who's nuts when we're fifty.” She shrugged and took a sip of her wine.
I tapped my palms on the table. ”So hey, we haven't talked about Nick yet. Are you going to move in with him?”
”Oooh yes, do tell,” McKenna said. ”Now that I'm married with a baby, I need to live vicariously through you two.”
Andie shook her head. ”I don't want to talk about that tonight, my friends.”
I narrowed my eyes. ”You don't? Is everything OK?”
She nodded. ”Everything's fine. I just don't want to talk about it.”
”You sure everything's OK?” McKenna asked.
She nodded again. ”I'm sure. I just need a night off from thinking about my future, all right? I'm sick of thinking about my future. Tonight I just want to celebrate my birthday with my best girlfriends and live in the moment.”
I knew how that felt.
”OK, birthday girl, we'll table that discussion for later.” I turned back to McKenna and refilled her wine gla.s.s. ”So when are you going back to work?”
”I'm hoping next month.”
”Are you looking forward to it?”
She sighed. ”To be honest, yes and no. I mean, on the one hand, I'm dying for more intellectual stimulation, because taking care of a baby can be mind-numbingly boring.”
”Now there's a shocking piece of information,” Andie said.
”But on the other hand...” McKenna's voice trailed off.
”On the other hand what?” I said.
Suddenly, McKenna began to cry.
”Mackie are you OK?” I put my hand on her shoulder.
She nodded and wiped a tear from her eyes. ”I'm fine.”
”You sure aren't acting fine,” Andie said. ”What's going on? Are you still all hormonal? Do I need to give you a shot in the b.u.t.t or something?”
McKenna laughed. ”No, really, I'm fine, I swear. It's just that, while I'm eager to get back to work, the thought of leaving Elizabeth...it's just...hard.”
I kept my hand on her shoulder. ”You really love her, don't you?”
She smiled. ”Wave, you have no idea. It's indescribable.”
”You know what I love?” Andie said, standing up to use the restroom.
We both looked at her.
”Uninterrupted sleep. And s.e.x whenever I want. And spit-up-free clothes.”
McKenna laughed again and wiped her tears away with a napkin. ”Stop it.”
”And of course I love you as well.” Andie blew McKenna a kiss as she walked away. As soon as she was gone, I flagged the waiter and told him it was Andie's birthday. He nodded politely and quickly disappeared.
”So when will you know for sure when you're going back?” I picked up my wine gla.s.s and turned back to McKenna.
”We just need to find the right nanny, which is a lot harder than I thought it would be. Now that Elizabeth is an actual person and not just the idea of one, the thought of leaving her with a stranger all day every day is scary.”
Andie reappeared and sat back down. ”What's scary?”
”The thought of leaving Elizabeth with a stranger,” McKenna said.
Andie shook her head and lowered her voice. ”I can only imagine. I get nervous when I let a stranger wax my privates.”
”And there's another one for the list,” McKenna said.
I laughed. ”Oh, how I've missed you, Andie Barnett.”
”And oh, how Andie Barnett has missed you back.” She rubbed her hands together. ”So let's get this party started. I heard there are great places to go dancing in the Meatpacking District. What do you ladies think?”
”Dancing?” McKenna and I said at the same time.