Chapter 10: Misunderstandings
Matty stood in front of the kitchen window, elbow deep in soap suds and dirty plates. She stared out the kitchen window intently as Dom paraded Mia around in a backyard full of people. Leon manned the grill; while Jesse and Vince made sure that everyone was seated in a chair and had enough beer to make a 300 pound grizzly pear pass out.
Letty walked into the kitchen, perching herself on the kitchen counter next to the sink. Matty passed her a towel, which she accepted with a scowl on her face. Letty began to dry the dishes while Matty scrubbed and washed them, contemplating if she should speak her mind.
"Matt, can I ask you something?" She said, checking to see if anyone was around. Matty raised an eyebrow in response, and kept her eyes focused on the dishes she was working on. "Let's say, hypothetically, you had a friend who was cheating on her boyfriend of four years with his best friend, what do you think she should do? If she feels guilty about it, I mean," she blurted out in a quick monotonous rhythm.
Matty stopped washing the dishes and flicked her eyes on to Letty. "Letty are you banging Vince?" She asked. Letty busted out laughing, falling off the counter and landing on the floor. She grabbed on to her sides, rolling over in laughter. "Have you seen, V? All that facial hair and the tattoos… It's not my cup of tea," she said, in between fits of laughter.
"What's wrong with V?" Matty asked, a small pout on her face. It was Letty's turn to freeze and stare Matty down. "You like him, don't you? You guys never did share on what happened on your trip down to the hospital," she said, standing up from the floor and leaning against the counter.
"If not V, then that leaves Leon. Letty, how could you?" Matty whispered, getting back to her dishes. "It's been happening for a while, even before you showed up. It just started us hanging out and then Dom started pulling more hours at the garage, so I just started spending all my time with him and ya know…"
"Spare me the details, Letty," Matty said, shutting off the sink and placing the last dish on the dish rack to dry. "There's a problem, Matty," Letty whispered, her eyes focusing on the ground in front of her feet. "What could be worse then the fact that you've been in love with Dom your whole entire life and that you are banging Le on the side?" Matty asked, throwing her dish rag on the counter.
"I'm late," Letty whispered, her voice choked by a sob. Matty did a double take. Her ears had to be deceiving her. "How long?" Matty asked. "A month." She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You told any of them yet?"
Letty shook her head slowly and wiped the tears off her face. "What did Mia have to say about all of this?" Matty asked. Letty laughed dryly. "Mia may be my best friend, but she's Dom's sister first. There is no way in hell I'm sharing this one with her," she said.
"You want to take a trip down to the corner store?" Matty asked, grabbing her bag off the kitchen counter. Without waiting for a reply from Letty, she stuck her head out the back door and waved Vince down. "Hey, me and Letty are gonna go down to the store and get some stuff we need for dessert if anyone asks. We'll be back in a few," she said.
Vince reached out and touched her elbow with a gentle hand and a soft twinkle in his eye. "You want me to come with?" He asked. "Umm... It's that girly stuff you made me promise not to talk about or buy in front of your presence," she whispered, giving him a peck on the cheek and ducking back inside.
The two girls made their way towards Matty's car, each getting into their respective sides. "You really did a number on V," Letty said as Matty pulled out of her parking space. "Whatever comments you have to share on whatever it is that is going on between me and V, please keep to yourself," she replied, coming to a hard stop at a stop sign and pulling on a pair of shades.
"So what exactly happened last night with lover boy?" Letty asked, slouching in her seat. "Lover boy wasn't going to ask me to marry him. He invited me out to a romantic dinner and took me back to his place so that he could tell me that while he was gone on the tour with the army, he got married and had two kids," she spat out through clenched teeth.
Matty pulled a hard left, sending Letty into the car's door. "Angry much?" Letty said. The other girl laughed sadly, her eyes tearing up. "After he decided to tell me to kick rocks, we got to yelling, and then it turned physical. He slammed be into the table a couple of times and I decided to drown my sorrows in the nearest local bar," she said, coming to a skidding halt in front of a pharmacy near the store. "Geez… sounds like you had an interesting night," Letty said, climbing out of the car.
--
The two girls sat on the edge of the bathroom, staring intently at the little white stick that was sitting on the counter. Letty eyed her cell phone, willing the clock to run faster. As the clock beeped that time was up, she lunged for the stick, only to be stopped by Matty.
Matty took the stick out of her hand and held it behind her back. "Think about this Letty. If your pregnant, what will you do?" She asked. Letty blinked rapidly at the girl and took in a deep breath, resuming her prior position on the edge of the bath tub. "I guess I'll tell Dom it's his," she whispered.
"And what if the baby comes out with green eyes, a bad tan and blond hair?" Matty asked, pulling the white stick out from behind her back. "Just tell me what it says," Letty urged her on. The other girl stared intently at the white stick and smiled. "Negative."
Letty dropped to her knees and yelled out a silent prayer. Matty threw the pregnancy test on the counter and did a small dance. "Maybe this is a sign from God, Letty. Don't fuck with what you got if you don't want to lose it," Matty said, smiling.
Letty stood up from her position on the floor and picked up the pregnancy test, lying on the counter. She grabbed toilet paper from the roll and began to roll it up to dispose of it, when she noticed something. She went wide-eyed at what she realized.
"I think you read this wrong."