CHAPTER ALL OF MY FINGERS ON MY HAND WITHOUT MY THUMB, BECAUSE IT ISN'T REALLY A FINGER.
Rory pushed the yellow stroller happily, still amused at that morning's antics. Lily had refused to get into her stroller because her outfit hadn't matched it, making Rory have to drive back to the house, pick out a yellow dress with a white cardigan, redress Lily, and drive back to the mall.
"I would have been angry," She was telling Logan on the phone with a grin, "But that morning I stopped myself from wearing red shoes for the same reason."
"Aw, how surprising. And to think, today I refrained from the blue tie because it clashes terribly with my ink blotter…" He replied.
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated, mister. I'll have you know that it would be absolutely terrible if my shoes clashed with the stroller. Also, I'm going to buy a new one today that goes with my red shoes, because I love them and want to wear them more but can't until we own a red stroller."
"Aaace," He whined, "We have blue, pink, green, black, orange, yellow and camouflage strollers. Do we really need a red one?"
"Yes." Came the immediate reply, as if it were obvious.
"Can't you just buy new shoes?"
"Actually, it comes out to around the same price, so I think I'll stick with the stroller."
Logan rolled his eyes, a gesture that was wasted over the phone. "In what world does a pair of shoes and a stroller cost the same?"
"In a very special, very tiny world where Daddy is a big business man with a trust fund bigger than his ego, which is saying a lot, and where Mommy is a bestselling author who deserves every penny she earned. Well, most of them, anyway."
Logan laughed.
"Ooh, and also in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. If they sold strollers. And in upside down land where you read prices upside down. I like that land…"
"Ace, you are too much." He said, laughing.
"No, you know what is too much? Coffee. Four dollars for a large vanilla latte. I still haven't gotten over the fact that coffee is so expensive, you know. Ooh, look, it's a Starbucks! I'm going to spend too much money on coffee, bye!"
"Wait, Ace!" Logan said before she hung up, "Don't give too much junk to Lily, she eats way too much sugary food. Also, coffee must be decaf. D-E-caf. Not caf. Don't pretend you don't hear the D-E like last time. DECAF."
"Ok, Logan. I get it." Rory said, faking impatience.
"Ok then, bye. Love you, and tell Lily I love her, too."
"Love you!"
Rory came to a stop outside of the Starbucks, parking Lily's stroller at a table and picking the toddler up to go stand in line.
"Ok sweetie," Rory told her, "Your daddy doesn't want you having any more chocolate, because he thinks you're already too hyper. How does carrot cake sound?" Rory asked, pointing to a carrot muffin.
Lily brought her hands up in front of her mouth and pretended she was barfing.
Rory sighed. The kid had a point. "Fine, I'll get you a fudge brownie with chocolate icing. But what do we tell daddy we had?"
"Vegble an miwk. Mm!" She rubbed a hand to her tummy for emphasis.
"And the chocolate?"
"Shhhhh!" Lily said, starting to laugh. She loved 'tricking' her father.
"Hi. Could I have two large coffees, a small decaf, a chocolate fudge brownie and a chocolate almond croissant, please?" She asked the barista.
"Rory!" Lane's familiar voice sounded from behind her. "Wow, I haven't seen you in months! Oh! Lily! Last time I saw you was at your first birthday! She's grown a lot, Rory, she's what, nearly two now?"
Rory nodded and gave Lane a hug, squishing Lily between them. "Wait. Lane. Is that what I think it is?" She asked, referring to Lane's slightly swelled belly.
"Yup. Baby number three! This one's a girl, thank god. I swear, I would have freaked if we had another boy. Between Zach, Kyle and Robbie, there is far too much testosterone in our house. Here, let me get a coffee and come sit with you, we have way too much catching up to do!"
Rory nodded, collected her coffees, paid, and went to sit down with Lily. A minute or two later, Lane joined them at the table.
"So, Lane. How did you not tell me you were pregnant when I talked to you a few weeks ago?" Rory asked.
"To be honest, I totally forgot. Everyone else already knew, I forgot you hadn't. Tell you what. From now on, we have to get together at least once a month. I can even bring Kyle and Robbie, maybe Lily will set a good example for them."
Rory laughed and berated Lane with more questions about life. The two sat, amicably talking, for another fifteen minutes or so, before Lane's cellphone started to ring.
"Hey? Zach, hon, I have to buy Kyle and Robbie new bathing suits today, swim lessons start on Sunday! No, you have to bring them with you. Oh come on, they love the boys! Just give them a coloring book. Yeah, sure. Ok, bye, love you!" Lane finished the rapid conversation and hung up her phone.
"That was Zach. He has the boys today but he's supposed to meet with some recording people about our new album, and he wants me to take them. Anyway, it was nice talking to you, but I have to go buy Kyle and Robbie swimsuits." She explained to Rory.
"Why don't I come with you? I need to get a few things for Lily, and I want to keep talking anyway." Rory suggested. Lane nodded in agreement and stood up, gathering her things together. Rory stood up too and turned to Lily.
She was pulling off her left sock, the right one dangling from her mouth.
"Lily!" Rory scolded. Lily opened her mouth and the sock dropped out. "Why was your sock in your mouth?"
The little girl shrugged. "Bowd." She said, as if it explained everything. And in a way, it did.
Author's Note: And so, another chapter has passed. I like this one better than chapter two, and three is my favorite. Well, I'm not going to abandon this story because i hate reading stories that were abandoned, so the updates will continue! Oh, and if anyone was confuzzled, 'Bowd' meant 'Bored'.