Chapter Eight: Abby
As we all calmed down from the latest excitement, Shannon leaned toward me a whispered, "Looks like it's one of us now. Wanna go next?" "Sure," I whispered back. I was surprised that Shannon looked relieved. She was always so put together. Before I could concoct a wild scenario in my mind, Kristy threw a pillow at us. "Yo!" she cried. "Who's next?"
"I am," I quickly volunteered. I knew Kristy's aim and the pillow only missed us as a warning. I didn't want the real thing coming at me. "Abigail Stevenson, that's me," I began. "I know you teased me mercilessly for marrying a man with the same last name as me, but it was actually convenient. The last time I saw you guys was actually at the wedding, so I'd better get you caught up."
"Yeah, we want to know how that cutie you married is doing!" Stacey cut in. "Does he still serenade you with Elvis love songs?" Mallory teased. I blushed to the roots of my hair. "As a matter of fact, he does! I mean, we met in a karaoke bar on Elvis night! It was meant to be!" I exclaimed. "If a man loves Elvis as much as you, I would agree on fate," Kristy commented. We looked at her in surprise. "Kristy Thomas subscribing to such a romantic notion?" I scoffed. She looked slightly hurt at my jab. "Hey, I've changed since I fell in love with Alex. The sun really does shine brighter in a bluer sky when I'm with him."
Mary Anne started to get teary, so I figured I'd better dive back in before we got too sentimental. "Well, anyway, going to Northwestern was a great decision for me. Not only did I meet Mark, but I found my true calling. You know I went there on a soccer scholarship, but I was undecided in my major for the whole freshman year-" "I don't think any school has a degree in Elvis-ology!" Kristy jumped in. We all laughed at that as I said wistfully, "Maybe some day!"
"Anyway, in the spring semester that first year, I took a class in psychology. I fell in love with it and decided to look into the different aspects of it. You wouldn't believe all the possibilities! I knew I had found my career when I explored sports psychology. I loved every second of my classes and graduated suma cum laude. I went on to get my Master's degree, stopping only to marry Mark Stevenson, journalism major extraordinaire." I stopped to privately reminisce about my wedding day.
"Oh, I know that look," Mary Anne said dreamily. "That's the look I get when I think back to the day I married Lewis." "I can't help it," I confessed. "The past six years have been such a blessing. The wedding itself was exactly as I wanted. Just Anna as my maid of honor and Mark's older brother as best man. With my dad gone, I didn't want all the hoopla of dealing with someone giving me away. I was surprised so many of you flew to Jamaica for the ceremony." Dawn winked at me. "What, miss the biggest day of your life and pass up the opportunity for an infamous BSC trip?" she joked. "You're right," I mused. "We have gone a lot of places, but I am getting off track now. Good thing I didn't become a railroad engineer," I cracked.
The girls groaned at my awful pun. "Where was I? Oh yes, I married Mark and got my Master's. We moved into a dinky little apartment in Chicago where Mark landed a great job as an assistant editor for Urban magazine. It's Chicago's answer to the New Yorker and a very prestigious job opportunity. I had done my internship with the Chicago Bears, and I landed a place on their sports medicine staff. I applied at Northwestern again, this time for my doctorate. It was hard work, but I'd spent the last nine years working for the moment I would become Dr. Abigail Stevenson."
"I've spent the last year teaching at Loyola University Chicago. I like it a lot, but I really want to open a private practice. With so many professional athletes in the city, I feel I can do more. Mark's been promoted to Editor-In-Chief and we just bought a house with a guest bungalow. I could turn that into my office, so I'd be just a few feet from my backdoor." I hestitated, so excited about my last piece of news. "Don't get all excited yet," I started, "but Mark and I decided to start a family." I raised my hand, seeing everyone open their mouths. "It's only been two months, and so far we haven't been lucky. I'm not worried though, we've still got time and we just started on our new project."
"That's wonderful!" Shannon said. The girls all started chattering at once; Mary Anne offering tips on morning sickness, Dawn promising to send me information on what foods to eat. I looked around the room at my genuinely happy friends and never felt more blessed.