NYLON ~ 86 ~ SHE CALLED ME FAT
Hanna smoothed her fitted dress over the ever-growing bump. Her heart was beating faster as they approached the Hamptons. Finally, Caleb drove off the highway and took the dirt path to the house that Hanna had bought all of her energy into. It was fitting that she was chosen to redo Mona's first vacation home, but it also brought back a flood of emotions. She could no longer remove Mona from the equation, as she had when she was solely working on a home for a client. Today, Mona would be there to judge and evaluate her, a job Mona had done more than sufficiently during high school.
"Hey," Caleb hand over hers. "Are you okay?"
"Just anxious, I guess," came her reply.
"There's nothing to worry about," he told her. "Mona can't hurt you anymore."
"I'm not so sure," Hanna replied. Somehow, Mona always knew the right words to drive Hanna into a spitting rage. Even in the emails they exchanged during the planning process, Mona couldn't help but throw little digs at her.
"We're here," Caleb hopped out of the car and opened the door for Hanna, taking her hand to help her onto the pavement.
"Thank you," Hanna smiled as they continued holding hands all the way up to the front door.
The two of them stepped inside and took a look around at the final product. They'd been there the night before to make final arrangements, but like any project, it always felt like something was missing, a tiny little addition could make a world of difference, yet she could never quite pinpoint it.
"This looks amazing!" Caleb said looking around. He pulled Hanna into a hug and kissed her. "You're a genius."
"Check this out," Hanna showed him the office where she had installed some of Caleb's high tech gadgets.
"Is that my...?" he pointed at a shiny screen concealed in the wall.
"Touch screen," Hanna finished his sentence. "Everything in this house can be controlled on that monitor."
"They're gonna love it," Caleb smiled. "Not bad for your first project alone."
"I just can't shake the thought that it's all a trick," Hanna sighed.
"The check cleared," Caleb told her. "It'd be a pretty expensive trick."
"I wouldn't put it past her," Hanna whispered.
She didn't have time to dwell on it as they heard the door open.
"Hello! Hello!" Mona called out prompting Caleb and Hanna to head into the great room.
"This is quite the upgrade," Jason smiled looking around.
"Glad you like it," Hanna smiled.
"Let me show you the rest of the place," Caleb led Jason through the hallway.
"Oh my gosh, Hanna!" Mona blurted out in surprise finally seeing Hanna's swollen abdomen. "You're pregnant."
"Yeah," Hanna protectively covered her belly with her hands.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Mona approached her and gently rubbed the side of her belly.
"I thought I had," Hanna replied. "I guess it was never relevant."
"Come on," Mona coaxed her, "we're better friends than that."
"Are we?" Hanna asked coyly.
"Of course!" came Mona's excessively sweet reply. "You know, I always imagined us being pregnant together, raising our kids so they'd be best friends, you know, that kind of thing."
"There was a time when I thought that, too," Hanna smiled finally warming up to Mona.
"Maybe we still can," Mona rubbed her own non-existent bump. "We just found out last week."
"Congratulations," Hanna smiled taking a seat.
"So," Mona sat across from her, "how far along are you?"
"Twenty-two weeks," Hanna replied rubbing her side.
"Wow," Mona chuckled. "You're so big."
"I'm having twins," Hanna explained. "They grow bigger every day."
"Oh thank God!" Mona rolled her eyes. "I would die if I was as fat as you."
And there it was.
Hanna was fuming on the drive home and it took every page out of Caleb's good husband manual to keep her from exploding.
"The fucking nerve of her!" Hanna seethed.
"Hey, language," Caleb reminded her.
"Sorry," Hanna rubbed her belly. "She just...ugh! Every time!"
"Look," Caleb told her, "the job is over. You don't have to see her again."
"She's probably not even pregnant," Hanna retorted. "Everything that comes out of her mouth is a lie anyway."
"I seem to remember someone else was an excellent liar in high school," Caleb prodded her.
"You're on her side now?" Hanna sighed.
"There are no sides," Caleb laughed. "Hanna, she's a lunatic. Don't let it get to you."
"She called me fat!" Hanna was nearly yelling.
"You're not fat," Caleb took her hand in his and kissed it. "You're pregnant and you're the most beautiful woman I know."
"Aw," Hanna smiled for the first time in hours. "If I wasn't already pregnant, you'd be getting lucky tonight."
"Don't remind me," he laughed. "I'm starting to think we'll never have sex again."
"You might be right," she teased.
Caleb continued cruising on the highway and turned to give her a loving glance. In that moment, Hanna felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She had an amazing husband who loved her no matter what, and she didn't have to rely on putting down others to make herself feel better, like Mona. In fact, nothing Mona could ever tell her would make Hanna feel inferior again.
UP NEXT ~ WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU?
Hanna gets suspicious when Caleb starts acting shifty.
