Erin was running late; she'd scheduled her dentist appointment and a Lamaze class all during the time when she'd typically be sleeping in. She shouldn't have done it so early but at the time she signed up for the class and set her appointment, she'd been energized and felt ready to tackle it. That's not how she felt today, no, today she wanted to stay in bed, sleep in, hold onto the pillow that Jay's scent had seeped into and maybe lounge around until the evening. She rushed up to the refrigerator and snatched the list she had hanging onto it with a magnet off the door because she really needs to go grocery shopping. She already started to buy formula and it seems like while her baby will be set for the next couple of months, it's her mother that might starve. Her shelves were emptier than usual, a lot of food that adorned it had to be thrown out after being left untouched weeks -and for some, months- after its expiration date.
She should be off her feet but she just has so much to do.
Dentist appointment in an hour and a half.
Lamaze class two hours after that.
Then, the grocery store right across the street from that.
Erin was going to have to make multiple trips from her car to her apartment and then once she's inside for good, she's going to elevate her feet and maybe ice her ankles. They haven't gotten worse but they haven't gotten better either.
She also needs to walk Milo at some point today. Shit. Her head falls forward, leaning against her closed apartment door as she tried to work in a time that she can walk her dog. Maybe between her dentist appointment and Lamaze class, she can stop by here and take him for a walk? He could hold out for a minute because before Kim dropped him off this morning, she had taken him for a walk. However, she didn't want him cooped up for long. He'll need to stretch his legs again at some point. She should have planned her day out ahead of time but she was a bit preoccupied last night. Jay didn't leave until around one in the morning and by then she was ready to pass out, any thoughts of scheduling or planning wasn't anywhere near the forefront of her mind.
"Excuse me," she pardons herself as she squeezes into the full elevator. If she was a bit more fit and back to her regular size, she would have just chosen to use the stairs but after weighing in at almost double her natural body weight, she knew it'd be a while before she took them again.
The ride is slow, it practically feels like the elevator is stopping at every single floor when she knows that isn't the truth. It only stops at the lobby and she's the first one out. It's just her impatience mixed with her hormones taking over and the fresh air that meets her the second she steps outside is much needed. It's a nice day. It's a good day. She's going to claim it. The sooner Erin goes to complete her adult responsibilities of the day, the sooner she can get back home, walk Milo, shower and then crawl back into bed to sleep, preferably for the rest of the week.
It's just that as soon as the sight of her car comes into her line of view, she nearly trips over her own two feet. Her purse almost drops from her grip when she notices her deflated tire.
"No no no," she exclaims, picking up the pep in her step, looking both ways before crossing the street, "what the hell? Seriously?" She shuts her eyes as she tries to think quick on her feet about what to do next. Erin sets her purse on top of her car in order to inspect her tire closely, "Fuck."
Her flat tire holds all of her attention, leaving very little of it any room to focus on her aching feet. She needs to get off of them soon but based on how deflated the tire looks, she knows that won't happen any time soon. Shit. She didn't plan for this. But, realistically, who plans to get a flat tire?
"This is just great," she whispers sarcastically, running her hands up and down her face in an effort to relieve herself of some of the tension filling her facial muscles.
Erin's too distracted, she's too preoccupied by the punctured wheel that she doesn't see her but Abby is watching. She finds joy in the frustration coloring Erin's face. It's only right considering how Erin stabbed her in the back last night by sleeping with her boyfriend and now she gets to have the last laugh. She should have slashed all of her tires. She should have shattered a window. She should have keyed her car. She should have dug her nails into the backseats. She should have tried to hotwire her car and speed pass every speed camera in the city then park it back like nothing happened. Erin deserved it. She should have done more to send a message but she was so blinded last night by the sight of what they did and by the sounds of what it brought out of them. Abby was filled with so much rage that it nearly paralyzed her. She shouldn't have walked away. She should have done something, she should have stopped them, she should have forced them apart.
Abby pushes the sunglasses up her nose and ducks down in the driver's seat of her vehicle when Erin turns around after suddenly getting the feeling that someone's watching her. It was a residential street that wasn't too busy, the only people outside were either jogging, walking their dogs or heading towards their parked car. Erin taps her finger against her lips in concentration.
She'll have to call a tow.
She'll have to go into her savings to pay for a replacement tire and for it to be changed.
Erin brings both of her hands to her face out of frustration. She didn't want to tap into her savings but she needed her car to be back up and working. Her car was a necessity. And now that her tire is completely flat, obviously deflating more and more with every second that passed, she had no way of getting to her appointments. Maybe she'll call a taxi or a ride share service?
She's going to end up spending a lot of money, money that she's been saving up for the baby. This day is going to suck and she's reminded of that when she's forced to watch her car be towed away to an auto shop. She gets an estimated amount of time her car should be ready and changing a tire is pretty quick when you know what you're doing yet her car wouldn't be ready until tomorrow morning because apparently there's a line of cars in front of hers. This is her karma. This is somehow an indirect result of her sleeping with Jay. This was some sort of sign, a presence in the atmosphere warning her from getting involved with a taken man.
"I don't even know how my tire got flat," she tells Burgess minutes after catching her up on her already long day, intentionally leaving out the part about Jay leaving her apartment at one in the morning, "it wasn't flat last night but I must have rolled over something?"
"Do you want me to pick you up?"
She shakes her head, completely forgetting for a second that her friend couldn't see her, "No, this is your day off. I don't want you spending it driving me around. I'll figure something out."
"Nonsense," Kim waved off her concern, "you're 36 weeks pregnant girl, if you weren't I'd probably let you be as independent as you want to be but I'm not going to have you riding up and down Chicago in taxis, buses, trains and a Lyft, no, that's not happening. What time do you need to be at your dentist appointment?"
"…in an hour."
"Whew, we're going to cut it close," Kim jumps up, grabbing her pants off the floor from yesterday, "but I'm going to throw on clothes. You call your dentist, let them know you'll be a few minutes late and then go wait in the lobby. I don't want you hanging outside."
"Yes mom."
Kim rolls her eyes but doesn't acknowledge that response, "…and when I say wait in the lobby, I mean find a seat. I don't mean stand at the door waiting for my car to turn on the block. I'll call when I'm pulling up. See you in a few." Burgess hangs up.
And Erin does as she's told to do. Abby sits up in her seat, noticing the back of Erin as she disappears back inside the apartment building. She reaches into her purse, stationed on the passenger seat and digs inside of it. In an effort to pull her phone out, her purse tips over and majority of the contents spill out onto the seat, "Damn it," she mutters, turning in her seat to sweep everything with her hand back in her purse. She looks around to make sure she got everything when one small, blue box stands out, a jewelry box, "oh I can't lose you," she says to herself as her hand wraps around the velvet box lifting it up into her palm to open it. Her eyes widen at the sight of the diamond ring, the engagement ring she splurged her savings on this morning when she left the apartment. She's going to propose. It's the only advantage she can have in the fight to keep Jay. If he's her husband then Erin would know to back off and stay away.
Abby drops the box when there's a rapid knock against her window. She scatters, shutting the box and throwing it back into her purse before turning to face the officer and rolling down her window.
"Hey, this is a no parking zone, you're going to have to move your vehicle."
"I'm so sorry officer," she bats her eyes and gives him a kind smile. Abby buckles her seat and switches gears to pull out of the spot she'd temporarily parked in. She had no plans of actually leaving, she just simply intended to find a new parking spot, one that wasn't close enough for Erin to notice her but at the same time not too far away to where she can't see Erin. She does a smooth turn around and reparks her car on the opposite side of the street, pulling the sun visor down in her car to block out as much of her face as possible. Abby readjusts herself in her seat, leans back comfortably, turns her car off and grabs her phone to check her messages, occasionally looking up to see when Erin reappears. And to her surprise she spots Kim first, parking right in front of Abby.
She ducks down, desperately not wanting to be seen. She doesn't watch as Erin leaves the lobby, it'll be too risky for her to take a peek. Erin doesn't pay attention to her surroundings, too busy focused on waddling to the car and getting off her feet. She slams the door shut the moment she's seated and seconds later she's buckled in and whispering her thanks.
"It's honestly no big deal. I had nothing important to do today anyway."
"My car won't be ready today," Erin mentions, leaning forward to type in the address to her dentist office into the car's GPS, "I was going to go to the grocery store today but I'll just do that tomorrow. I'm really not in the mood to be out all day anyway."
Kim pulls out of the parallel parking spot and carefully merges into traffic. No words are shared between the two and Burgess doubts Erin wants to listen to music so she keeps the radio off. She waits until she's on the freeway before trying to fill the silence with conversation.
"…maybe you ran over a nail?" Kim throws out a possible scenario.
But it's a conversation Erin isn't interested in having, "…maybe," she shrugs, uninterested.
"Did you take a picture of it?" Kim focuses on the road, being mindful of turning on her blinker when she has to switch lanes, "…maybe I can see what you ran over?"
Erin did, in fact, snap a quick phone right when the tow-truck driver hooked her car up to the machine, seconds before he started the pulley to connect her car to the back of his truck. She pulls out her phone and goes to the picture, "I'll show you when you're at a red light. The last thing I need is for us to get into an accident. That'll completely ruin my day."
Kim doesn't argue that valid point. It's not safe to scan a photo while in the midst of driving. It could honestly wait. And the way these Chicago drivers are behind the wheel, you have to do a lot of defensive maneuvers to avoid any crashes. A few moments later they take the exit called out by the female voice of her GPS and seconds after that, they roll up to a red light.
"Let me see," she swipes the phone off her friend's lap and types in her passcode. The picture is still loaded up and when Kim takes her fingers to zoom in on the tire, her brows furrow at the realization behind what she's seeing, "Erin, I don't want to freak you out," she hands the phone back to her when the light turns green, "but I don't think you rolled over anything. It looks like your tire was slashed." She looked over her shoulder and to her surprise, her friend didn't look shocked at all, "Why are you not surprised? What's going on, Erin? Did someone slash your tire?"
Erin releases her bottom lip after her teeth pierced her skin, "I didn't want to jump to conclusions," she admits, "I thought I was being paranoid. Do you honestly think that's a slash?" She takes it upon herself to zoom in on the tire. After she captured the picture, she found herself staring at it while sitting in the lobby, waiting for Kim to arrive. Initially she assumed she rolled over a nail or something but the moment she had a minute to actually inspect the image, she changed her mind. However, she needed a second opinion and she wanted one without any bias attached.
"I've had my tire slashed before," Kim retorts, bypassing over this revelation that Erin had no idea even occurred, "I know what that looks like, it looks very deliberate. But, you're the best and sweetest person ever, who would ever want to slash your tire?" She pockets her phone.
Erin knew who, but she refused to voice the name. It's the only possible suspect in all of this. The woman that comes to mind conveniently visited her the night before and not only was her presence unwelcomed, but she gave unsolicited advice and a word of warning to stay away from her boyfriend, and now Erin's tire is suddenly slashed. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to do the math and put it all together. And as Erin reaches into her back pocket to withdraw her cell phone with every intent in mind to text Jay her suspicions, she hesitates when last night's conversation comes to mind. He has enough on his plate already. He's already going through so much. She doesn't want to add to that by relaying her suspicion without any type of proof to support it. It's just a slashed tire, it's just a slashed tire, it's just a slashed tire, Erin mentally tells herself over and over, trying to downplay the significance of the act. She can handle this on her own; she doesn't need to get Jay involved. Erin inhaled a deep breath and turned to face Kim's inquisitive expression, "I think you just missed your turn," Erin points towards the street they just passed, "take the next one and it'll loop you back around. It'll only put us ten minutes behind schedule so I won't be late."
"Okay," Kim checks her blind spot before switching lanes, "but don't think for one second I didn't notice you subtly changing the subject. I'll drop this now but we will revisit this later."
Kim sits in the car, her engine running with the air blasting as Erin gets out to go inside the office for her scheduled appointment. She spends her time listening to music, readjusting herself in her seat because her butt was starting to get numb from how long she'd been sitting. It's when Kim's stomach starts to growl that Erin finally comes back, knocking on the window to get her friend to unlock the door. Erin flopped down in her seat and stretched the seat belt across her belly, "So glad that's over," she groaned, leaning her head back, "the next time I'll be back to the dentist, I'll have a baby, oh my gosh, we're really getting close."
"…almost to the finish line," Kim grins, "where should I take you next?"
"I need to walk Milo before my Lamaze class."
"Say no more."
Erin didn't do much talking. Her mouth was sore from the dental cleaning she had so she found comfort in shutting her eyes, leaning her head back and just enjoying the ride. She found even more comfort when Kim volunteered to walk Milo while she took a nap in the car. It was a brief walk, it was a little warm for them to be outside long. Kim walked him until he used the bathroom and then she took him back, double-checking to make sure she locked the door before heading out.
"You are a lifesaver," she muttered when Kim hops back into the car.
"I'm about to be an even bigger lifesaver. I'm going to join you for Lamaze."
"You really don't have to do that."
"Too bad because I am."
And that she did. She was Erin's partner in this, sitting behind Erin, coaching her through the practice of relaxation and deep breathing. It was easy now and she knew that it would be far from easy the day she actually gives birth. Maybe she should come back and bring Jay with her the next time? He needs to know this stuff more than Kim since he'll be in the delivery room with her. But maybe Kim will be in there too depending on how many people the hospital allows? Kim asked all the right questions and during the ride back to her apartment, emphasized the material she took away from the experience, retelling her statements the instructor already drilled into her mind, such as moving around, the special breathing patterns and interventions that may also be necessary so she can be prepared to make an informed decision if the time presented itself. Yeah, she definitely needs to bring Jay to her next class. She checks the calendar on her phone, marking it for the same time next week before pocketing it. The car comes to a stop moments later with Kim asking, "Are you sure you don't want me to run you to the grocery store? I honestly don't mind."
"No, I've taken up enough of your day off and besides, I'm so exhausted."
"Yeah, it has been a long day for you. Let me know when you make it inside."
"Yes mom," Erin salutes, repeating her joke from earlier in the day.
Erin covers her mouth when she yawns and moves as fast as her swollen ankles would allow her to in this heat. By the time she's in the elevator, she shoots off a text to Kim, letting her know she's home. And by the time she's stepping out of the elevator and pulling out her keys, she's met in the middle of the hallway by her dog. Huh? What is going on? Milo had come running up, leash still attached to his collar. He rushes up to Erin, leaning back on his hindlegs and setting his front paws on her lap. She kisses the top of her dog's head and unclips the leash from his collar, "He has a lot of energy," Jay chuckles, inserting the key into her bottom lock, "He still wanted to play fetch even when I bribed him with a treat to get him to come on. It's hot outside."
"What," Erin swallows, the shock and surprise at seeing him evident on her face, "What are you doing here?" He unlocks her front door and pushes it open for her to enter.
"I had something I wanted to drop off for the baby," he closes and locks the door behind him before following her into the living room and pointing towards a shopping bag sitting on her coffee table, "I bought the baby a push toy. It helps with standing and walking. I uh," he reaches behind his head, scratching nervously, "I ordered it a few weeks ago and it arrived today and I told myself I'd bring it over one day this week and if you weren't home when I did, I was just going to drop it off in her room. I figured while I was here, I'd take Milo for a walk. He seemed pent up with lots of energy, I figured he'd need a good run. I'm sorry, I should have called first."
Why are they acting awkward with one another? Why are they acting as if just last night they didn't see each other naked and provide one another with multiple earth-shattering orgasms?
"You have a key," she reminds him, "so I don't mind either way. You can drop off whatever regardless of if I'm home or not, and thank you for taking Milo out for a walk, I was going to do it but I really didn't feel like it," Milo runs back up to her when she says his name. And to the best of her ability, and as much as comfort and her belly allows, she reaches down to scratch the top of his head. He licks her hand before leaving the two adults awkwardly standing in the room.
"You were going to take him out for a walk?" He asks while already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, he's a growing boy that needs to use the bathroom and stretch his legs."
"Deliberately going against the doctor's orders Erin Lindsay?" He tsks, "for shame."
"Unfortunately, my responsibilities do not stop just because my ankles are the size of softballs."
"How about in the future before I go on my morning jogs I stop by and pick Milo up? I can bring him with me. I figure the poor pup probably wouldn't mind waking up early to stretch his legs."
Erin frowns, "Great at making me feel bad." Because, honestly, she truly was starting to feel bad.
"No, no," he ruffles the top of Milo's head before the dog runs over to his person, licking Erin's hand to encourage her to rub the top of his head, between his ears, "that's not what I meant, that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just saying I know he's been missing his regular morning walks since the doctor basically prohibited you from taking them. I just want to help."
"I guess that's okay," she gives in, more so for Milo than for her ego, "as long as when you let yourself in you don't wake me up," he nods to agree to her terms, "and bring breakfast sometimes."
Halstead laughs.
And Erin smiles.
Milo eventually rushes over to his water bowl and begins lapping up the cooling liquid. Each gulp hydrated his growing body. She smiled and then turned to face Jay, the perspiration she now noticed glowing on his body radiates the muscles in his arms. She bites her lip, reminding herself that the last time they slept together is supposed to stay the last time they sleep together. Erin clears her throat, pulling her eyes away from his arms and up towards his face before asking, "Water?"
"Huh?"
"Did you want some water? Milo's thirsty so I figured you are too."
"I am actually," he scratches the back of his head, "thanks."
Erin disappears for a moment and then reappears with a cold bottle of water in hand. Jay gulps down half the bottle, realizing he was thirstier than he first thought. Erin looks over at the toy he brought over, smiling at the bright colors of it and then remembers the few purchases she recently made herself that will surely make him smile as much as it did her.
"I also picked up a few things," she admits bashfully, as if she had some reason to be timid about buying her daughter items she'll potentially need once she's here, "I can show you what I got."
"Yeah," he nods, twisting the cap to the water back on the bottle, "Yeah I'd love that."
She waves for him to follow her as she leads him out of the living room and into the nursery, "I saw a few cute jackets and snowsuits that were discounted since it's off season. It's not winter anymore and my mom said now is the best time to buy them." She opens the closet and grabs the folded garments that she needs to wash before hanging up.
"Wow," he reaches for the top one and unfolds it, "it's so small."
"I did the math to basically figure out what size to get. She'll be around five months when winter starts," she sets the pile down on top of the dresser and unfolds the next one to show him, "I also bought a few bigger sizes. I figured since she'll be wearing clothes underneath them the bigger sizes will make sure she's not stuffed. I honestly just couldn't beat the price."
Jay takes a moment to look through each clothing item she recently purchased before refolding and stacking them. He turned around to glance around the nursery, eyes taking in every new addition to the room that wasn't there the last time he looked, "It's really coming together."
Erin watches him move his hand along the clothes hanging in her closet, "It should be done after the baby shower. I'll probably spend the day after it putting away all the gifts."
"I can help," he offers, "not trying to step on any toes but you shouldn't be standing for long periods of time anyway," he turns to face her, shrugging his shoulders, "You can sit in that rocking chair and just order me around." It's a good idea if she's being honest. And she's not one for turning down a good idea. Erin nods, giving him the answer he wants before he turns to finish looking around the nursery, approaching a few boxes and shopping bags stashed in the corner.
"I haven't had a chance to unpack any of that yet," she admits, walking over to show him what's inside, "all of this is from my dad, my mom has been dropping things off from him since I forgave her," she spreads the first bag wide open so he can look inside. It's a box with a ring stacker decorated on the front. It also has other toys for their baby girl, -plastic links, a baby gym mat, a few teething keys, two baby dolls, a stuffed animal and even a car seat activity toy. Erin shuts the bag once she finishes pointing everything out to him, "My dad is not above bribery."
"…at least the baby gets something out of it."
"Yeah, but he's not as smart as I once thought if he doesn't realize the only way I'll start talking to him again is if he gives you your job back. You didn't deserve to lose it in the first place."
"Erin-"
"If you're going to say what I think you're going to say then don't say it."
He zips his mouth shut. And she follows it up with a chuckle before ordering him to bring his gift into the room so it doesn't clutter her living room. Jay reappears seconds later holding the box with the push toy inside of it. He sets it down near the collection of toys her dad has bought their little one and both of them take a step back to fully glance around, taking in the whole room at once, "She's so fucking spoiled already."
Jay laughs at her comment before nodding along in full agreement. The kid isn't even here yet and she has more than she'll ever need in her first year of life. And the baby shower hasn't happened yet and she'll only get more things she both needs and does not need, "I can't believe she's going to be here soon," Jay turns to look at the mother of his baby, "your due date is so close."
"…not close enough," she groans. And the sound of that makes him pleasantly uncomfortable.
This isn't going to be easy. Keeping things platonic between the two of them was going to be difficult especially if she keeps making noises like that. Jay clears his throat and turns to leave the room, buying himself a little time to gather himself, shaking his shoulders and clearing his mind from playing that groan on repeat. He watches Milo sleeping on the corner of the couch, using her dog to distract him and cool him off when the feel of her hand against his shoulder urges him to turn around, "I don't want things to be awkward between us." She's straight to the point.
"I don't either."
"…then why does it feel like it is?"
"It's going to take a little time for the both of us, but we're adults, we can do this."
"How do we do this faster though?"
"…by being friends," he answers with a shrug because he honestly doesn't know.
"By being friends," she repeats, more so to register it in her head than anything else, "hey Jay," she looks up when she gets an idea, "want to stay for dinner and watch a movie? We can order delivery and watch some movie that's the opposite of a chick flick. That's what friends do."
And she's right so it's no hesitation in his agreement.
Friends have dinner together. Friends watch movies together. Friends do spend their free time together.
However, eventually empty cartons of Chinese food cover her coffee table. Both stomachs are full as the credits on the movie they attempted to watch play on her television. Neither of them wanted to intentionally doze off on the couch with the movie watching them rather than them watching it, but with the emotional exhaustion of his day and the physical exhaustion of hers, it was only a matter of time. And when they wake up hours later to the sun down and her living room encased in darkness, with his arm wrapped around her and her head pressed into the crook of his neck, lips nearly touching his skin, they realize this whole platonic relationship is going to be harder than they initially thought. Friends don't wake up together like this. At least, for Erin and Jay, friends that are trying to keep things strictly friendly shouldn't wake up together like this.