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“Lost all my baby weight?” Meredith repeats incredulously and looks down at her trim figure. “They’re sucking the life right off me. Simon is already starting to threaten me with a feeding tube again. Like I can help it!”
“You could eat more,” Beth says more seriously.
“Ugh!” Meredith throws her hands up. “Don’t you start, too. Shall we walk before it gets dark?”
Beth nods, her own smile now a smirk.
Meredith shakes her head at her then waves her hand. “You two go in front.”
I suppose dipping off to walk by myself would be rude as fuck. Especially after Meredith gave me such a nice pair of sunglasses.
Resigned to my fate, I maneuver my stroller until I’m walking beside Beth with Meredith following behind us.
The neighborhood is rather quiet for this time of day. Reminding me of the townhouse I lived in. I would assume it’s because everyone is at work or school, but I’m pretty sure most of the houses are empty.
The only sounds I can hear besides the occasional bird is a little boy laughing somewhere and a dog barking like it’s excited.
I’m not familiar with suburban neighborhoods like this, but there seems to be quite a bit of space between each house. The yards are huge, but the houses are huge, too. To me, they might as well be mansions. And while it’s obvious they were all built by the same builder, they have different designs. No two houses are the same.
“Do you like your house?” Beth asks, making small talk.
I bob my head. What’s not to like? Besides the fact that I’m not used to it. Used to how big it is. Or how new and nice.
With all the stuff inside it, somehow it still feels empty… Like it’s somehow missing something.
“Do you have any plans yet on how you want to decorate it?” Meredith asks from behind me.
I glance over my shoulder and shake my head. “No. I haven’t really thought about it…”
Beth glances back at Meredith and they stare at each other like they’re sharing in some secret joke.
Meredith laughs. “Well, I suppose it is a little early to be thinking about stuff like that. You’re still in the honeymoon phase… and we both know how that is.”
Thinning her lips, Beth shakes her head and looks back to me. “What Meredith means is that when you do want to decorate it, we’d be more than happy to help.”
“Yes, of course, that’s what I meant,” Meredith snickers. “I would never dream of pointing out that all the men in our little fucked up family have this strange habit of kidnapping women, holding them hostage, and getting them pregnant.”
“Meredith!” Beth gasps.
Meredith shrugs her shoulders and lifts her chin. “Well, it’s true.”
“Still…” Beth draws out in reproach.
Meredith sniffs. “What? Are we just supposed to ignore it? Suppose to act like it’s normal? We’re not normal, Beth.”
Beth’s jaw tightens. “I’m normal.”
“Okay.” Meredith relents. “I guess Johnathan didn’t kidnap you.”
“Right…” Beth agrees.
“But he did buy you at an auction, did he not? And then he refused to send you home to your father?” Meredith laughs. “That’s not normal, Beth.”
“You, of all people, telling me what’s normal…” Beth grumbles. “You and Simon are the strangest couple in the family. I swear you two secretly hate each other and are just trying to pull a joke on us.”
“My husband joke? Ha! As if he knew how. Oh no, Simon and I do hate each other… We just don’t hate each other as much as we want to fuck each other.”
Beth gasps. “Watch your language. The babies…”
