Ann Aguirre - As Long As You Love Me

Unlike Nadia’s family, Krista’s mom lived close enough for me to walk. Her house was on the other side of the subdivision, half a mile or so away. As kids, that meant we could hang out without adult facilitation. Proximity contributed to our friendship in the early days but by high school, we genuinely liked each other, and it hurt when she moved.

“I can come over tonight, if you’re not busy.”

“That would be awesome.”

“See you in fifteen minutes.”

Fortunately I’d already showered, rinsing all the remodeling dust off, so I just had to bundle up and grab my purse. “Going to Krista’s,” I called to my mom, who was watching TV in the living room.

“It’s like we’ve gone back in time,” she mumbled.

There were no sidewalks, so I kept to the slushy edges of the road. Minimal traffic meant I wasn’t completely soaked when I rang her bell. She answered the door with a broad smile. Unsurprisingly, she’d cut her hair since I saw her last, but she pulled off the tapered bob. Krista was small, shorter than me by two inches, and she’d always been slim, though the baby had changed her silhouette. Friendly hazel eyes sparkled as she pounced, pulling me into a tight hug.

“Mom, Lauren’s here! We’re going to my room.”

“Is she hungry?” her mom shouted back.

I pitched my voice to carry. “Nope, I just ate.”

“Okay, have fun!”

Bemused, I saw my mom’s point about the time-warp thing. Krista dragged me upstairs, where the familiarity ended. At some point, her mom had erased all traces of her adolescence, maybe because Krista had chosen to go with her dad instead of staying here. I hadn’t been offered that option. Whatever the reason, this was a guest bedroom more than Krista’s space, but it was private when she shut the door behind us.

I perched on the bed, cocking my head at her. “Okay, tell me everything.”

“Wait, you must have a story, too?”

“I bet mine is shorter and significantly less interesting than yours. I flunked out of Mount Albion on purpose so I could come home.”

She wore a puzzled look. “Why didn’t you just admit you hated it and transfer? No need for the flunking.”

“Because I was in denial. I didn’t realize that was why I was doing it until after the ink was dry on my test results.”

Krista plopped on the other end of the bed, resting against the headboard. “You’re right, that’s a superboring story.”

“Then tell a better one.”

“It’s not as racy as people seem to think. My boyfriend’s in the army on deployment in Afghanistan. I didn’t realize I was pregnant before he left, or I’m sure he would’ve proposed. Not that I’d say yes just because of the baby.”

“Does he know?”

“Yeah, I emailed him, and we Skype when he can get a stable connection.” From her expression, that wasn’t as often as she’d like.

“Boy or girl?”

“Girl.”

“And her dad?”

“Private first class, Kenji Nakamura. I met him in San Francisco. Do you want to see a picture?” Her eager expression prompted me to nod.

Krista dug into her purse, got out her cell phone and showed me a veritable slide show, pose after pose of her absent boyfriend. He was a handsome Japanese-American guy who looked even better in uniform. I could see why she’d fallen for him. The uncertainty would probably drive me crazy, though.

“So why the army?” I asked.

“To help with college costs later. His tour will be up next year.” I could tell she was eager for him to leave the service.

“So he enlisted right out of high school?”

“Yep. We’ve been doing the long-distance thing forever, and I’m so sick of it.”

Wow. I didn’t know if I was concerned or impressed that they’d kept the relationship going for so long through such difficult circumstances. For him, it probably wasn’t as much of a sacrifice because he likely didn’t face much temptation in Afghanistan, and it had to help, knowing somebody who loved him was waiting back home.

“Well, he obviously gets leave time now and then.” I smirked.

Krista ducked her head, but she grinned back. “We tend to make the most of it.”

“How does your dad feel?”

Her face fell. “He’s furious. When he found out, he called the baby a blight on my future. He says I can do much better than Kenji.”

That explained why she wasn’t in California anymore. Since I hadn’t met the guy, I couldn’t say if he were the best person for Krista, but she seemed to love him. On the other hand... “How long have you been together?”

“Since my senior year.”

Wow. So she’s been dating this guy since high school, and he’s been gone since graduation. I understood her dad’s reservations, though it wouldn’t be supportive to say so. Part of me wondered if she’d checked out the alternatives. At this point, Krista had less experience than me, which wasn’t a good thing.

But hey, it’s her life.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said then.

“You do?”

“That we should’ve broken up. I should see other people. Two years ago, we took a break, and...I did. But nobody makes me happy like he does. So we got back together.”

“Gotcha. Well, I bet your dad’s just being protective. That’s his job. Hopefully he’ll get over it by the time the baby gets here. Have you thought about names?”

“So far, we can’t agree on one. My mom was bothering me about delivering on my own, so I finally agreed to move back.” She let out a quiet sigh. “Honestly, she didn’t push much. I was so scared, thinking about doing this by myself.”

“You know I’ll do anything I can to help, right?”

I was thinking more of a baby shower, but Krista perked up. “Really? Mom offered to be in the delivery room, but I can’t handle the thought of her seeing that. I will never understand people who film it. Would you stay with me?”

While your kid’s being born? Shit.

But I’d already offered. So I answered, “Sure. I don’t promise not to freak out, but I’ll hold your hand and feed you ice chips, the whole nine, okay? Are you doing natural childbirth?” I thought there were classes or something, so I was probably too late to be her partner in that.

“Depends on how much it hurts. The idea of a needle in my spine...”

“Right? Welcome to modern medicine.” Though I hadn’t thought much about how I’d handle reproduction down the line, I wasn’t a fan of pain. “So when are you due?”

“Late May.”

“I’ll be there,” I promised.

After that, we went downstairs and joined her mom. We watched TV and made popcorn; Krista put real butter on it, and it was so good that I probably gained five pounds just from the taste. My cell phone complained that I was down to ten percent battery, so I shut it off. It was late when I walked home, but this was Nebraska, and it was only six blocks, so I wasn’t worried. Still, we’d watched horror movies, so I was twitchy by the time I got in the door.

Mom was asleep, so I checked my email. I had the usual spam, plus notes from all my former roomies, which made me happy. I missed all of them, even Max, though things were unspeakably awkward between us at the end. I opened Nadia’s first:

LB! You know I miss you like crazy, right? Courtney’s in your bed right now, and she has completely alphabetized my books. I’m pretty sure there will be a lending library program implemented the next time I get home from work. So how’s Nebraska? Did you find a job yet? Have you started applying to any schools? I have like ten more questions but you’ll get grumpy if I dump them on you all at once. Hug and kiss my family for me, okay? Write back soon or I’m sending my brother to track you down.