Robin Owens - Enchanted Ever After

Shannon flushed red. “It was an accident, but we’re thrilled.”

Kiri swallowed. “That’s fabulous,” she enthused. Meanwhile her thoughts spurted in a thousand directions, like brain synapses misfiring. Shannon was her oldest and best friend and if Kiri knew anything it was that their relationship had just changed irrevocably. Shannon would be focused on Averill and the baby, rightfully so, but Kiri felt a little cold.

Then she felt a lot cold and the open door creaked. Kiri hurried to shut it. “Wow,” she said again.

“We’re so happy!”

“That’s absolutely great!” Kiri went over and hugged her friend. “I have milk for the coffee to celebrate!”

Shannon laughed. “Thanks. No more caffeine for me for the duration, but could I have some herbal tea?”

“You got it.” Kiri went to the kitchen and filled a glass measuring cup with water. She set it in the microwave, rooted in her tea drawer and found chamomile. That was supposed to be good, right? Soothing? She shrugged. The box said it was caffeine free. She plunked a bag in a mug. “How are you feeling?”

“Fabulous.” Shannon hopped up and whirled around then strode to Kiri and hugged her again. “Revved.”

“Great,” Kiri repeated. She couldn’t scrape up different words. “I’m happy for you.” That she could say with full sincerity.

“Averill and I wanted you to be the first to know.”

“That’s so nice. Thanks.”

“And I wanted to tell you myself, so Averill is getting us drinks down at the Sensitive New Age Bean. You know how restless he is,” Shannon ended fondly.

The microwave dinged. “You sure you want the tea?” Kiri asked.

“Yeah, I do. He’ll probably bring me chai. He can never remember that I hate chai.” Shannon tsked. Kiri poured water on the tea bag, handed the mug on a saucer to Shannon.

Shannon sank back into the chair. “We’ve just been to a birth center and have already gotten masses of information. They are so nice there and we met other soon-to-be parents, too.” Dimples showed in Shannon’s cheeks as she blew on the tea water, then sipped. Her glance slid away.

Kiri made herself smile as she took the camp seat. “Sounds awesome, though I think you have a ‘but’ for me?” Another “but” that would send her life in a different direction today. She glanced at the clock. It was 7:40 p.m. and getting dark, so there shouldn’t be too many other strange things coming up.

Shannon said, “Our first set of parenting classes are on Friday nights, so I can’t—”

“—play Fairies and Dragons with me.” Again Kiri deliberately put oomph in her smile. “Do you want to change nights?” she asked lightly, sure she already knew the answer, but hoping she’d still have good connections with her best friend.

“Oh. Of course. We’re working on our scheduling, but I think Tuesdays would be good.”

Kiri’s breath released on a “Whew,” and her smile turned completely genuine.

“Gotta have some amusement, right?” Shannon said.

“Right.”

Shannon patted her stomach. “And little geek here is growing up in a wired household so she-he should get used to it.”

Kiri laughed, but figured there’d be plenty of missed nights due to baby and parenting stuff.

Shannon drew in a large breath. “Averill and I are going to get a new house. Our place is too small for us and a baby and I’ll need something closer to work.”

“So you’re moving way south in the city.” That hurt. They were just within walking distance.

“Yeah.”

Kiri raised her brows. “Sounds like you’re going to be really busy.”

“Yes. A good kind of busy.”

“Of course.”

Shannon put the mug down on the tiny scarred table by the chair that Kiri had also bought at the thrift store, leaned forward and grasped Kiri’s hands. “You’re still my closest friend.”

Leaning forward herself, Kiri kissed Shannon on the cheek. “For now.” She swallowed her tears.

Chapter 6

“WE’VE HAD TO budget brunch in for twice a month instead of weekly,” Shannon said.

“Fine. That’ll be good to keep up.” Kiri felt the friendship slippery in her grasp.

Shannon’s slightly protuberant blue eyes gleamed with excitement. “Now tell me how it went with Jenni Weavers. Is she amazing?”

“Very. And really smart.”

Shannon squeezed Kiri’s hands. “And you got the job!”

“Not exactly.”

“An interview for the job?” Shannon pressed.

Kiri wet her lips. “No. The story lines for Pegasus Valley weren’t what they wanted.”

Shannon frowned, her eyes firing, and her hands clamped down on Kiri’s. “They don’t deserve you, then.”

“But,” Kiri ladened the word with meaning.

“But?” Shannon perked up, tilted her head.

“They want me to work on a brand-new game.”

“Yay, Kiri!” Shannon hopped to her feet and swung around and Kiri whirled with her. “Go, Kiri!”

“Go, Shannon and baby!”

When they were both out of breath, Shannon collapsed into the chair again and slurped her tea.

“It’s not completely set,” Kiri said. “They have a pregame prologue that they want me to clear, see how I do in the game and, um, handle the world-building, I guess.”

Shannon nodded. “You can do it.”

Kiri’s lips thinned. “I can. I will.”

Shannon studied Kiri for a minute, brows dipping. “Is this new job in Denver?”

Kiri blinked in surprise. “I didn’t think to ask, but Jenni Weavers Emberdrake is here and so is the corporation that runs the game. S’pose so.”

“Okay, you’ll let me know how it goes?”

“Of course,” Kiri said, but figured Shannon soon would be more occupied with the reality of new life in her body than Kiri’s triumphs in game-land. Watching Shannon find new friends, turn down a new path away from Kiri was going to be hard.

A scuffing kick came at the door. Averill with his hands full, no doubt. Kiri jumped up to let him in.

He was a tall man, as skinny as his wife, with a gorgeous caramel complexion and a thatch of thick, straight black hair. His grin was as infectious as Shannon’s. “Hey, Kiri.”

She stood tiptoe to kiss his lower jaw. “Hey yourself, Averill. Congratulations!” She took the tray that held three large drinks from him.

“I got you and me a mocha steamer,” he informed Kiri, and sent a tender look at Shannon. “And you some herbal chai.”

“Thanks,” Shannon said. She still smiled, but when Averill turned to close the door she rolled her eyes at Kiri. “Kiri met Jenni Weavers and is in line for a new job.”

“Most excellent. For the development of Pegasus Valley in Fairies and Dragons?” Averill grabbed a folding chair propped against a wall, put the seat down and sat, jiggling ankle across knee.

“Nope,” Kiri said. His obvious happiness, combined with Shannon’s, soothed Kiri. Life was change, after all, and she was pushing at her own changes as much as she could. “Brand-new game with a prologue that determines character attributes instead of choosing your own.”

Averill snorted into his cup. “Huh, might cut down on those who prefer close-in fighting, melee, rushing in and striking with sword or fist.” He cocked an eyebrow at his wife, who only lifted her chin and gave a little sniff. Shannon’s preferred character had stinger fingertips at the end of deadly hands.

Turning back toward Kiri, he asked, “Looks like you can get out of IT and on to a career track that suits you better? More creative?” Of the pair, he was the web designer.

“Looks like,” Kiri said.

He nodded. “Good for you.”

Then Kiri turned the talk from Eight Corp to house hunting and babies and they spent the next half hour talking before Averill stood, then pulled Shannon to her feet. “Come on. Early to bed. Since we visited so much now, shall we cancel brunch tomorrow morning?”