about ten pounds since the wedding.”
“How long have you been married?”
“Less than two months.”
“Oh, so you’re still newlyweds.”
“Technically. But we’ve been best friends since we were nine years old. And I don’t want to be one of those moms in her fifties carting her kids to grade school, or pushing seventy when they graduate high school. For a process that’s supposed to be so natural, you would not believe how complicated it can be.”
It wasn’t something Carrie had ever thought about. She didn’t know much about pregnancy, or even babies. She just assumed that when you were ready, you had sex at the right time and poof, you got pregnant. That was the way it seemed to work for her college friends who had gotten married and started families. Hell, there were even a handful of girls in high school who seemed to have no problems getting themselves knocked up. A few of them multiple times.
“So what do you think of the condo?” Terri asked. “Again, I won’t be insulted if you don’t like it, or if you’d like to look at other places before making a decision.”
“I think,” Carrie said with a smile, “I’ll take it.”
Six
“Y ou’re sure?” Terri asked.
Carrie laughed. “Yes, I’m very sure. Did you bring a lease agreement?”
“It’s in my coat. I’ll get it.”
They took a seat at the kitchen table and went over the paperwork. When it came to filling in the price of rent, Terri looked over at her. “So we’re talking rent plus utilities, including cable TV and internet.”
“Name your price,” Carrie told her, and she offered up a sum that seemed awfully low for all of that, especially in the heart of a major city. “Are you sure you don’t want more? I don’t expect any sort of special treatment. I want to pay what’s fair.”
“Nick and I talked about it. We’re not looking to make a profit, just cover expenses.”
“You’re positive?”
She nodded. “That’s the way things are done in the Caroselli family. They’re a very generous bunch. They suck people into the fold.”
“Is a personal check okay?”
“If it bounces, I’ll know where to find you,” Terri joked.
Carrie wrote the check out for three months’ worth of rent, tore it from the book and handed it to Terri, feeling guilty to be paying such a low sum.
“Are you sure you want to pay all three months up front?”
“It’s just easier for me that way. One less thing I have to worry about remembering.” She slid her checkbook back into her bag. “So when you said that the Carosellis suck people in, what exactly did you mean by that?”
She must have looked apprehensive because Terri chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing creepy or weird. Take me, for example. When I moved to Chicago, I was nine. I had just lost my parents and I was living with an aunt who wasn’t exactly thrilled to play Mommy to some bratty kid she had never met before. I guess you could say that I was a lost soul. Then I became friends with Nick, and I met his family, and it was like they adopted me. Nick likes to joke that if his mom had to choose between the two of us, she would pick me.”
“That’s really nice,” Carrie said. “Everyone should have family.”
“Do you have a big family?”
“I have a few cousins, and a couple of aunts and uncles spread out across the southwest, but I haven’t seen them in years. Mostly it’s just me and my mom.”
“You’re close?” she asked, and when Carrie didn’t answer right away, Terri said, “I’m sorry, it’s really none of my business. The Carosellis are also very nosy, and I guess it rubbed off on me.”
“It’s okay. It’s just that my relationship with my mom is a little…complicated. We don’t really see each other very often. I work a lot and she spends most of her time in a bottle.”
Terri nodded. “Ah, I see.”
“There’s a lot of resentment from my end, and apathy from hers. I have the typical characteristics
“How long have you been married?”
“Less than two months.”
“Oh, so you’re still newlyweds.”
“Technically. But we’ve been best friends since we were nine years old. And I don’t want to be one of those moms in her fifties carting her kids to grade school, or pushing seventy when they graduate high school. For a process that’s supposed to be so natural, you would not believe how complicated it can be.”
It wasn’t something Carrie had ever thought about. She didn’t know much about pregnancy, or even babies. She just assumed that when you were ready, you had sex at the right time and poof, you got pregnant. That was the way it seemed to work for her college friends who had gotten married and started families. Hell, there were even a handful of girls in high school who seemed to have no problems getting themselves knocked up. A few of them multiple times.
“So what do you think of the condo?” Terri asked. “Again, I won’t be insulted if you don’t like it, or if you’d like to look at other places before making a decision.”
“I think,” Carrie said with a smile, “I’ll take it.”
Six
“Y ou’re sure?” Terri asked.
Carrie laughed. “Yes, I’m very sure. Did you bring a lease agreement?”
“It’s in my coat. I’ll get it.”
They took a seat at the kitchen table and went over the paperwork. When it came to filling in the price of rent, Terri looked over at her. “So we’re talking rent plus utilities, including cable TV and internet.”
“Name your price,” Carrie told her, and she offered up a sum that seemed awfully low for all of that, especially in the heart of a major city. “Are you sure you don’t want more? I don’t expect any sort of special treatment. I want to pay what’s fair.”
“Nick and I talked about it. We’re not looking to make a profit, just cover expenses.”
“You’re positive?”
She nodded. “That’s the way things are done in the Caroselli family. They’re a very generous bunch. They suck people into the fold.”
“Is a personal check okay?”
“If it bounces, I’ll know where to find you,” Terri joked.
Carrie wrote the check out for three months’ worth of rent, tore it from the book and handed it to Terri, feeling guilty to be paying such a low sum.
“Are you sure you want to pay all three months up front?”
“It’s just easier for me that way. One less thing I have to worry about remembering.” She slid her checkbook back into her bag. “So when you said that the Carosellis suck people in, what exactly did you mean by that?”
She must have looked apprehensive because Terri chuckled and said, “Don’t worry, it’s nothing creepy or weird. Take me, for example. When I moved to Chicago, I was nine. I had just lost my parents and I was living with an aunt who wasn’t exactly thrilled to play Mommy to some bratty kid she had never met before. I guess you could say that I was a lost soul. Then I became friends with Nick, and I met his family, and it was like they adopted me. Nick likes to joke that if his mom had to choose between the two of us, she would pick me.”
“That’s really nice,” Carrie said. “Everyone should have family.”
“Do you have a big family?”
“I have a few cousins, and a couple of aunts and uncles spread out across the southwest, but I haven’t seen them in years. Mostly it’s just me and my mom.”
“You’re close?” she asked, and when Carrie didn’t answer right away, Terri said, “I’m sorry, it’s really none of my business. The Carosellis are also very nosy, and I guess it rubbed off on me.”
“It’s okay. It’s just that my relationship with my mom is a little…complicated. We don’t really see each other very often. I work a lot and she spends most of her time in a bottle.”
Terri nodded. “Ah, I see.”
“There’s a lot of resentment from my end, and apathy from hers. I have the typical characteristics
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