Despite her misgivings, Becky had agreed. She’d even spit in the tube and given it to Jules to send in, even while the red blotches on her neck had given away her discomfort.
Jules shouldn’t have pushed her. Of course Becky would do anything for her best friend, but it was clear she thought it might jinx her chances to get pregnant. Jules knew how important this baby was to her and Bryan, but a little spit in a tube wasn’t going to change anything about the IVF process. Becky’s test was just to help with her family tree. Jules was the one who had good reason to be nervous.
She could still remember the voicemail Becky had left. The more I think about it, the more I can’t ignore that I think it’s bad luck to work on a baby gift before I’m even pregnant. I'm being silly, I know. I’m here to support you in your search, but can we just wait on my test and the family tree? Besides, I’ll still be royalty after the baby gets here, right?
Becky had apologized profusely the next time they spoke. Jules quickly dismissed it. If Becky thought the test and her family tree were going to affect her getting pregnant, Jules didn’t want to do anything that would give her friend any more angst. The IVF would be successful, and Jules would just wait to deal with her test until Becky told her she was pregnant. Or maybe, to be safe, she’d wait until the baby was born and everyone was healthy and happy.
For now, she would just worry about her own search. Jules took in a deep breath, and with her finger shaking, she hit the button to open her results.
Chapter Twelve
Becky
Bryan was on his laptop at the kitchen table waiting to be picked up when Becky strolled in, fully dressed to head to the boutique.
Bryan looked up from his computer. “Beck, you sure you’re up to working today? You think you can handle the shop and the driving?”
“I’ll be fine, and I’ll take a break to meet you at lunch to rent the car.”
Bryan scowled. “I’m not so sure—”
“The doctor said no driving for twenty-four hours. It’s been more than twenty-four hours. I’m okay.”
He wagged his finger at her. “You’re very stubborn, you know that?”
“But I love you.” She grazed her lips over his. “Text me later when you head to the rental place.”
Ready to walk out, Becky paused by the bowl where she usually tossed her keys. She frowned and turned back to Bryan. “Hey, do you know what happened to my keys?”
“They’re not in the bowl?”
“If they were there, I wouldn’t be asking.” Frustration turned her tone more brusque than she intended.
She had them when she came home from her appointment with Dr. Levine or she wouldn’t have been able to get in when Mrs. Ritter dropped her off. Mentally she tried to retrace her steps from the day before.
She dumped the contents of her purse on the kitchen table next to Bryan and sifted through the pile, but there was no sign of them. She rifled through the little basket on the kitchen counter they used as a catch-all for small bits of junk that had no other real home. Not there either.
After stomping back into the bedroom, she checked the dresser and shoved aside the contents of her little desk. Grabbed the laptop and looked behind it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t visualize where she had put them when she came in the day before.
As she rubbed her temples, she trudged back to the kitchen. “Seriously, you have no idea where they are?”
“I’m sorry, babe, I haven’t seen them. But, listen—”
“What the hell would I have done with them?” She felt her emotions threatening to escalate.
Bryan stood from the table and approached her, then put his arms around her. She flinched, but he held her until she relaxed into his embrace. As the fight went out of her, he stepped back.
“It’s okay. Listen, they must be here someplace. You said Tonya’s working this morning, so you don’t need any of the store keys.” Bryan pulled his car key off his keychain and handed it to her. “You don’t need your key for my car. You can use mine. You’ll be in the rental car coming home. I should be home before you, or if you beat me here, get the spare house key from Mrs. Ritter.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sure you don’t need to go by your mom’s today, so you don’t need any of her keys, right?”
“No,” she reluctantly agreed. “I guess I don’t.”
“Okay, then. We’ll find them later when we get home. It’s not like they’re going anywhere.” He offered her a small smile. “I’m not even sure I want you to go to work, but since you insist, you don’t need anything else to worry about today. Go to work and lose yourself in scarves, pretty dresses, and purses.”
Bryan had a way of putting things into perspective. “You’re right. I can survive the day without them. I’ll find them later.”
Bryan was right. The boutique was her happy place.
Distracted by work, Becky forgot about the incident with her keys. Her makeup and hairstyle covered the bruise enough that no one seemed to notice.
As Tonya promised, the new jewelry had come in. Anna, one of the salesgirls who had been working for them for almost two years, was there to help.
As Becky headed back to the office to pay invoices and settle the receipts from the day she had missed, she heard Anna’s voice as she unpacked the boxes. “Dibs on this one. Look how pretty.”
Around dinner time, Becky emerged from the office for the day and found Tonya. “Hey, I’m heading out.” They watched Anna at the register with a customer. She was already ringing up several necklaces they had just put out.
“I told you.” A satisfied smile slipped across Tonya’s face. “Her stuff is stunning. This order is going to fly out of here.”
“Well, damn, then. I’d better pick something out for myself before it’s all gone. I’ll look tomorrow. See ya in the morning.”
As she drove home in the sensible gray sedan Bryan had made her rent, she glanced at the spot where she had gone off the road. The tree had a chunk of bark missing, but it had fared better than her car. Off to the side, the grass told the story of her car skidding out of control.
Her eyes drifted up to the overpass that went above the exit. Maybe Dr. Levine was right and someone had just been somewhere they weren’t supposed to be. At this point, it was all she had to explain what had happened.
Bryan’s car was in the driveway when she pulled in. She turned the knob to the front door. He had remembered and left it unlocked for her.
Tiptoeing into the kitchen, she came up behind her husband while he stood at the stove. Leaning her body against his, she wrapped her arms around his waist. The hair at the nape of his neck was still wet from his shower after the gym.