The words unsettled me, though I could not explain why.
A marriage was not supposed to sound like a business decision.
Still, I pushed the feeling aside.
Over time, my disappointment faded. I met someone kind and built a life of my own. Rosie and Ben moved into a cheerful yellow house near the edge of town.
Their marriage seemed effortless.
Ben brought Rosie flowers on ordinary Tuesdays. He learned the songs she loved and danced with her in the kitchen. He knew when she needed help and, more importantly, when she wanted to do something herself.
Rosie called me almost every morning at nine.
Sometimes she wanted to describe her outfit. Sometimes she told me what Ben had cooked for breakfast. Sometimes she simply wanted to hear my voice.
Then came the call that changed everything.
“I have news,” she whispered.
“What kind of news?”
“The biggest kind.”
She paused dramatically.
“I’m going to be a mother.”
I lowered myself onto the floor of my apartment because my legs suddenly felt weak.
Rosie laughed through happy tears.
“And there are two babies,” she added. “Twins!”
I cried with her.
