The Love of Lies

Love?

Cori's POV

Today is Chris's birthday celebration, so Ashton and I are going to the man's home for a small get together.

I’m told they had to reschedule it because his wife thought she was in labor, but she was only experiencing practice contractions, so she was sent home, and now, she's picking up where they left off.

There aren't a lot of people around, and I somewhat recognize a few from the man's baby shower, but the only person who I feel comfortable talking to freely is Clarence.

Chris is the celebrant, so he's mingling with everyone, and Pauline looks like she'd rather not be bothered by anyone at all.

Still, I somehow end up next to the woman as very drunk men compare the size of our stomachs.

The woman is nearly five months ahead of me, but comparing bellies, we look just weeks apart.

Not many people know that I’m carrying twins, not really sure why, but my guess is that Ashton hasn't mentioned it.

At the same time, I don't really tell people unless they ask, so they're probably just trying to find out if 'my dates' are off.

That is highly offensive to me, and Ashton knows it, but since he's made no move to clarify indefinitely, neither will I.

"You okay babe?" Ashton whispers in my ear, likely noticing that I'm in a bad mood.

"Of course nothing is 'okay,'" Pauline replies for me, practically shouting, which makes her husband appear. “Why haven’t you told them that you're having twins? Don’t you know how that makes Cori look?"

"Twins?" Someone asks, looking for clarification.

"Come on guys. I told you that we were having twins."

"YEAH, BUT WE THOUGHT YOU WERE JOKING!" A man excitedly replies, looking at my belly in a new light. "No wonder she’s twice the size." That makes me feel ‘great,’ but I remain quiet.

"The only time two for the price of one ain't such a good thing," Mark says, drawing out a round of laughter that I get angry at.

I try to walk away, but Ashton pulls me back, kissing the side of my face apologetically.

"Come on babe, that was funny and you know it."

Ashton is rubbing my lower back, talking into my ear to make me feel better about being made fun of.

If we planned our pregnancy, it would be funny, however Mark knows our babies were a mistake, but Ashton thinks I read too much into what the man says.

All night he's been pointing out my weight gain, and he's even been making fun of the way I walk, something that already makes me feel insecure.

"Just think, would you feel the same way if Clarence made that joke." No, I would not feel that way, but…

"Clarence isn't the one who's been comparing me to a hungry hippo." Ashton snorts, and this time I actually walk away, joining Pauline who's munching on something I might want to eat too.

"Finally had enough playing nice?"

"I'm not playing nice, I am nice, but Ashton doesn't hear what I hear."

"You mean Mark?"

"Is he always such a jerk?" The woman goes on to tell me that he is, something that doesn't surprise me. "You okay," I whisper, noticing that the woman is making funny facial expressions.

"These Braxton Hicks are kicking my…-" Pauline abruptly stops talking, and I follow her line of sight to the area between her legs. "Shiiiiiit!"

Before I know what's happening, I'm yelling at people to get what I need while Pauline's legs are wide open in front of me.

Ashton's on the phone with an emergency operator, and Chris is holding his wife's hand.

Troy and Julia just came, so they've been helping me gather the things I said I needed, while some of Ashton and Chris's closest friends are just standing in the background, curious, but unwilling to look.

Within minutes, I have everything I need to deliver the baby safely, and having done this once before, I'm pretty confident that I can do it again.

"What did they say?" Chris asks, scared because he can also tell that his wife's contractions are progressing very quickly.

"They said they're enroute." I make eye contact with Pauline, because if she waits to start pushing, her baby may be affected.

"Trust me to do this for you?" At that, the woman bares down, giving me my answer.

Ashton's POV

My girlfriend is amazing, and I really, really don't know how I got so lucky. She just delivered a baby, and right now, my best friend and his wife are cradling their infant son as we wait for paramedics to arrive.

Cori hasn't moved from where she was crouched, just in case, but as soon as other professionals arrive, she's helped to her feet, allowing me to swoop in and collect her.

"Babe, you look weird." Cori isn't exactly standing on her own, but she's not falling over either.

"I think I'm going to…-" My girlfriend heaves, and I quickly get her into the restroom where too many of my friends follow us.

Between 'she's so cool' and 'is she okay?' They all seem to have something to say, but all I can focus on is the woman I'm with.

"Talk to me Hun. What do you need?"

"A shower, Cori whispers, and it's then that I notice that she's got some not so nice-looking stuff on her dress. "I don't think I can drive."

Someone offers to give me a sobriety test, but that isn't necessary. My brother is here, and he hasn't had a single drink.

After just witnessing someone else give birth, I refuse to put my unborn children in danger, even if I haven't had much to drink.

It's immediately clear that my brother feels the same way because he offers for Julia to take Cori home while he and I do Chris a favor and clean up a little.

Their daughter is with her grandmother, so that's a plus, but coming home to rotting party platters doesn't sound like the best way to welcome a newborn to its home, and now that I think about it, I wonder if Cori wants to change anything about where we live.

I get the woman one of Chris's shirts, confident he won't care if one is gone, and help her change into it.

I then guide her to the couch, where Clarence is excitedly questioning her.

"You delivered a baby before?"

"In a Chinese restaurant," Cori adds, a hint of pride in her tone. "The baby wasn't breathing on his own, but I kept him alive until paramedics came."

"Why don't you go into midwifery? You seem like a natural."

"If I go back to school for anything, it'll be for my master’s in nursing."

"You mean your bachelors?"

"No, I already have my BSN. I just didn't get to practice in my field for long because of the babies." Hearing that doesn't feel good, so I stop what I'm doing and pull Clarence away from my girl by telling him I need his help.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm just talking to her. I didn't know she was so cool."

"Talking, or flirting?"

"What the f*ck? Bro, are you that insecure? Cori's pretty, but I'd never, and… she's pregnant."

I don't know what's going on right now, but I've also been a little wary of my brother's relationship with Cori too.

It's nothing they're doing, it's just the fear that she may start comparing me to other men, and I'd lose.

"If I didn't know what it was like to love someone, I'd be offended, but you need to chill out."

"I don't love Cori."

"Right; you 'don't love' her so much that you're confronting one of your long-term friends for being friendly with her."

"Is that what I'm doing?" Clarence smiles and pats my shoulder in mock sympathy.

"Don't worry, I used to feel the same, but Janice was never that kind of woman, so I had nothing to worry about." I fall into silence as the man leaves, and see that Jules has come to help Cori to the car, so I follow them out.

"Babe, don't wait up for me, let Julia help you shower, and please use the chair. I know you hate it, but I also know that you'll want to wash your hair, and you know what happened last time."

I just so happened to be brushing my teeth while Cori was washing her hair and got so dizzy that she tried to steady herself on the wall, but nearly slipped because her hands were soapy.

After that, I bought her a showering chair that she absolutely despises.

"Okay," the woman replies, looking up to me with puckered lips that I quickly kiss. "Oh yeah," she says. "Don't throw the food in the kitchen away. Make sure Chris has something in the fridge so that he doesn't have to order takeout for him and Madison." My chest feels like it's on fire right now, specifically because I think Clarence is right; I love Cori.

"Okay, we will. Just take care of yourself right now. I'll be home soon." I kiss the woman again, wondering if I should leave Clarence and Troy to clean alone, but Chris is my best friend, and I wouldn't want to do that to him.

"See you soon," Cori says in parting, and because I don't want to keep her, I shut the car door, and silently watch it leave.

I go back inside, tell the men what Cori said, and because Clarence is better at packaging food than either of us, he takes up the task while Troy and I put the place in order.

We were almost done when Chris came back, startling us all when we really should have guessed that everything was fine.

"Pauline and the baby are great. I just forgot to grab her go-bag." The look on my face makes Chris chuckle and he gestures for me to follow him into his bedroom. "This is what I’m talking about. Hasn't Cori mentioned it?"

"She hasn't really done any shopping for the babies at all." I'm sort of embarrassed as I'm allowed to look at the contents, noting that it's filled with things Pauline may need in the hospital.

"That's probably for the best. Pauline and I over-purchased, and we had a ton of clothes Madison grew out of before she got to wear them. We now know it's better to shop as needed. Most of the stuff in Bastien's room are things we already had."

I hope that's all there is to it because, now more than ever, I feel like Cori deserves more than what I'm giving to her.

"Thanks for what you guys are doing by the way. Pauline was already imagining the worst. This Cori's idea, or yours?"

"Mine," I say, picking up a small infant cap with the letter B printed on it. I know it stands for Bastien, but it makes me think of my twins.

"Something up with you?"

"When did you know you loved your wife?"

"When she packed her sh*t and left me." That's not encouraging, but Chris explains. "In all seriousness, I knew it from our very first interaction. I just didn't 'know-know.' Why are you asking?"

"I think I love Cori."

"Love, or in love with?" I remember Chris quite literally telling his bosses to go f*ck themselves before proposing to Pauline, a business rival, and I wonder if I could do the same for Cori.

"Love isn't the same for everyone bro. For Pauly and I, it came naturally, but look at Clarence. He didn't realize he was in love until he lost it forever."

I do not want that for myself, and setting the tiny hat back inside the bag, I make up my mind to tell the woman how I feel.