Friends and Lovers by Tara Mills Page A

drink, Lauren sampled it cautiously, but it was perfect. Sherry must have made more than a few of these in her day.
    Sherry turned back from closing the refrigerator and her eyes lingered on the glass in Lauren’s hand. “It’s been so long since I had even a lousy glass of wine and I can’t say when I’ll have my next because I’m going to be breastfeeding too.”
    “Poor you.”
    “Well, there are compensations, but boy do I miss a good buzz sometimes.”
    “I’ll bet.”
    “You ready?”
    “Lead on.”
    They left the large, airy kitchen with its warm light oak cabinets and coordinated table for the living room again. Lauren tried not to react when she felt Wes’s eyes follow her up the staircase.
    The beautiful light cream carpet in the living room was carried up the stairs and down the hall. Noting its pristine condition Lauren had to smile because she knew its days were numbered. Working at a shelter where kids came and went Lauren understood better than they probably did that there were stains in their future. If they were smart they’d go with something speckled, something capable of hiding all the mishaps.
    Sherry waved casually at the first door. “Bathroom.”
    Lauren peeked inside. The long stone vanity glowed from the burning nightlight and she only had a second to appreciate the lovely foil wallpaper before they moved on.
    “Our room,” Sherry waved vaguely, continuing down the hallway.
    Lauren peeked in and saw the master bedroom, modest in size but beautifully decorated, like the rest of the townhouse.
    “Here we are.” Sherry stopped at the last door and reached inside to lift the switch.
    The nursery was painted a soft sky blue with wispy clouds flitting across the deeper blue ceiling. The walls had birds and butterflies here and there and in one corner, a tree seemed to be growing out from the floor and its leafy branches reached across the ceiling.
    “Who painted this?” Lauren asked in breathless wonder.
    “I did. You like it?”
    Lauren nodded. “I love it.”
    Sherry beamed with pleasure. “Come on.” She walked inside and stopped at the crib. It was full of baby shower booty.
    “Here’s what I want to do,” she said, eyeing the glass in Lauren’s hand. “Take a drink first then put that down.”
    Lauren tipped it back before setting it on the dresser.
    “Okay, I’ve prewashed all the little outfits but they need to be folded and put away, and we have to figure out where everything is going to go. I liked the crib here but now I don’t think having it near the window is such a good idea.”
    “If you put the changing table there instead, you can look out the window. It beats looking at the wall.”
    “Good point.” Sherry’s gaze settled on the chair. “What about that?”
    “Where do you plan to do most of the rocking?”
    “I wish I knew.” She drummed her fingers on the top of the crib rail as she thought about it. “If I leave it here I can rock the baby when he wakes up at night. But I’m basically stuck up here the rest of the time when I’d rather be hanging around with Ken downstairs.”
    “The chair would fit nicely in the living room.”
    “Let’s come back to it.” She faced the dresser. “Now the dresser should go …” Sherry hemmed and hawed for a minute. “Nope, I can’t see it until we move the crib and the changing table first.”
    “Should you really be moving furniture?”
    “It’s light but if you think we should call the guys up we can.”
    Not a proposal Lauren wanted to hear. “Let me try it on my own first.” Sherry was right. Lauren was able to move everything with only limited help from Sherry.
    Just as they got the room organized the way they wanted it Ken yelled up the stairs. “Lunch is on the table.”
    Sherry’s eyes widened. “I didn’t even hear the buzzer.”
    “Me either.”
    “This looks a whole lot better, don’t you think?”
    “I’ll say.”
    “Come on, and don’t forget your glass.”
    Lauren