Having Justin's Baby

“I have a small box of decorations, too.” Paige nodded at a box on the counter beside the food supplies. “Michael was going to help me get the cabin ready tonight.”

Stacy placed a hand on the box. “I’ll take his place. I may not be as tall as he is, but I’m not afraid to climb a ladder.”

“Michael’s not afraid of heights,” Paige stated.

“Ever seen him on the chair lift at Lutsen?”

“No, but he doesn’t like to downhill ski. He does cross-country.”

“Has he hiked the Baptism River Trail with you?”

Of all the trails in the Superior National Forest, it had some of the steepest drops. She’d climbed it often with Justin and Kyle, but never with Michael. She tried to remember hiking to any of the breathtaking lookouts in the various parks along the shoreline, but most of their dates had been spent golfing. The one time they’d stopped at the Split Rock Lighthouse, he’d told her the reason he wasn’t going to climb the circular stairs to the top was he’d twisted his knee and wasn’t supposed to do stairs.

Stacy hoisted the box of decorations into her arms and said, “If you get the door for me, I’ll take this for you.” When Paige hesitated she added, “Look, there are some things you can control and others you can’t. You’ll feel better about the ones you can’t control if you take care of the ones you can.”

“I suppose everyone at the resort knows what’s happened by now.”

“Paige, you can’t worry about what people think. You did nothing wrong. Michael is the one who should be feeling ashamed, not you. Now, is there anything else you want to take over to the cabin besides what’s here?”

“The rest of the stuff is already in my trunk.”

“Why don’t we put everything in my Escape and you can ride with me,” she suggested. “There’s no reason for both of us to drive.”

A few minutes later Paige was in the front of Stacy’s SUV heading for the Cascading Waters Resort. The Pinecone was the largest of nine cabins that formed a horseshoe behind the main lodge at the resort. She took comfort in knowing that each cabin had a private parking area, which meant it was unlikely they’d run into any of the other employees.

Tires crunched on gravel as Stacy parked next to a towering white pine. Because of the wooded setting, the evening sun was but a flicker through the foliage.

Paige appreciated the fact that Stacy made no mention of Michael or the broken engagement as they hung the few decorations from previous years and stocked the refrigerator and cupboards with beverages and food. While they worked they talked mostly about the changes Stacy had seen throughout her lifetime as a resident on the North Shore. As they were hanging the last of the posters, Paige’s stomach growled.

“I bet you haven’t had any dinner, have you?” Stacy asked.

Paige shook her head. She hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner but she hadn’t exactly been hungry, either.

“We’ll go over to the Birchwood when we’re finished here,” Stacy offered. “My treat.”

“That’s really thoughtful of you, but it would probably just be a waste of money,” she said, shoving her tape dispenser and scissors back in her tote bag. “I don’t feel much like eating. You know what I mean?”

“Oh yes, I do,” she acknowledged with a nod. “I’ve had my heart broken. I know where you’re at tonight and it’s not a good place to be.”

“No, it isn’t, which is why I think I’ll just go home and go to bed.” Paige turned off the lights on their way out of the cabin.

“No, no, no.” Stacy wagged her finger. “You most certainly will not go home and have a pity party for one. I have a better idea.”

Stacy’s better idea was to stop and pick up a couple of sandwiches at a local deli on the way back to Paige’s trailer. When she pulled up to a liquor store, Paige said, “Unless you want something, you don’t have to stop for me. I get headaches from alcohol.”

“I’ll just be a minute,” was all Stacy said before disappearing inside. She returned carrying a couple of brown bags. As she set them on the bench seat between them, the contents rattled.

Seeing Paige’s wary glance, she said, “It’s mostly fruit juices. I’m going to make us some punch.”

“You don’t need to spend your night off babysitting me,” Paige said.

“Who said anything about babysitting? I know we haven’t had a lot of time to get to know one another, but you’re still a girlfriend and girlfriends don’t let other girlfriends have pity parties for one. So consider tonight an opportunity for me to show someone in the sisterhood how to look at the positive side of breaking up. And there is a positive side. You just can’t see it yet, but believe me, it’s there.”

Paige tried to smile, but she didn’t think that anything Stacy could say or do would dull the pain of losing Michael. All of her life she’d been a “glass is half-full” person, weathering breakups with guys better than most women she knew. But never had she expected that getting jilted could hurt so badly.

When they arrived back at the campground, Stacy insisted it was too nice out to eat indoors. She instructed Paige to build a campfire in the fire pit next to the trailer while she mixed the punch.

A short while later Paige found herself on an Adirondack chair in front of a crackling fire with a sandwich in one hand and a concoction Stacy called her “men are pigs” punch in the other. Paige wasn’t sure just what it was she was drinking. While she had been gathering wood, Stacy had been inside the trailer pouring a variety of liquids into her blender. The result had been a surprisingly delicious fruit drink that had Paige wondering if it contained much alcohol.

“You make a pretty good fire, Paige,” Stacy told her as a birch log popped and sizzled in the dancing flames. “One thing I’ve learned over the years is that there is nothing that a man can do for you that you can’t do for yourself.”

Paige really didn’t want to talk about the value of men and changed the subject. “Thank you for stopping and getting these sandwiches. I guess I was hungry after all.”

“They’re are not as good as Tony’s, but they’re not bad,” Stacy said.

Tony was the chef at the Birchwood and a good friend of Stacy’s. Paige felt a bit guilty that she’d refused Stacy’s offer to eat at the resort restaurant. “You understand why I didn’t want to go to the Birchwood, don’t you? I don’t think I could have taken one more person glancing at me with that pitiful look that says, ‘Oh, you’ve been dumped, you poor thing.’”

“If they’re looking at you with pity they’re making the assumption that you’ve lost something of value,” Stacy said in between bites of her sandwich. “You haven’t.”

“You’re right. He’s worthless. So is Chelsea.” Paige lifted her glass toward the starry sky. “To the worthless Michael Cross and his worthless bride, Chelsea.”

“Uh-uh, the toast should be to Michael and Chelsea for saving you from making the biggest mistake of your life.” Stacy raised her glass to Paige’s.

Paige took another sip and suddenly realized that there indeed was plenty of liquor in the fruit drink. She felt a warmth spread through her, tickling her insides.

“A friend of mine tried to warn me that Michael would be trouble,” she said, gazing up at the stars.

“All men are,” Stacy stated with authority.

“Tell me the truth. Was I the only one who didn’t know he was still seeing Chelsea?”

“I don’t think anyone knew for sure, but it was hard not to notice how she was always hanging around him. And they did have a history.” Stacy got up and reached for Paige’s empty glass. “You need a refill.”

“Better only make it a half.” She giggled. “I think I’m getting a little tipsy.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Stacy said, and disappeared into the trailer, only to return with another full glass.

“I know one thing,” Paige said after taking another sip. “I will not get involved with someone who works at the same place as I do. Today had to be the most humiliating day of my life. I used to think the people who worked at the resort were nice, but now…”

“Hey—they are nice, but like everyone else they talk,” Stacy said in defense of her coworkers. “If you’re going to be mad at someone, it should be Michael. He’s the one who gave them something to talk about.”

“Ever since I got his letter I’ve been trying to figure out what I could have done differently in our relationship, but he acted as if he was really happy.”

“Paige, this is not your fault.”

“Then why do I feel like it is?”

“Because you’re a woman and men want us to feel that way…like we’re to blame for everything that goes wrong in a relationship.”