As Lucy cleared up her desk to leave for her therapy session, Amy walked into her office.
"Can I have five minutes of your time?" Amy asked hopefully, and Lucy resisted the urge to glance at her wristwatch as she gave Amy a nod.
"Sure," Lucy said and gestured to Amy to sit.
"I'm sorry to bother you. I just don't have anyone else to talk to, and since you said I could come to you...."
"You don't have to apologize for anything and you're not bothering me either," Lucy assured her with a friendly smile.
"The pregnancy test came back negative. The procedure failed," Amy said and Lucy wasn't sure whether to express her joy openly or not, so she kept a neutral face.
"I was going to ask if you had confirmed yet, but I wasn't sure how to bring up the subject without sounding intrusive. How do you feel about it?" Lucy asked and Amy shook her head.
"I don't know. A part of me feels sad that it failed and now I won't have any part of Miley to hold on to after she leaves, another parts of me feels relieved and then I feel guilty that a part of me is relieved that it didn't work out. I feel so confused and sad," Amy said with tears in her eyes.
Lucy sighed as she rose to go sit beside Amy, "All your emotions are valid. It's normal to feel sad, relieved and guilty. And if you ask me, I'm glad that you're not pregnant," Lucy said as she patted Amy's back.
"Have you spoken with your mom yet? And have you heard from Miley?" Lucy asked and Amy shook her head.
"After I found out I wasn't pregnant, I called my mom to inform her about it and we are good now. She told me Miley's parents flew her out of the country. They are trying to get her all the help they can, but she is still in a critical situation and can neither talk nor move." Amy's lips wobbled as she spoke, and Lucy could tell she was trying hard not to cry.
"You don't have any other friends, do you? What are your plans for the weekend?" Lucy asked, Amy shook her head.
"I'm hoping there will be enough work to keep me occupied," she confessed and Lucy shook her head.
"How about you hang out with me and my friends? As I'm sure you already know, Sonia is getting married this weekend. Tomorrow is her bachelorette party. You can join us for it and come for the wedding as well," Lucy suggested but Amy shook her head.
"That's an event for close family and friends. I can't intrude," Amy said but Lucy smiled.
"You won't be intruding. Sonia is my sister and best friend, so you are welcome as my plus one," Lucy assured her.
"I wouldn't want to ruin the mood of the party with...."
"You can't ruin the mood even if you tried, trust me. I will text you the time and venue. Make sure you come, alright?" Lucy said as she glanced at her wristwatch, and Amy nodded.
"I really need to go now," Lucy said as she rose and Amy rose as well.
"Thanks for your time," Amy said, and Lucy embraced her.
"Make sure you show up tomorrow, okay?" Lucy said as she pulled away and Amy nodded before walking out of the office.
Three hours later, after she was done with her therapy session and had stopped by her apartment to pick up the stuff she needed for the weekend at Sonia's, Lucy arrived at Sonia's house. This chapter made its debut appearance via N0v3lB1n.
The moment she pressed the doorbell, Sonia who had been waiting all day for her, quickly opened the door and embraced Lucy.
"I'm so glad you're here now," Sonia said and Lucy pulled away to look at Sonia with a concerned frown.
Seeing Sonia's attitude, one would think they were seeing for the first time in a long time, but they had been together the last weekend to go over the plans for the wedding, and Lucy had accompanied Sonia to the baker's shop for the cake testing and selection as well as to the bridal shop where she tried out her dress.
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked and Sonia shook her head.
"No, I'm not. I just don't feel very much like myself," Sonia said as she led Lucy inside.
Mia who was seated in the living room, smiled at Lucy when she walked in, "Hey, Lucy!"
"Hello, Mia! I didn't know you had company," Lucy said to Sonia.
"Bryan has had Mia coming over daily to keep me company while he is busy with Jeff. I'm sure Mia is tired of my temper tantrums by now," Sonia said as they sat down and Mia smiled.
"No, I'm not. Besides, it's nice to laze around with you all day," Mia assured her.
"You are just being your sweet self," Sonia said and Mia smiled.
"You're lucky you mentioned it. I would have liked you to spend the night alone at Matt's though," Andy joked and they all laughed.
"You don't mind me staying with him here then?" Candace asked Sonia and she shook her head.
"I don't mind you all moving in here as long as you don't kiss or make out in front of me, though," she said with a look of disgust.
"Watching other people kiss disgusts you too?" Lucy asked and she raised a brow.
"With this much saliva in my mouth, you think I'm interested in seeing anyone else exchanging salivas?" She asked and Candace giggled.
"I had this the same feeling when I was pregnant too. How do you plan to kiss Bryan on your wedding day?" Candace asked and Sonia shrugged.
"It's going to be a peck on the lips. I've warned him not to go beyond that else I might have to barf all over his face," Sonia said and they all laughed.
"I feel sorry for Bryan. The poor guy must be having a hard time coping with you," Andy said and Sonia nodded.
"I feel sorry for him too, but I feel more sorry for myself. He's not the one spitting like a snake or having to pop sweets into his mouth every couple of minutes, after putting me in this condition," Sonia said with a sigh.
"You both put yourself in that condition. I'm sure he didn't force himself on you. You enjoyed the act, so you shouldn't blame him," Andy said and Sonia scowled.
"He enjoyed the act too, so why do I have to suffer alone? He should suffer too. The world is so unfair to ladies," Sonia complained and they all laughed.
"Why are you so quiet? Sonia, who is your friend?" Andy asked curiously, as she looked at Mia.
"Oh, sorry. I assumed you knew her because Lucy and Candace are familiar with her. Andy meet Mia. She is my friend and Bryan's assistant. Mia, meet Andy, Candace's sister," Sonia said and Andy held out a hand to her.
"It's nice to meet you," Andy said and Mia nodded as she shook hands with her.
"Same here. And I'm quiet because I enjoy listening to you all," Mia said with a friendly smile.
"You don't have a boyfriend, do you?" Andy asked, and Candace looked at her in dismay.
"Andy! Why would you ask someone you only just met such a personal question?" Candace asked in disapproval.
"It's not a big deal. It's not like I asked to know the last time she had sex. That would be a personal question. I was just asking to know her relationship status. That's something that even employers ask," Andy said defensively.
"Well, you are not her employer," Candace said while Sonia and Lucy exchanged an amused look since it sounded like a discussion they could both have with Lucy being Candace and Sonia, Andy.
"You don't mind my asking, do you?" Andy asked Mia who was grinning at her.
"I don't. But why do you ask? Are you into girls? Cause I'm not," Mia said making Andy and the others laugh.
"Nah. I love Ds too much to be into girls. I asked because I figured that since you are Sonia's friend, you will be at the bachelorette party and stuff. I don't want to be the only single one amongst them," Andy said and Mia grinned.
"Well, you won't be the only single one there," Mia assured her.
"There will be three of you. Amy, my secretary will be there too," Lucy informed them.
"Cool then. Cause I don't want to hang out with ladies who will keep going on and on about their men. You girls do that often over the phone and it gets tiring. By the way, when do I get to meet your boyfriend? Is he coming to pick you up?" Andy asked Lucy, who shook her head.
"No. I will be here with Sonia until after the wedding. Maybe you will meet him tomorrow or at the wedding," Lucy said and Candace raised a brow.
"Tom agreed for you to stay here with Sonia, away from him? I always used to think all the Hank siblings are a clingy lot, but I guess Tom is different," Candace said and Lucy laughed, choosing not to tell them how Tom had reacted when she told him her plans.
"By the way, where are our dresses? We need to try ours out. That's another reason we came. I loved seeing Jade's and Lucy's," Andy said and Sonia rose to go get the dresses.
"Are you part of the bridal train?" Candace asked and Mia shook her head.
"No. I'm not cut out for all of that," Mia said with a small smile.
The last thing she wanted was for her pictures to be all over the internet and for someone to recognize her.
She had wanted to avoid the bachelorette party altogether but Sonia had insisted she join them for it. She planned to avoid taking pictures with them by any means necessary.