The Earring

Book 6 Part 1

The smell of something baking awakened Faith. In the kitchen she found a beaming Teresa taking a tray of sweet rolls out of the oven.

"These were in the fridge." She waved her hand at the unrolled cardboard can on the cabinet. "I figured they'd make a quick breakfast."

"I bet you counted on the smell to roust me out of bed, too."

"Me?" Teresa gave her a look of wide-eyed innocence.

"Yeah, you."

As Teresa slid the hot rolls off the tray with a spatula, Faith rummaged in a drawer and came up with her kitchen scissors. Snipping off a corner of the icing packet, she said, "I like my icing put on when it's hot and runs all over the roll. How about you?"

"I'm going to eat mine without icing. I'm probably going to gain plenty of weight without all that sugar."

Faith groaned. "That's all I need. A health-conscious roommate to make me feel guilty."

"Well, you're not pregnant," Teresa countered. "You aren't going to gain like a hundred pounds without even trying."

Faith laughed. "I think a hundred is a bit much. Most women only gain 30 or so."

"Well, even if the baby weighs 10 pounds, that's 20 I'll have to loose."

"Don't forget all that water and the placenta. You'll probably only be facing ten pounds of ugly fat." She grinned as she delivered the last words.

"Gee thanks," Teresa said. "You're such a help. I feel better now."

As they quickly cleaned up the kitchen, Teresa said, "I think visitation starts at eight. If we hurry, we can get there before then."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Faith countered. "What about school?"

"Missing one day won't hurt," Teresa said. "I won't pay attention if I go. I'll just be thinking about Josh." She looked at Faith with beseeching eyes. After a few seconds, she dropped her gaze to her toes. "Besides," she continued. "Everyone is going to be staring at me and making jokes behind my back." She looked back up at Faith. "I would feel better if Josh were there too."

"You heard the doctor. He put Josh on bed rest for a week. You can't miss a week of school."

"I know." Teresa rubbed her right foot across her left toe. She bit her bottom lip. "Just today. Just let me miss today."

Faith felt Teresa's pain. "Okay, but just today."

Teresa threw her arms around Faith. "You're the best," she whispered in her ear.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Faith wondered.

As Teresa prettied herself, Faith called Aaron.

"Hey, Splendida," he answered. "Top of the morning to you."

Faith smiled at the endearment. She had missed his pet names for her: Sweetness, Honeycomb, and Spledida. He had tried saccharinite, but she had told him her sweetness was the real thing, not some artificial proxy. He had substituted his version of Splenda, telling her that it was a sugar derivative. "Besides, you're both splendid and sweet," he had delivered the clincher.

"Same to you, Honey Bear," she said.

"Hey, you know better," he growled, referring to his dislike of the maudlin moniker. "Okay." She laughed. "How's Pooh today?" He reluctantly let her call him Pooh, which made no sense to her when they both knew it was a substitute for Honey Bear – after all that's what Pooh was, a bear who was always looking for honey.