Mother Knows Best
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The air was cooling off early that year, creating a rainy early September that fought to throw off the oppressive heat of August. While the leaves hadn't yet started to change, the air was finally beginning to cool, leaving much of New York to walk the streets instead of huddling together on the buses and subways. The sticky heat of summer was slowly and steadily ebbing away with the change of the season. On one of the first sunny days in two weeks, more than a few New Yorkers took to pathways of Central Park. They were finally able to get some fresh air after being cooped up inside too long.

Georgia crunched down the gravel path, wearing the squirrel-model toe shoes recommended to her by Daphodille. She wished she'd brought some kind of music with her, as the repetitive sound of her own heavy breathing was getting old. The air blowing through her fur as she ran was pleasingly cool, owing much to her continued endurance. But even her energy was beginning to run out with each step. The air in her lungs was becoming sharp and cold and her heart hammered against her chest. Georgia glanced up at the tall oaks she passed, instinctively wishing she could climb into the shade of the branches and fall asleep.

Once reaching the shade of branches overcasting the path, she decided that she'd earned a break and slowed to a stop underneath the shadows. Georgia panted, her chest heaving. She wasn't yet coughing, but didn't want to push herself that far. Taking off her small backpack, she fished inside for her water bottle, pushing past her change of clothes, wallet, and other necessities. Finding it, she threw her head back and sucked on the nozzle long enough to cool the thirsty itch in the back of her throat. Georgia gasped, wiping her mouth off on her arm, then took another few sips before capping the top back on and catching her breath.

Turning around, she squinted in the sunlight as she looked down the path behind her, wishing she'd remembered to bring sunglasses. Past the strollers, other joggers, and sunbathers, she had to scan the horizon for a few seconds until she spied the copper-red figure, followed by an extra-sized fluffy tail, lumbering down the path. She watched a far-away couple glance at her as she passed, which Georgia could only assume was because of the constant stream of swears pouring from her mouth. She chuckled at the thought, then stood up straight and cupped her hands around her mouth.
“Come on, Daph!” She yelled. “You can do it!”

“I know I can do it!” Daph screamed back around her heavy panting. The two had started out neck-and-neck, but Daphodille's handicap had inevitably slowed her down not long after. Ignoring Daph's snappy retort, Georgia continued to cheer and wave her on. While it took nearly a minute for her to catch up, Daph finally stumbled into the shade next to Georgia, who clapped enthusiastically as she slowed to a stop.
“I...I know I can do it, but your fat little baby won't let me,” Daph panted, standing up straight to keep her air flow clear. She seemed far more prepared for a long run than Georgia, wearing a pair of running tights over her muscular legs, her bare paws flexing beneath them. She used a sweatband to keep her hair out of her face and an iPod strapped to her arm and feeding music into one ear. Her belly rose and fell with her breath, just barely concealed beneath her athletic shirt. “I could...I...I could go for at leatht three more mileth by mythelf!”

“Don't call my baby fat!” Georgia yelled, smacking Daph on the shoulder.
“Well, they ain't little,” Daph sighed, leaning back and hefting her bump up with her arms.
“That's not a polite thing to call a little lady, is it?” Georgia teased. Stepping closer, she crouched next to Daph and whispered into her belly. “You're not fat, little girl, you're perfect the way you are.”
“Well, whatever,” Daph grunted. “Point ith, I could go a lot longer if I wanted to, with or without the baby.”
“Sure, sure,” Georgia nodded. She leaned in and pressed an ear to the side of Daph's stomach, her tail flipping excitedly behind her. “...I'm so happy I can call her a she now...” She said, chittering happily.
“Yeah, it'th pretty cool,” Daph nodded, taking Georgia's attention to her stomach as an opportunity to catch her breath. “Ya think we can make it another couple blockth?”

“Can you?” Georgia asked, standing up and looking Daph over with a raise eyebrow. “You look like you're about to drop...I mean, like, faint, not like...you know...” She giggled to herself, while Daph rolled her eyes.
“Nah, I'm good. I do thith all the time, for real. We've barely even gone a mile!” Daph paused, then added, “...I think...” She reached for her hip and unclipped her brand new pedometer. Switching it on, she frowned, flipping it around. “Aw fuckin hell, it'th still in kilometerth.” She shrugged and slipped it back onto the waist of her pants. “Well, that wath probably a mile, anyway.”
“I think you should rest a minute,” Georgia said, her professional eye as a physical therapist all too aware of impending exhaustion. She dug into the backpack for the green counterpart to her own pink water bottle and handed it over. “At least drink something.”

Daph panted, one hand pressed to her back to relieve some of the weight from her belly, while the other reached out and took the water. Tipping it upside down, she squeezed it over her face, only a fraction of it getting into her mouth. Her fur thoroughly doused, she shook it off and blinked the water out of her face. While squirting a stream into her mouth, a splash of it fell against the top of her belly instead of the ground, dampening her shirt. She grumbled, rolled up the shirt and squeezed the water on the ground next to her, then let go and left her furry stomach exposed to the air.
“Daph, come on,” Georgia said trying to pull her shirt back down. “There's people around.”
“Tho?” Daph shrugged, slapping her hand away. “I don't care, it'th fucking hot out here.” She patted down the wet fur on top of her stomach, trying her best to dry it off.
“It's in the low seventies, Daph,” Georgia said flatly. “With, like, no humidity.”
“And I've got another living person inthide my body! Gimme a fuckin break!” Daph snapped back, taking another long sip on the water bottle and filling up her cheeks before handing it back.
“Well, I can't argue with that,” Georgia nodded, smiling to herself as she put away the bottle. “Though it feels better than last month, doesn't it?”

Daph simply nodded, her cheeks still full of water and she slowly swallowed over the course of a few seconds. She held up a finger while she did, waiting until her throat was clear to start talking again.
“Oh my fuck, Georgia, latht month wath hell,” Daph groaned, throwing her head back. “Don't ever be pregnant in August, it'th not worth the-” she stopped at the expression on her friend's face, paused for a moment, then grimaced at what she just said. “Oh god damn it...Fuck, I'm thorry Georgia. I put my thtupid-ass paw in my mouth yet again.”
“It's okay,” Georgia said, waving away the thoughts from her mind. “It is what it is.”

“Well yeah, but...I thtill feel bad,” Daph shrugged. “I'm just thtupid like that, I guess. I alwayth thay the wrong thing.”
“You're not stupid, Daph,” Georgia sighed, smiling warmly.
“I mean...I'm not really a genius, either. Not like you and Darwin, anywayth,” Daph said, kicking her paw in the gravel awkwardly. She looked down at her belly, touching it absentmindedly as if to check it was still there. “Which is fine by me, yknow? Bein' smart ain't everything but...I kinda worry thometimeth that the baby might...that she might get thomethin bad from me. Like...she'll have more of my brain than Darwin'th, yknow?” Daph blinked for a minute, looking at nothing in particular, then snapped back to her senses and rubbed her eye with the back of her hand.
“Aw fuck...no, goddamn it,” Daph grumbled as she rubbed the hint of tears from her eye. “I don't wanna fuckin...goddamn it.”

“Daph...come on,” Georgia said, gently but firmly. “Knowing me all these years, do you really think I would care about that?”
“I...No, not really,” Daph said, sniffing and flashing a smile. She waved her hands around her head to emulate her racing thoughts. “Thorry, I'm jutht like...crazy emotional right now.”
“Oh, I wonder why...” Georgia giggled sarcastically, stepping forward. She cupped her hands around Daph's belly again, scratching her fur affectionately. Daph sighed at the sensation, her tail flipping happily. “Whatever comes from you into the baby, it'll be one of the thousand other good things I love about you, Daph...As long as it's not your mouth.” Georgia smirked, gripping Daph's belly harder and jiggling it. “The moment a single swear comes out of this little girl's mouth, I'm going to assume it'll be your fault.”

“You've met my mom, right?” Daph said, raising an eyebrow. “And with my brotherth? I didn't thtand a mother fucking chance.”
“Knowing you, she'll probably learn every conjugation of the word 'fuck' while she's still in the womb.”
“Language, Georgia,” Daph gasped, miming shock and putting a hand to her stomach. “There'th a child present!”
“I'd punch you if that wasn't my daughter in there,” Georgia shook her head. She looked down at Daph's belly, then side-stepped in front of her and measured it from the sides with both hands, examining it more closely. “You're gaining really well! You're almost twice the size of last month.”

“'Bout the only time I'll take that ath a compliment,” Daph scoffed. “But I been keepin’ to the diet and everything, like you thaid. I feel fuckin huge, though. I'm not used to eating so much.”
“Darwin's been teaching you, hasn't he?”
“As much as he can, yeah. I still get him to box up thome for me, thince I can't cook for shit.” Daph shook her head with a grimace. “A lot of it tathtes like fried athhole, though! Like, fuckin awful. Your daughter'th gonna come out of me swinging cause I made her eat all thith nathty shit!”
“Well, technically,” Georgia added, after her giggling fit finally stopped, “she doesn't really taste any of it.” She slid her hands down Daph's belly and poked a thumb against her navel. “She's getting it all through the umbilical cord.”
“Oh…yeah...” Daph blinked. She looked away, lost in her imagination as she rubbed small circles into the sides of her belly. After a moment she shuddered. “That'th tho weird to think about… That she'th not jutht in me, but...attatched to me...”

“The magic of pregnancy,” Georgia sighed, chuckling.
Daph scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out.

“You look fantastic, though,” Georgia said, as she smoothed down the fur over the globe of Daph's bump. She reached up and began to fuss with the messy pixie cut on top of Daph's head, who spluttered and batted her hand away. “Your fur looks shiny, you arms aren't as skinny, you just look...healthy.”
“Let's hope I thtay that way,” Daph sighed. “I'm worried I'm gonna thwell up even more by the end of thith.”
“But that's why we're out here!” Georgia said, gesturing to the park around them. “You've gotta stay just a little on the plump side to keep the baby fed and healthy, but exercise is as important as it always was.”
“Pfft,” Daph waved her hand dismissively. “You don't gotta do a lotta work to get me out here and workin my tail.” She stretched her arms over her head and hopped in place as best she could with a belly full of baby weighing her down. “Thpeaking of which, let'th get a move on! I'm feelin’ better already!”

“I don't think so, Daph,” Georgia said, in the stern, matronly tone her residency at the hospital helped her master. “I think we're done for the day.”
“Wha-?” Daph breathed, stopping her warm-ups and frowning at Georgia. “Are you theriouth? We ain't barely even gone a mile yet!” She grumbled, tugging down her shirt over her stomach, a small circle indicating the dent of her belly button, which neither of them were quite sure would 'pop' or not.
“You're not supposed to be losing weight, this time,” Georgia lectured. “If you push yourself too hard, you won't be doing any good for you or the baby.”
“But c'mon! Just a couple more blockth!” Daph begged, stomping her foot in the gravel like a toddler.

“You looked like death just a minute ago, and you want to keep going?” Georgia shook her head. “You're going to have to put away your pride, Daphodille.”
“Well...It'th not jutht that,” Daph said, her voice dropping to a low mumble. “But...ugh...okay, can you keep a thecret?”
“I...can,” Georgia said, suspicious. “Depending on the secret.”
“Ugh, okay, tho...thith feels tho fuckin weird but...” Daph ran her fingers through her hair and sighed, glancing around like they'd be overheard. She grimaced, as if trying to spit out words against her will. “But...I'm like...sorta...into it...Like...running like thith.”
“What do you mean?”

“I mean...I kinda like running while all...pregnant...and thtuff...” Daph tapped her fingers together and sighed, blushing beneath her fur. “Like...it feelth good...like, better than running by mythelf.”
“...Really?” Georgia asked, raising her eyebrows. “I...didn't really expect that.”
“Yeah...” Daph shrugged, as if trying to withdraw her head into her neck like a turtle.
“But...well, that's good!” Georgia said, cheerily. “I...don't really understand but that's good!”
“Yeah?” Daph said, smiling a little. She stood straighter, letting her hand fall onto her belly. “Well, it'th like...I think I'd jutht gotten tho used to running that it got boring. It wath still thomething I liked to do, but it wathn't hard anymore. But now, I'm all pregnant and shit, so that maketh it more of challenge! And just like...running and working my body while it feels tho different, it just feelth really good.” Daph shook her head, laughing nervously. “I don't know, I'm just fuckin weird.”

“You are,” Georgia nodded, grinning. She frowned, then snapped her fingers. “Okay. Let's do this. We'll walk for another half-mile before we go, alright? As long as you promise to pace yourself.”
“Oh!” Daph said, her face lighting up. She hopped up, her belly slightly swaying above her hips. “Yeah! Let'th fuckin do it!”

“Don't overwork yourself,” Georgia demanded, poking Daph in the middle of her chest. “I mean it.”
“I won't, I won't,” Daph said. She shook out her legs, flexing her paws, and started up a light jog down the path.
“So are you going to keep coming out here through the pregnancy?” Georgia asked, catching up with her.
“Oh fuck yeah,” Daph nodded beneath her steady breathing. “I think getting bigger might jutht make it better yknow?” She slowed, visibly embarrassed for a moment, then stammered. “I-I mean...makes it more of a challenge. Makes it harder.”

“Sure, sure,” Georgia nodded, smiling to herself.
“And yknow what else I thought about?” Daph said, slowing to a walk to continue the conversation. “My favorite time to work out is right at the beginning of the year, like in late January and shit. Becauthe, like, we alwayth get that winter hibernation weight, right?”
“Ugh, yes,” Georgia groaned. “I hate that we still have that instinct.”

“But like, I've gotta gain even more weight for the pregnancy, yeah?” Daph explained. “And I love running and working out after I've put on weight because it jutht feelth really good and rewarding to burn it all off. So, like, ath long ath I promithe mythelf that I'm gonna work it all off, I can look forward to that and not worry about how much baby weight I end up with!” She held up her arms and cycled them around each other. “It'th like a self-motivation kinda thing, both to thtick with my pregnancy diet and to work it off later. I'm really good at that thorta thing.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Georgia nodded. “I wish I was good at making myself-” She stopped, halting in place as an odd sensation came from her backpack. She quickly flipped it off her back and pulled it open to discover it was Daph's cell phone ringing underneath a pile of clothes.
“It's for you,” Georgia said, passing it over to Daph. She frowned, taking it and looking at the caller ID.
“It'th my mom...” Daph said, confused. “What doeth she want? She never callth in the middle of the day.”
“Then answer it and find out,” Georgia shrugged.

Before Daph could fit her thumb underneath the phone lid, she froze, a look of horror and realization coming over her face.
“Oh...oh my god,” Daph blinked. She looked up at Georgia. “...Did you put the ultrathound pictures on Facebook?”
“Yeeeeaahhh?” Georgia said, frowning. “Why would I not? I made a whole gender announcement and everything.”
“But you didn't tag me, right?” Daph asked, her phone still buzzing in the palm of her hand.
“No, but only because you asked me not to,” Georgia said.
“Okay...” Daph mumbled tapping her phone with her hand. She was about to flip it open, before realization struck her. “Oh fuck...oh fuck...My name wath on the ultrathound picture!”
“...Oh...huh,” Georgia said, tapping her paw on the ground and rubbing her chin. “...I guess we should have cropped them.

After ringing unanswered for almost a minute, Daph's phone fell silent as the call went to voicemail. She sighed in relief, letting her arm fall to her side and running a hand through her hair.
“I didn't want you to tag me in thothe pictureth 'cause I'm not sure if I wanna tell my gym friends or not. But-” Daph fell silent as she felt her cell phone begin to buzz and vibrate again in her grip. She brought it up to her face and stared at the screen in horror. “Fuck, it'th her again.”
“Then answer it! What are you talking about?” Georgia exclaimed, throwing her arms up.

“I forgot to tell my mom I'm pregnant,” Daph hissed, as if the unanswered phone could overhear her. Georgia blinked, staring in disbelief at Daph, then burst into a fit of manic laughter.

“What?” Georgia cackled. “You forgot!?”
“I wath gonna do it soon, I jutht kept forgetting!”
“She is going to kill you for not telling her!”
“I know!”
“Answer it!” Georgia shouted, jabbing her finger at the phone. “If she calls you a third time, you're done for.”
“I know, goddamn it!” Daph hissed. She stared at the phone, knowing she had only a few more seconds to answer it, and took a deep breath, placing her free hand against her belly as if it gave her strength. With a grimace, she flipped open the lid and answered the call, but held it open in her palm for a few seconds without a word.
“Put it on speakerphone,” Georgia whispered. “I want to hear this.”

Daph was about to protest, but the two of them heard a faint voice come from the other end of the receiver. Rolling her eyes, Daph thumbed the speakerphone button and held it closer to her mouth.
“...Hey mom,” Daph said, quietly.

“Daphodille!” Came a loud voice from the other line. “Daphodille, are you there?”
“Yeah mom, I can hear you,” Daph said, rolling her eyes.
“Good!” yelled Mrs. Westinfold, her voice sounding far away. Both Daph and Georgia knew that she was likely on speakerphone as well so she could gesticulate with her hands like she did when she was angry. “You wanna tell me why I see your name on Georgiah's ultrasound pictahs on the computah?” Her voice had a similar rhythm to Daphodille's, but with a heavier accent and without an accompanying lisp.

“It'th a long thtory mom,” Daph said, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. “I can tell ya about it another ti-”
“I think you can tell me about it right now, young lady!” Daph's mom shouted. “I already called twice today and you haven't answered me until now, so you owe me an explanation!”
“I'm in the park, mom. I've been running today, I just didn't hear my phone-”
“Not that! Why are there ultrasound photos on the computah with your name on em?”
“Uh...” Daph swallowed, stalling for time. “It'th...becauthe I'm pregnant, mom...”
There was a silence from the other end of the phone, making Georgia and Daph glance at one another in worry. There was a rough sigh from the other end.
“I'm gonna need a drink,” Mrs. Westinfold said, stepping away from the phone. The two of them could hear the sound of the refrigerator opening.

“Mom, it'th like 11:30,” Daph said.
“When I need a drink, I need a drink,” Daph's mom shot back, with the sound of pouring liquid behind her.
“I love your mom,” Georgia snickered. Daph responded with a glare.
“Alright,” Daph's mom said into the receiver. “Now that I've got myself a cocktail, I want ya to tell me again what you just said.”
“I'm pregnant, mom,” Daph sighed.
“So I wasn't hearin' things,” she said, alongside the sound of ice clinking in a glass. “Jesus Christ, Daphodille, you're twenty years old.”
“I'm twenty-four,” Daph rolled her eyes. “And it'th not what you think, jutht let me expl-”
“And I saw that ultrasound pictah! That ain't a brand-new little baby you've got in there! How far along are you?”
“Like...four, five months?”

“And it only took you until NOW tah tell me?” Daph's mom complained, taking a long sip of her cocktail. “Mm-hmm, I see how it is.”
“But you don't! Jutht gimme a minute to-”
“God knows I was around your age when I had your brothahs, but I had a husband and a home on my side. We did things the right way!”
“You have no idea what'th going on, mom!” Daph yelled into the reciever.
“I know that my only daughtah is having a baby and she didn't even think tah tell me about it! You know the neighbahs have been asking about ya in church, and now what am I supposed tah tell em?”
“You can tell 'em I don't give a fuck what they think, for one thing,” Daph snapped.

“Oh, I don't give a damn what those old bitches say, eithah,” Mrs. Westinfold said, causing Georgia to jam a fist in her mouth to keep from howling in laughter. “But God knows I don't wanna be a liah!”
“Then you won't have to be if you just shut up for a minute and let me talk!” Daph yelled. “God damn, mom...”
“Don't use the lord's name in fucking vain, young lady,” her mom said. With the sound of ice cubes clinking together, Mrs. Westinfold drained the rest of her cocktail in a few extra seconds and sighed, making a satisfied chittering sound, a habit picked up by her daughter.
“You really need to thtop drinking before noon...” Daph sighed.
“I've got thirty years on you, young lady. Don't tell me how tah live my life.” With a pause, she hiccupped, the continued. “Who's the fathah? Is it anybody I know?”

“Well uh...” Daph paused, glancing up at Georgia, unsure of how much of the truth to say. She swallowed, gritted her teeth and said. “...It'th...Darwin.”
Daph's mom choked and went into a coughing fit, pounding her hand on the counter like she tended to do.
“Georgia's husband?!” Mrs. Westinfold screamed. “Daphodille, what the fuck were you thinking? The first shot I get at a grandchild and it'll be a bastahd out of wedlock? God in heaven, I need tah sit down.”
“Mom, will you pleathe listen to me!?” Daph yelled. “It'th not the way it thoundth! I thwear to God! It'th not even my baby!”
“Of course it's your baby, Daphodille! One of your brothahs could maybe get away with that one, but you don't have that excuse!”

“Uhm, Mrs. Westinfold?” Georgia said, leaning over the receiver. “She's telling the truth.”
There was silence from the other end, during which Daph looked up at Georgia with unending relief and mouthed 'thank you.'
“...Who is that?” Daph's mom asked. “Is that Georgia? Georgia McIntyre?”
“It's Georgia Middleson now,” she said, brightly. “Hi, Mrs. Westinfold.”
“Oh hello there, sweetie!” she said, her voice brightening in the blink of an eye. “I've been tellin you for fifteen years now to call me Donna, haven't I?”
“I know, Mrs. Westinfold,” Georgia responded.
“Have you...uh...have you been there the whole time, sweetie?”
“Yes, ma'am.”

“Then maybe you can talk some sense into my now pregnant daughtah!” Mrs. Westinfold said in disbelief. Daph rolled her eyes and handed the phone over to Georgia completely, as if washing her hands of the issue. She sighed, tugging down her running shirt over her belly and rubbing it absentmindedly.
“Well actually, Mrs. Westinfold,” Georgia explained, “Daph is telling the truth. It's not her baby, it's ours. She's a surrogate.”
Another silence as Daph's mom absorbed the information.
“...Say again, sweetie?” she asked, after a long moment. “My daughtah, Daphodille...she's your surrogate?”
“Yes, ma'am,” Georgia said. “About a year ago, my OBG/YN diagnosed me with SPS. Darwin and I have been trying for a baby, so Daph was kind enough to carry for us since I can't.”

“...So...” Daph's mom said in disbelief. “...So Daphodille is pregnant...with YOUR baby? And your husband is the fathah?”
“That's...exactly right!” Georgia said, grinning up at Daph.
“They're even payin' me, mom,” Daph added. “It'th a job!”
“You're tellin' me they're paying you tah have a baby?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” Daph said, nonchalantly. She sighed in the relief at getting through to her mom.
“And Georgia,” Mrs. Westinfold added. “You're alright with this?”
“It was my idea, actually.”

“Tho really, mom, Georgia's the one having a baby. I'm jutht babythitting it for a while.” Daph said, before adding. “Um...Babythitting, but like...inside me...yeah.”
“I see...” Mrs. Westinfold said, still processing what she'd been told. “...And it's a girl, is it?”
“Yeah,” Daph said, smiling to herself. “It'th a girl.”
“We just found out,” Georgia added.
“Oh, I saw the announcement. I was just...SOMEBODY neglected to tell me that it was my daughtah that was carrying the baby.”

“Thorry,” Daph said. “I've been busy and just...forgot.”
“But you're stayin' healthy, are ya? You're eatin' right?”
“Yeah, mom. Darwin and Georgia are takin' good care of me.”
“Good, good...I got such cramps when I carried your brothahs, you wouldn't even believe.” She paused before asking “...Are you...ah...are you showing yet, sweetie?”
“Oh yeah,” Georgia interjected, nodding and chuckling to herself. “She's showing alright.” Daph smiled toothily and blushed, still holding her belly in embarrassment.
“Oh good...well...maybe you wanna come up for a visit sometime, yeah?” Mrs. Westinfold said. “Let me get a look at you or somethin'.”
“Yeah...that'd be really nice, mom,” Daph said, warmly.

“Well, I've got to head out to my book club. We're starting on a short little thing called 'Child of God.' I don't know much about it yet, but the title sounds precious. Don't be a stranger, sweetie, alright? And...send me some pictahs sometime, won't ya?”
“Thure thing,” Daph said. “Hey...don't tell the guyth about thith yet, okay?”
“Your brothahs? Oh, I'm going to tell them all about it.”
Daph sighed.
“Okay, mom.”
“I love you, honey. I'm sorry I got so upset. I really should have let you explain.”
“Yeah, you should have.”
“Don't talk back to me, Daphodille,” Mrs. Westinfold snapped. “...I love you. And congratulations to you, Georgia.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Westinfold,” Georgia said.
“You take good care of that bun in your oven, you hear me?” She snapped to Daph.
“Don't you have thomewhere to be?”
“...Oh my fuck, I'm late for book club. I'll talk to you later, goodbye!” With an awkward shuffle and a click, Daph's mom hung up.

“Fuck,” Daph sighed, closing her phone and sighing. “She is exhausting.”
“She's adorable,” Georgia giggled.
“Try growing up with her,” Daph added. She shook her head and put her hands to her hips. “God damn, she wore me out more than the run did. Let'th get out of here, I'm about to fall athleep on my own tail.”
“If you feel like it,” Georgia said, turning around and beginning to walk back the way they came. “Oh! I didn't tell you, I'm getting registered as a masseuse at work.”
“No shit!?” Daph said.
“Yeah! I'm taking a course to learn more about muscle stimulation for atrophied patients. You want me to practice on you?”

“Fuck yeah, I do,” Daph said. She leaned back, bracing her hands against her back and groaning. “Thtart back here, your fat-ass baby ith gonna make my thpine thnap in half.
“Hey!” Georgia shouted. “Stop calling her fat!”
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Index