CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

'Oh would you look at the time, we should get going," Astra said. The time was almost two pm and they still had baby shopping to do. Astra knew that she would not even imagine doing this for someone else other than Stephanie. She would not put herself through self torture for anyone else.
'Oh yes, we should. We need to get going so we can at least get a few things to buy," Steph said as they both stood up from the couch.
They both walked outside her apartment and entered her car. The drive to the store was short and full of stories. Astra figured that she missed all that. It had been a while.
'Oh, wow, everything looks so pretty," Steph said as they walked into the first baby store. The place was full with clothes, toys and pastel colors, there was everything. Pregnant women of all shapes and sizes were waltzing through the halls. Astra felt sorely out of place. Steph did not notice that though, she was still too busy taking in the entire vibe of the place. Astra could not blame her, she would have done the same.
'Okay, let's go in," Steph said and Astra nodded. They spent the next two to three hours buying almost anything to everything. From a cot, to little socks for the baby. Steph even bought shoes that would not even fit the baby until he or she was too.
Astra noted that though the place was flooded with women, there were still some men. Men actually came for those kind of things, at least for the first time and helped their wife choose. Stephanie did not even mention her husband the entire time.
'How is Ray? Why didn't he come with you?" Astra asked as they loaded the things into the trunk of Steph's car. Astra noted the immediate change in Steph's countenance and figured that something was certainly wrong.
'Ray is not in town. He travelled a while ago," Steph said vaguely.
'Oh, I don't still understand why he travels so much, he works in tech after all," Astra said jokingly but Steph did not laugh.
'I have not seen him since I ran into him at an art exhibition a week or so back. I was actually quite surprised to see him there. It didn't seem like his scene," Astra said. The confusion and surprise that appeared on Steph's face made Astra want to keep on talking.
'What? He didn't tell you that he saw me?" Astra asked and Stephanie shook her head.
'It's not that," Stephanie said, but did not offer any more information. Astra was confused but knew there was more to the story. She did not just know how to broach the topic with Stephanie.
'We should have some dinner together before you go home Stephanie. I have somethings I would like to talk about," Astra said and Stephanie needed.
'Maybe we can have chicken?" Stephanie asked, and Astra raised her eyebrows. Stephanie was not usually a fan of fried chicken.
'I have been craving chicken a lot since I got pregnant. I eat it at every chance these days," Stephanie replied. Astra smiled at Stephanie. She craved a lot of pig ribs while she was pregnant herself. It was a bitter sweet memory.
'Chicken it is," Astra replied.
They both drove down to a chicken restaurant and ordered a bucket of chicken. The place was filled with teenagers and did not look like the norm for two women in their thirties. They both looked out of place in there, but they could both careless.
'Remember when we used to do this but with pizza back in college?" Steph asked and Astra smiled. After an exam, they would buy like three pizzas, soda drinks and any other junk food they could get their hands on just to celebrate. It was fun times for them.
'Yeah, I do. They were good times. I kind of miss them. Growing old does take away those kind of joys," Astra said and Stephanie nodded.
They both ate while exchanging stories of their childhood all the while recalling things they did back in college. Astra even forgot all the things she wanted to tell Stephanie.
After their meal, they both relaxed on the chair.
'That was very good," Steph said and Astra agreed.
'So a lot has been happening lately. You don't even want to know how much drama I have faced in the last few days," Astra blurted out. It was so hard to hold it in. Steph as usual looked piqued at the mention of gist. She clearly wanted to hear about it.
'Okay Thompson came to see me the other day, he told me things that I am not sure I believe. He talked about Nicholas being a fraud and how he was married to someone else all the while married to me. He also said that he had also divorced the other lady, but they still had some relationship together since they had a child together," Astra started and Steph's expression changed.
'What the hell?" Her friend said at loud.
'That's not even half of it. Earlier that day, I went to Nicholas' house and he introduced me to his girlfriend, he was holding a little boy then. So when Thompson came, he even called the girl's name and the name of the baby. I was shocked and for a moment I believed it. I was so hurt to think that Nicholas went on to have a child, and without me. It was too painful to comprehend. I decided to approach him, and then something happened the girl came and told me that she was Nicholas' cousin and the child was hers with her ex boyfriend. It explained why there was a slight resemblance between the child and Nicholas in the first place. Nicholas said he only pretended to date Sarah, the girl that is, so that I would be jealous. I don't know who to believe though. The information seems so much. And why would either of them need to lie?" Astra said. She sat deeper on her chair. It felt relieving to be able to finally say it out.
'I don't know what to say. It seems like there is more to this than we know. I would have never expected Nicholas to do what he did five years ago. It makes me want to expect anything from him now," Steph said.
'But even if he actually married her, why would he tell me that they are cousins? He has nothing to lose. It's not like I can beat him for lying or something odd like that," Astra said.
'Why would Thompson lie though? Has he ever been forceful or maybe angered to you? You don't really have anything to do with him, it's Nicholas he has a score to settle with," Stephanie said and Astra nodded. She was right.
'He might be trying to use me to get back at Nicholas though," Astra said.
'Why would that even be an option? I think Nicholas still has feelings for you and Thompson knows that. It also explains why he would want to make you jealous. I don't appreciate the feelings though, a lot of time and pain has passed and you don't really need him anymore, you need to move on. Jared is a better option, sincerely," Stephanie said. Astra was not sure what to do with that information. The knowledge that Nicholas might still be in love with her was chilling and to be honest she was not sure how to react to that. But Stephanie's advice of moving on was probably the best, Sarah had said the same thing too. They might have loved each other before and circumstances may have occurred, but it did not mean they should still continue to love each other.
Astra had plans of knowing what actually caused the issue. She did not know how she would confront Nicholas and ask him but she knew that she would eventually. She wanted to know why even if she had no plans of fixing it.
'I forgot to tell you about the Jared thing. The night I found out all these stuff, I got drunk and called Jared. I actually thought I called Nicholas. Jared appeared at my door later and I was so drunk I thought it was Nicholas, and that's how we had our first kiss. I literally said, I love you Nicholas. It was as embarrassing as hell," Astra said, covering her face with her hands again.
'The heck girl? That's mad," Stephanie said, all the while chuckling.
'Don't tell me this man did not run 180 degrees away from you," Stephanie continued and Astra frowned at her friend.
'Not funny. He slept over and wanted to talk about it the next morning. I all but pursued him out of my house," Astra said.
'And you still ended up together? Please marry this man," Stephanie said and Astra laughed. If only it was that easy. She still loved Nicholas while Jared clearly loved her, even more than Nicholas did.
'We talked over drinks the next day and he told me that he was willing to wait. I feel like I am stringing him on because he is so sincere and I don't know what to do. I feel like I am the bad person in the mix," Astra said. The more she talked to Jared. The more involved she got in with him, the more guilty she felt. She did not know how to handle the guilt. Astra still felt like she was using him.
'I don't know Astra. He knows you are not in love with him, but is still willing to go into a relationship with you. If you were using him you would tell him that you loved him when you didn't," Stephanie said.
'But still," Astra argued but kept quiet after that. Stephanie was probably right, there was no use beating herself up for something she could not control. Jared had his own mind and he made his own choices.
'The best you can do Astra is if you find later that it's not working out, just end it. Try and make it work out now, but if it's not working out, don't hesitate to end it," Stephanie said and Astra nodded that seemed like the best course of action.
'Okay I will do that," Astra said.
'There was something that was bothering me that I wanted to talk to you about. Something about Ray," Astra said and Stephanie sat straighter. Astra could tell that her friend was tense.
'Okay," Steph replied.
'Please don't be offended and try to keep an open mind," Astra said to Stephanie. Steph looked even more bothered, but she nodded her head.
'Do you remember when you and Ray met, he was kind of into me, and was following me everywhere for a while?" Astra asked. Stephanie looked a bit angry at that but she nodded her head.
'I remember, you did not want a romantic relationship with him then," her friend said, and Astra figured she was already stepping on her foot.
'Neither do I now," Astra clarified.
'These days, it feels like someone is watching me, just like back then. When I saw Ray at the art exhibition, I could not wonder why he was there, he did not seem surprised to see me though, he was just looking uncomfortable and rushed to leave. He also seems to have a huge issue with physical contact with me," Astra said. She did not want to mention the fact that Stephanie did not look happy in the marriage.
'I think your husband is still stalking me," Astra said finally, looking at her friend and waiting for her response.