683. Good listeners

 "I'm glad I have you for a best friend," Carmen said to Sammie when they met up at the Campus Coffee Shop. "But I know you have Vada, and well, if..if you'd rather, you know..I don't know, maybe you could text her or something and tell her to join us."

"You are the bestest," Sammie smiled back, but she didn't get out her phone. "I just wanted to see you."

They sat in the back corner booth and both ordered the quiche and iced tea with extra lemon. Both were casually dressed, ready to be sun-kissed, but enjoyed the indoors at the moment. It was getting humid.

"Really? Are you doing OK?" Carmen asked out of concern.

"I guess so," Sammie shrugged. 

"You guess?" Carmen winced as she sat across from her, playing with the straw in the iced tea with lemon.

"Oh, it's too late to go back, now."

Sammie laughed, but Carmen was puzzled.

"It's scary being pregnant, sometimes."

Carmen nodded.

"I feel like an elephant, I don't know which part of me is bigger my butt or my stomach."

Sammie was straight-lipped about it.

"You look beautiful," Carmen smiled. "You're not an elephant."

Sammie sipped her iced tea then and said, "Yeah, if I were I'd have a better memory of things." She talked about her mother then and all her pregnancies. "We haven't talked in ages. I miss her."

"Well, maybe she'll call you more when it's closer to time to have the baby," Carmen knew it was a lame excuse.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Sammie shook her head, no and told Carmen that she'd gone shopping with Gabe's mom. "I just don't know if I'm any better being around her than Gabe is. I want to talk. I just don't know what to talk about, and I'm sure she doesn't want to hear about all my aches and pains."

"What do you mean?"

"The doctor says I'm just overreacting," Sammie shrugged.

"You need another doctor," Carmen spoke up. "You're having a baby, you need to be around someone you're comfortable with."

Sammie nodded. "It's just, I don't have to go in that often."

"Well, I'm going with you the next time. I'll make time. I want to make sure you're doing OK," Carmen said as the food arrived.

"So what are you going to do this summer?" Sammie asked before she dove her fork into the cheesy egg pie filled with mushrooms and spinach.

"Try to help Justin write a novel," Carmen sighed. "He's just not inspired lately." She talked about Cassie's mother, who was the real master at writing. "I guess she left him to continue."

"Can he?"

"I don't know," Carmen didn't look too optimistic. "At this rate, Randy might be the one with ideas. He's been so creative lately. Mainly it's miniatures, but I think he could go in business with those dolls he paints."

"Really?" Sammie was curious.

"Of course, it helps to find people who want them."

Sammie nodded, and they went back to the quiche and strawberry salad.