Like You Did Before

“Is it alright if I drink this around you?”

Matilda, who staring at the screen of her laptop, looked up briefly before she nodded, her lips quirking slightly as she returned her focus to the computer. It wasn’t something that happened often. Since Naomi and Micah had gotten married, and things between Matilda and Iker had grown more serious, they’d naturally drifted apart a little, but when Micah had announced that he was going to be out of town on the same night that Iker was, Naomi had tentatively asked if Matilda would mind the company, something Matilda had jumped at instantly. She knew that things were drifting between them. They both had other commitments that made finding the time to sit down and catch up properly difficult, and things between them had been slightly off since Arthur had left, but Matilda was determined to make the time. With another baby on the way, and a wedding to plan some time in the future, she was going to need as many people to lean on as she could get.

“Where’d you even get that?” Matilda prodded.

Naomi grinned around the top of her champagne glass. “It was in your fridge” she quipped “I think I saw your papa pushing it into Iker’s hand last night. It must have been opened” she added.

Matilda pulled her glasses off of her face and closed her laptop down before she leant back, resting her head on the seat of the couch. “I thought that there was only one bottle opened?” she asked.

“You were kind of preoccupied” Naomi replied with a suggestive smile “I thought at one point your parents were going to douse the two of you with water” she added.

Matilda let out a loud laugh, her cheeks burning. “Were we that bad?” she asked.

Naomi shrugged. “You were allowed to be a little swept up in the moment” she mused “I mean, you had just gotten engaged. I think, to anyone but your papa, it was actually kind of cute. You’re not normally the most touchy-feely couple, but it was sweet. You looked really happy together” she added, her teasing tone softening into something more sincere.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise. When Naomi and the rest of Matilda and Iker’s friends and family had emerged from the kitchen, it had been in the moment immediately after Matilda had accepted Iker’s proposal, but still Naomi had been taken aback by just how smitten Matilda had looked. There had always been something about Iker. Whenever Naomi had seen Matilda talk about him, there had been something in her eyes that she hadn’t been able to place, but it was obvious after the previous night. Matilda saw her future with Iker.

Matilda looked away, a bashful smile on her face. “He had just asked me to marry him” she quipped.

“It was more than that” Naomi mused “You just...You looked content, at home” she added.

Matilda tilted her head, slightly caught off guard by the comment, but before she had a chance to question it, Naomi grinned again, knocking back the last of her champagne. “So, we’ve got at least what? A year or eighteen months before you start planning this wedding?” she teased “I mean, I know that you’ve never been big on the idea of a big wedding, but you’re not going to do it with a bump, are you?” she asked.

Matilda shook her head, her hand moving to her bump. “I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought, but I am certain that it’s going to happen after this little one comes along” she mused “I don’t envisage waking up on my wedding day and crying because a dress that fit a week earlier is suddenly too small” she added.

Naomi scoffed playfully. “You’ll end up crying anyway” she mused.

“I don’t doubt it” Matilda mused “I just want it to be for a happy reason. I want to cry because I am so excited” she added.

Naomi shook her head amusedly “Do you remember when I got married?” she asked.

“I remember getting a little drunk at your wedding reception” Matilda quipped “And I...I remember trying to avoid Art” she added.

Whatever teasing comment Naomi had been prepared to make died on her lips. Sitting up slightly, she moved to place her empty glass onto the coffee table before she leant towards Matilda, trying to get a read on the expression on her face. They didn’t talk about it. Whilst Matilda’s friendship with Arthur was over, Naomi’s wasn’t, and it meant that they didn’t talk about him. Naomi knew that if Matilda knew how things were going for Arthur, then she would start missing him again and it would put a dampener on how well things were going between Matilda and Iker.

Matilda caught Naomi's stare before she shook her head, forcing a small smile onto her face. “Sorry” she mumbled.

“Have you spoken to him?” Naomi asked.

Matilda hesitated for a second before she shook her head, smiling ruefully down at her lap. “I’ve wanted to text” she said “I just...I don’t have any idea what to say to him, so I chicken out” she added.

Naomi nodded her head slowly. “He’s OK” she said cautiously “He’s still settling in, but he seems to like it there” she added.

Matilda’s face lit up despite her best efforts to stop it. It meant a lot to her that Arthur was happy. “He does?” she pressed.

“Yeah” Naomi confirmed “Me and Micah are going out to visit him in a couple of weeks. Do you….?” she trailed off.

Matilda drew in a deep breath before she shook her head, a pained smile on her face. “That’s a really bad idea” she said.

“You’re friends, Mattie” Naomi countered “Maybe it’s not like it was before, but you’ve been friends for over twenty years. You can’t even come and see him any more? I understand the need for space, and I am wholeheartedly behind it, but one day isn’t going to kill you. Can’t there be some kind of tentative truce between you or something?” she added.

“Because he’s going to want to see me like this?” Matilda shot back coolly “He’s going to love seeing my baby bump, or the engagement ring I am wearing? I spent too many years hurting him unknowingly, Mimi. I am not about to start doing it deliberately” she added, forcing herself up to her feet.

Naomi’s expression softened. “I miss it being the four of us” she mused “Before me and Mia got married. Before Iker, and Lola. We were so close, Mattie. Me, you, Mia and Art, and I miss it. Don’t you?” she asked

Matilda blew out a sigh before she shook her head. “Things change, Mimi” she mused “Do I miss it? Of course I do, but we’ve all changed and we just have to get used to it. It’s different, it doesn’t have to be bad” she added.

Naomi was quiet for a beat before she nodded. “Do you want me to tell Art about…?” she trailed off.

“I don’t know” Matilda replied. She didn’t know what would sting more, knowing or not, and she didn’t know how to soften the blow.

“If he asks, then” Naomi mused “I should get out of here. Congrats, Mattie” she added before she darted forwards, briskly kissing Matilda’s cheeks before she left.

Matilda flinched at the thud of the door closing. She loved a lot about how things had changed since she and Iker had reconciled. She loved him, she loved how he was with Lola, and how happy she had been since he’d come back into her life, but there were other things that had changed, and sometimes, she missed the way things had been before.