Chapter Six
1111 Words
The soft knock came just as Grace struggled to zip up her handbag. She paused, one hand pressed against her swollen belly, the other holding onto the wall for balance. The morning light filtered gently through the curtains, painting her small Toronto apartment in a calm golden glow. She wasn’t ready for company, or for anything, really, but the persistent rhythm of the knock told her exactly who it was.
Only one person knocked like that.
“Grace? Honey, open up!” Casey’s cheerful voice floated from outside.
Grace tried not to smile. She crossed the living room slowly and opened the door.
Casey Brooks, with her caramel curls, bright purple sweater, and a smile that somehow managed to warm the entire space, stepped in as though she owned the apartment. She had a bowl of cut fruit in one hand and her phone in the other.
“There she is,” Casey said dramatically, pressing a hand to her chest. “How is the soon-to-be mummy doing? In less than two months, our cute little friend will be joining us!”
Grace exhaled as Casey leaned in for a gentle hug. “I’m fine,” she murmured.
Casey pulled back and studied her face with a serious expression that didn’t match her usual bubbly energy. “Uh-huh,” she said, eyeing Grace’s outfit, the neatly ironed blouse, the handbag, the shoes waiting by the door. “Fine, she says.”
Grace turned away, embarrassed. “I have work, Case. I can’t just…”
“Oh no you don’t.” Casey stepped around her and plopped the fruit bowl on the dining table. “Grace honey… don’t tell me you’re planning on going to work.”
Grace opened her mouth to argue, but Casey held up both hands dramatically.
“Stop. Right there. Daniel already said you could take some time off. He practically begged you! We are all worried about you.” Casey walked closer and softened her tone. “Please do this for me. For us. For the tiny human you’re carrying.”
Grace’s shoulders sagged a little. “Casey… I can’t just sit at home doing nothing. That life was before. But not now.” She sighed quietly. “And truthfully… it was boring.”
Casey crossed her arms. “Sorry, honey, but this life is not yours alone anymore.” Her tone was gentle but firm, as though she were talking to an overworked older sister. “You’re carrying a whole person in there. A person who needs you to slow down.”
Slow down.
The words landed hard.
Grace looked around her apartment. The half-packed work bag, the unread emails glowing on her laptop screen, the perfume she’d sprayed on instinct, because that used to be part of her routine. Everything in the room felt like she had built it on autopilot. Like she was trying to live as though nothing had changed.
But everything had changed.
Casey stepped forward and nudged her lightly. “How about this, you stay home with me today. One day. Just one. We’ll do girly things. I’ll even let you listen to my awesome playlist.”
Grace let out a soft laugh. “Your playlist is terrible.”
“Lies,” Casey said with mock offense. “Get ready to hear all my guilty-pleasure songs. Now…” She clapped once. “Move away from that handbag.”
Grace hesitated, fingers brushing the strap.
Casey walked past her, flicked on the speaker, and within seconds, upbeat music filled the room. Something bright and unapologetically fun. Grace blinked as Casey began to sway her hips dramatically to the beat, pointing at her as if to say your turn.
When Grace didn’t move, Casey marched over, grabbed her hands, and lifted them above her head. “Come on, Mama! Dance with me!”
Grace rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips betrayed her, turning upward, slowly, reluctantly, beautifully.
She swayed.
Then stepped.
Then let her body loosen for the first time in weeks.
Casey laughed loudly, relieved. “There she is! I knew you were in there somewhere.”
One by one, Casey walked back to the door and unpacked everything Grace had packed to leave; her makeup pouch, her files, her planner. She placed them all on the couch like confiscated items from a rebellious teenager.
Grace watched helplessly. “Casey…”
“No arguments,” Casey said, reaching for the fridge. “Now, you’re going to give me at least three recipes. I want to make something nice for you today. And don’t try to push the easy ones, I want the special ones.”
Grace leaned against the counter, rubbing her belly with gentle circles. “I can give you my coconut chicken curry.”
Casey lit up. “Yes! That one! The one that made my soul leave my body last month?”
“That’s the one,” Grace laughed.
“Perfect.” Casey pulled out ingredients she didn’t fully recognize and arranged them in a line like she was on a cooking show. “Now tell me what to do before I accidentally po!son us.”
Grace moved closer, guiding her. “Start by chopping the onions. Thin slices.”
Casey grabbed the knife and immediately held it incorrectly. Grace gently corrected her, adjusting her grip. Their eyes met, and Casey smiled a soft smile, the kind that reminded Grace she wasn’t alone.
As the onions sizzled and the kitchen filled with warm spices, Casey talked nonstop about her salon clients, a dramatic breakup she’d overheard at the mall, and how she wanted to book prenatal massages for both of them “because it’s only fair that I get pampered too.”
Grace laughed until tears warmed her eyes.
Not sad tears.
Not lonely tears.
Just… release.
Casey noticed immediately. “Come here.” She pulled Grace into a hug, careful of the baby bump. “You don’t have to pretend with me, okay?”
Grace nodded against her shoulder. “I know.”
They spent the rest of the day together, dancing between cooking steps, making mocktails, painting their nails even though Grace complained she couldn’t see her toes properly, and laughing so much that Grace forgot that she had almost dragged herself to work that morning.
By evening, the apartment smelled like coconut curry and tomato sauce. Grace sat curled on the couch while Casey rambled about baby shower themes and nursery colors.
For the first time in a long while, Grace felt a quiet peace settling inside her.
Not perfect.
Not complete.
But real.
She wasn’t alone.
And for today, that was enough.
- Writer
