"Ladies, this is my friend Ciara Hanley. She’s a designer, and she’ll be joining us tonight," Emma announced as she escorted us to the game room in her basement.
"Both of you pregnant ladies, that's already four of you! After a few years, this won't be a gathering, but a party." Anne suddenly guffawed, and the other two followed suit. Their joke seemed to contain a subtle meaning I had not caught, which made me feel uncomfortable. My cheeks flushed, and I did not feel comfortable with what they said at all.
Emma sat close to me and whispered, "Ciara, don't worry. They’ve been friends for a long time, so they’re very casual around each other. They have big mouths that say whatever they want to, so you can just ignore them."
Their conversation upstairs had made a huge impression on me, an
