A prenatal yoga studio
in Boston brings together four expecting women who forge friendships that will
carry each one of them through their unplanned pregnancies—and beyond.
Shannon feels
under-appreciated by her husband after he makes it clear that she should be the
full-time caregiver for baby number four. Lisbeth is pregnant with twins and
wants her parents in their lives, but will they ever accept that she is happily
married to a woman? Renee's boyfriend, Bryce, decides he is not ready to be a
dad and leaves Renee to figure it out on her own. Struggling with an alcohol
addiction since college, Erika continues to drink after finding out she's
pregnant. AA meetings help, but will she get her life straightened out before
her baby is born? After meeting at Maternal Instincts Yoga studio in Boston,
these women practice yoga, endure hardships, and overcome obstacles to become
lifelong friends.
Excerpt:
By three thirty that afternoon,
Lisbeth pulled into the parking lot of a little diner in Cambridge. She spotted
Shannon’s van a few spots over and hoped she wasn’t too late. She walked in and
spotted her friends in a nearby booth. Pointing to them, she smiled and nodded
to the hostess before walking over.
“Sorry I’m late,” she
apologized and squeezed into the booth beside Erika.
“Don’t worry. We
haven’t ordered yet,” Erika said.
“You look flushed,”
Renee said.
“I was rushing around
after work. They had a surprise shower for me.”
“Lucky. All I got at
work was a whiny two-year-old who threw French fries at me,” Erika said.
“See what you’re
giving up,” Shannon teased.
“I’ll pass on the
tantrums, thanks.”
“How are you doing?”
Lisbeth asked Shannon.
“Things aren’t exactly
great. But we’ve started going to a counselor. We’re working on our
communication and we’ve managed to decide on a name for the baby. Aiden. What
about you? Does Rachel’s brother have a name yet?”
“No. I feel so bad.”
“What if we all write
down a random name and see what sounds best?” Renee suggested.
“This from the girl
who has her daughter’s name but is keeping it under lock and key like it’s a
national secret,” Erika said.
“I like that idea,”
Shannon said. She pulled a bunch of napkins out of the dispenser and passed
them around.
Lisbeth watched her
friends scribble names down and pass them to her. She looked through them
smiling and laughing as she read the suggested names. She was sure some of the
other people sitting around them gave her dirty looks.
“What?” Shannon asked.
“Which one of you
wrote down Evan-Michael-Jamal.”
Erika raised her hand.
“He’s got two last
names as it is. Can’t make his life hell by giving him three first names.”
“He’d be unforgettable
though.”
Lisbeth shook her head
and flipped to the next one. “Patrick wouldn’t be too bad. I’ll keep that one.”
The last one.
“Nicholas isn’t too bad either.”
“Sure, pick the
traditional names,” Erika said with a wink.
Before Lisbeth could
tease her back, their waiter arrived with four waters and two chocolate
milkshakes.
“Oh that looks good.
I’ll have one of those,” Lisbeth said.
“Sure. Are we ready to
order?” the waiter asked.
“We still need a few
minutes,” Lisbeth said.
He nodded and
disappeared in the direction of the kitchen. Lisbeth turned to the menu in
front of her and flipped through it.
“You guys have any
preferences?”
“Something big and
greasy,” Renee answered.
“Aren’t we the poster
child for health,” Shannon said.
“I have a craving.
Onion rings.”
“Oh that sounds good.
Let’s order two.” Erika agreed.
“What would Carolyn
say?” Lisbeth asked with a smirk.
“She’d say to steady
our breathing.
”
“I’m so glad I met you
all. You’ve made the last six months amazing,” Lisbeth said as the waiter came
back with her milkshake.
About the Author:
Sarah grew up in
Connecticut. She spent a lot of her childhood studying dance and music
(piano and voice). She sang in her school and church choirs before
discovering her passion for writing. She is now a licensed attorney and
works for a state agency in the field of employment law.
Unplanned is her debut novel and quite appropriately,
was inspired by a course during her first year of law school.
She now lives in Massachusetts with her significant other and when
not working on other writing projects enjoys reading and watching TV. She runs
a TV recap blog with a friend.
1 comments:
Thanks for hosting today!
Post a Comment