CHAPTER 1
"Lance, I don't want to go. Can't we go out just the two of us, please?"
"Claude…."
"It's Claudia!"
Lance walked over to his girlfriend and kissed her on the nose. "Sorry, CLAUDIA, I really think we should go to Justin's tonight. This is a big deal and I want to be there to congratulate him and Anya."
"You were just over there yesterday. Why must you always go to Justin's every time SHE asks you to? I don't like her very much and I don't think she likes me at all. She was so rude to me at the Christmas party and I don't want to be around her today."
"Honey, listen, Anya likes you, in fact, I know it. She isn't capable of NOT liking anyone. Besides, at the Christmas party, she had a lot on her mind. She had just moved in with Justin, Emma was only 6 weeks old and she was trying to pull off a party with all of us. I don't think she was trying to be rude. Come on, please go with me. I really want you to get to know her and the other guys. You haven't gone out with all of us in a while and I want us all to be friends." He gave her that puppy-dog look that all the guys had learned to do when they were trying to get what they wanted.
"Fine, I guess I can go for a little while, but you owe me big, and I mean BIG for this." Claudia grabbed her coat and her and Lance were out the door.
"Anya, could you get the door, and is the blue dress okay for Emma to wear?"
"Yeah, the blue would look good and I'll get the door, just hurry up." Anya walked to the door and opened it to find Joey, Jen, JC and Beth standing there. "Hey guys, come on in. Justin will be down in a minute, he is trying to get Emma dressed and you know how he is with clothes. He has changed her so many times that I think her head is about to come off."
"Doesn't he realize that we see you guys all the time. Why should today be any different?" Beth asked her friend.
"I don't know why, he has been like this, trying to make everything perfect all the time, since he asked me last week. He is starting to worry me. He does everything for me. I can't even read the paper in the morning without him turning the pages for me."
"Anya, he just wants you to be happy and he thinks that by doing all this for you, then you will be happy." JC interrupted.
"JC, I know but I am happy and I don't need him to do anything else for me or Emma. He does so much as it is. I don't know how to tell him without hurting his feelings…."
"I think you just did." She turned around and saw Justin standing in the hallway holding Emma.
"Justin, let me…."
"Anya, you don't have to explain, I know I have been overbearing lately, I am just trying to make everything perfect but I guess it already is. I am sorry about trying so hard. I'll go back to leaving the toilet seat up and my clothes all over the house if that would make you feel better."
She started laughing at him. "That would make me very happy. Now, come on, I'll take Emma and you can talk to the guys." She walked up to him to get their daughter but he decided he would steal a kiss from her first.
"Hey, there are children in the room, I don't think that is appropriate for the young ones." Joey joked as the others started laughing.
"Okay, we can take a hint." Justin broke away and asked the guys to join him in the living room.
Anya, Beth and Jen went to the kitchen to check on the food and make sure everything was okay for the party. Justin had told all the guys about him asking Anya to marry him and they all decided to come to the house tonight to celebrate. Anya loved a full house of people. She always liked the guys coming over because they would help in babysitting Emma and she could get some work done. She especially liked it when JC and Beth would come over. She was very close with JC and would talk to him for hours about anything that would come up. Beth was like a sister to her and since her best friend, Lisa had left to go to Seattle with her boyfriend, Jeff, she was the closest thing to a best friend that Anya had. Other than Beth, Anya was close with Chris' girlfriend, Kiley, too. Usually, the three girls would hang out and tell secrets about their guys.
Anya didn't know Jen too well but what she did know of her, she liked. She knew that Joey wasn't the type to settle for just one girl but somehow Jen had turned him around. Joey had gone out with Lisa once and had flirted with every girl in the room and left her to herself. They were only friends, but Lisa had wished for more. She finally found Jeff and the two of them were doing great. Lisa had called earlier to tell Anya congratulations and had her promise that she would be invited to the wedding.
All that left was Claudia, Lance's girlfriend. She was a mystery to Anya. Since meeting her at the Christmas party her and Justin had, she hadn't seen much of her. Lance would say that she wasn't feeling well or something like that to explain why she never came around. Anya didn't know why she didn't like hanging out with her and Justin but hoped that tonight things would change. She loved Lance to death and wanted to spend more time with him and Claudia.
The night went on and the others arrived. They had all eaten and Claudia had "volunteered" to help Anya with the dishes while the guys talked and the girls watched Emma. "Hey, I know Lance pushed you into helping me but I thank you anyway. I am sorry we haven't gotten to know each other well. Ever since the Christmas party, I have wanted you to come over when Lance does so we could get to know each other better. I have to apologize for my behavior that day. I know I must have seemed pretty rude to you because I cut you off when you were trying to talk to me and I never apologized. I hope that we can try to be friends. How would that sound?" She extended her hand for Claudia to shake.
Claudia looked at Anya for a minute and then took her hand. "Yeah, I would like that. I am sorry, too. I have been thinking all this time what a bitch you are and I didn't even know you. I hope you can forgive me and maybe we can start over."
"I'd like that. Here, let me introduce myself…I'm Anya." She smiled to her new friend.
Claudia started laughing. "I'm Claudia, it's a pleasure to meet you." Both girls burst out laughing, causing Lance to run into the room to make sure everything was okay.
"Hey, what's going on here?" He noticed the two of them laughing and hugging each other.
"Nothing, can't a couple of friends laugh with each other?" Claudia asked her boyfriend.
He just smiled at them and turned to go back into the living room. Before he left, he mouthed a 'thank you' to Anya. She said 'your welcome' back to him. He had told her about the fact that Claudia was having a hard time getting to know her and how she felt left out at the Christmas party. Anya hadn't realized what she had done until Lance pointed it out. She felt bad and wasn't going to let Claudia think she didn't like her.
The rest of the party went off without a hitch. Everyone congratulated Justin and Anya on their engagement and Chris and Kiley announced their engagement also that night. Things were going great for both couples and everybody wished them all the best. Kiley had told Anya that she asked Chris if he wanted to elope like Anya had suggested and he thought it was a great idea. They would do it in a couple of weeks and then throw a big party when they got back. Anya was excited for them and hoped that her and Justin would be as happy as Kiley and Chris seemed to be.