Dear Ripley

© 2023 Jacqueline RamsdenAll rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. For permissions contact:[email protected] design © Jacqueline Ramsden, jacquelineramsden.com.This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to real events or people, living or dead, are entirely coincidental. Dear RipleyJacqueline Ramsden For everyone looking for their path.I know you’ll find it. Contents Content warningsChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17Chapter 18Chapter 19Chapter 20Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30Chapter 31Chapter 32Chapter 33Chapter 34Chapter 35EpilogueFree BookAbout the Author Content warningsDivorce and discussions of emotions and difficulties surrounding it. Side character’s emotionally abusive past relationship, including cheating and stalking from the ex. Pregnancy after multiple miscarriages. Mention of homophobic policies/difficulties adopting for queer couples. Chapter 1AliciaFrom the second I picked up the phone, it was obvious something was going on. Harlow, my best friend, was positively bouncing on the other end of the line.“What’s up?” I asked, walking through the airport terminal.“I have the best news,” she said. “The very, very best news. Life-changing, even.”I laughed, my eyes catching on a snack kiosk and knowing I was stopping to buy those chocolate-covered fruit bites I loved. “There’s a new Taylor Swift album out?”She groaned and I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. It made me grin widely as I stocked up on snacks. If anyone happened to be watching, I could only imagine how ridiculous it must look—massive grin and an armful of too many snacks for one person on a two-hour flight.“Not that,” she insisted.“Hey, don’t blame me. The last time you called me with life-changing news, it was literally a new album.”“Ugh. You’re the actual worst. Why are we even friends?”“Beats me.”“No, it doesn’t. I’m amazing.”“And that makes me what, exactly?”“The worst. We just covered this.”I laughed, shaking my head, as I paid for my mountain of chocolate-covered strawberries. They were the best ones and they had plenty of them here. I wasn’t letting them get away. The last time I’d done that, I’d regretted it almost immediately.“Wait,” she said, confusion coloring her tone. “Are you in an airport?”I thanked the cashier, proudly took my purchases, and continued through the airport. “I thought you just said you were an amazing friend?”“Uh, I did. And I am. How is that relevant?”“Because,” I said, drawing the word out, “it seems to me that an amazing friend would remember that I’m in DC right now. Especially since I texted you about it when I landed two days ago.”She thought it over for a minute. “Oh, right. I do remember that. Sorry, lots going on since then.”I wasn’t going to hold it against her either way, but the way that excited edge snuck back into her tone told me she had a perfectly good reason to have forgotten—particularly since we’d established it wasn’t actually an album drop. Valid as a reason, perhaps, but it was nice to not be forgotten over one.“So, what’s going on, then?” I asked as I reached my gate, moving towards the window to sit down.“I’m pregnant,” she said, practically exploding with excitement.For one, wild second, my head spun and it felt like the airport around me had disappeared entirely. I felt the breath being sucked out of my lungs and the tears burning in my eyes. “Harlow,” I whispered, emotion thick in my throat. “Oh my god.”“I know, right? Isn’t that the best news you’ve ever heard?”I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “The very best ever.”“Life-changing, you might say.”I laughed, the sound of it wet and joyful. “Yeah, I’d say so.”“And you thought it was a Taylor Swift album drop.”“I can’t believe you let me derail the conversation with that. Oh my god. Nightmare.” I shook my head.She giggled. “Well, something’s dropping, but it’s not an album.”I scrunched my nose in distaste. “That’s how you’re referring to your child and birthing them?”She laughed again. “Hey, I’ve waited a long time for this. Now that it’s happening, I can refer to it however I want.”I sucked in a deep breath. She really had, and it hadn’t been an easy road. “You’re sure this one’s…” I trailed off, not knowing how to ask. I didn’t want to even think it, but after the last few, it was a reality she’d lived too many times and one I knew haunted every one of her attempts.She took a steadying breath. “Yeah. Fourteen weeks along, everything’s looking good and safe. Baby’s growing correctly, they’re in a good position, being all healthy and everything.”Tears streamed down my face. I’d never been so happy for anyone before. Of course, my best friend had never been pregnant after multiple miscarriages and confident this one was going to be okay before. “Oh my god, Harlow. You did it. You’re going to have a baby. You’re going to be a mom. I’m so, so unbelievably happy for you.”I heard her crack, tears of joy mixed with the sadness of her many losses, all the ways she was already a mom without any of the parts people expected from mothers. Life-changing didn’t even begin to describe this moment.“I did it, Alicia,” she whispered. “I actually did it. I’m having a baby.”Something about her tone told me that, despite having had quite a few weeks to get used to the news, it really hadn’t sunk in, she hadn’t allowed herself to truly hope this was the time it stuck, the time she really was going to come home with a baby—an innocent, precious child who would one day call her ‘Mommy’. And I couldn’t blame her. I’d held onto hope for her, even with each time she showed up on my doorstep, needing to be away from her house, away from her life, away from the horrid reality of having lost another child, but here she was, really doing it.“You really did.” Tears were streaming