12
Itook a deep breath as I sat at the desk and then followed it with a sip of my ginger ale. I picked up one of the crackers to nibble on, and some of the nausea began to recede. All right, well, that was a start. If I could get through a day at a time like this, I was going to be fine. The sickness wasn’t going to stop, but I could at least find ways to distract myself. Work was providing a decent excuse for that for now, but I didn’t know how long I would last here before I needed to take some time off to look after myself and the baby.
The first thing I had done was let my manager know I was pregnant so nobody could accuse me of hiding this to try to hold on to the position. There was quite a bit of work I could do from home, which was a relief, so I wouldn’t have to give up the job entirely, but I would have to step down and let someone else fill in the gaps for me while I was away. I already had my eye on someone to do just that.
“Hey.” Darla stuck her head around the door, the very woman I had just been thinking about.
“Hey,” I greeted her, nodding to the seat opposite me. “Join me, why don’t you?”
She took her seat and eyed me with some concern. We hadn’t seen each other since I’d left work in a state the day before, and I knew she had been worrying about me ever since.
“I just wanted to check that you were doing okay,” she told me. “After yesterday, you left so quickly, I didn’t have a chance to see you after that.”
“No, no, I’m fine,” I promised her. “Really. I just found out, uh …”
I trailed off. I wasn’t supposed to say anything about my pregnancy this early on, was I? It was probably bad luck or something, but as I watched Darla, waiting patiently for me to tell her what the hell was going on, I thought fuck it. I needed someone to share the excitement with, and I was waiting to tell Jolene until I saw her in person over the weekend. Darla was right here. She was going to hear it.
“I actually found out I’m pregnant,” I told her and as the words came out of my mouth, a smile spread out over her face. Her eyebrows shot up, and she clamped her hand over her mouth.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed. “You’re pregnant? How far along are you?”
“Not far.” I shook my head. “So you have to keep it quiet for the time being. The office knows, but I don’t want to jinx it by sharing it with anyone else, you know?”
“Your secret is safe with me.” She held up her hand, signifying scout’s honor. I chuckled
“Well, thanks.” I nodded. “I’m so excited.”
“This is your first, right?” She grinned. “Fuck, that’s so cool.”
“I’m really nervous too,” I admitted. “I mean, we weren’t trying or anything. This little thing came right out of the clear blue sky for us.”
“It’s going to be fine.” She leaned over and patted my hand kindly. “I’ve known tons of people who’ve had kids, some planned, some not, and trust me, having the time to plan in advance doesn’t always make things easier.”
“You ever wanted kids yourself?” I asked, and she shook her head emphatically.
“Hell, no,” she replied firmly. “But I feel like pretty much all my friends have popped out babies in the last few years. I’m auntie to, like, a dozen different kids. If there’s anything you want to know, I’m happy to play the fountain of your knowledge.”
“I’ll make sure to bear that in mind.” I smiled at her and lay my hand on my belly absentmindedly. I found myself doing that a lot recently, enjoying the feel of the bump beneath my fingers, even if I was imagining it and it was down to one too many beers and bowls of ice cream instead of a life growing within me.
“I’m so excited for you,” Darla sighed, grinning at me. “This and the wedding? You must be rushed off your feet.”
“Yeah, I feel like I haven’t had a moment to catch my breath,” I agreed. I had only met Kristo a scant four months before, and sometimes, it felt wild to me that I was having his baby and planning on marrying him so soon. But I knew in my heart it was the right choice. My gut, for once, was telling me to do this, that this man was the one for me. I hoped to God it wasn’t going to steer me wrong.
“At least you can relax over this weekend, right?” Darla pointed out. “Get your head straight.”
“Actually, we’re having a dinner party this weekend, kind of.” I sighed and shook my head. “We’re having my sister around to talk about her moving in with us. Kristo’s sister is coming as well. They had a falling out recently. I think she’s trying to make it up to him.”
“Oh, his sister, huh?” She waggled her eyebrows pointedly. “Mind if I join you?”
“You know, you should.” I cocked my head at her. “I know you’re just kidding, but you actually should. It’d be fun, and I could use someone else on my side.”
She raised her eyebrows at me.
“Anything I should know about that sister of his?” she asked, and I shrugged.
“I’ll do some digging,” I replied, and I glanced at my watch. “Shit, I have to get back to work. I’ll text you about the details for this weekend, though, right?”
“Sure thing.” She flashed me a thumbs-up. “Thanks for inviting me. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone.”