Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93140 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 466(@200wpm)___ 373(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
It was Saturday afternoon, and Mia and I were meeting for lunch at our favorite Greek restaurant. I’d gotten caught in traffic, so I arrived a few minutes late, and she’d already gotten a table.
“Hey.” I slid into the booth across from her.
Her face wrinkled up when she looked at me. “Did you come from the gym?”
“No. Why?”
Mia frowned. “No offense, but you sort of look like shit.”
I sighed. “I didn’t feel like doing my hair. I thought the messy bun was still in?”
“It is. But yours looks more like a rat’s nest. And your shirt has a giant stain on it, and either you have black eyes coming in or you didn’t get all of yesterday’s makeup off.”
I looked down at my sweatshirt. Sure enough, there was a giant, round spot. I rubbed at it. “I had a container of Ben & Jerry’s for dinner last night. I missed my mouth a few times.”
Mia raised a brow. “So you slept in that shirt?”
“Shut up. I’ve seen you wear the same outfit for days when you’re sick.”
“That’s because I’m sick. Are you?”
“No.”
She made yet another disapproving face. “I take it you still haven’t heard from Grant?”
My shoulders slumped. “No.”
Mia shook her head. “I can’t believe he turned out to be such a piece of shit.”
“He’s not a piece of shit. He just…really didn’t want children.”
“Yes. And five years ago, I didn’t ever want to get married. I really didn’t want my mom to die at fifty-nine last year either. This is life. We do our best to live it, but we can’t be in control of everything.”
“I know. But having children is something we can control.”
“Did you take all of your pills?”
“Yes.”
“Did Grant wear a condom every time you had sex?”
“Yes.”
“Then obviously there are times we can’t control it. Nothing in life is foolproof.”
“I know. But he has a good reason for being upset.” A few days after Grant walked out, I’d unloaded everything on Mia—from my pregnancy to the reason I’d found out he didn’t want children.
“Of course he does. He’s experienced an unthinkable trauma. I understand that. So he deserved a little time to be shocked and upset, but it’s been almost two weeks now. What is he going to do? Pretend he doesn’t have a child and this entire thing doesn’t exist?”
I’d been wondering the same thing lately. The first few days he didn’t call or come by, I understood why he was upset. But at what point did he plan on dealing with the reality of our situation? I’d been so certain he’d come around…even if he didn’t want to be with me or want to be involved with this baby’s life. I thought he would at least own up to it and we’d talk. But the past few days, I’d started to lose the last shred of confidence in him. Hence the ice cream dinners.
“Can we just…not talk about it today? I need a day off from dealing with everything. Let’s stuff our faces and go to the movies like we planned and eat buttered popcorn with Snowcaps until we feel nauseous.”
Mia nodded. “Of course. Sure. But can I say one more thing? And it’s not really about Grant.”
I smiled. So Mia. “Sure.”
Her face lit up as her lips curved. “I went off the pill.”
My eyes widened. “Really? I thought you and Christian wanted to wait a year or two before having kids.”
“We did. But things change. I’ve been thinking about it since the day you told me you were pregnant. Then, a few days ago Christian came into the bathroom while I was brushing my teeth. You know my routine in the morning—teeth then pill. He looked at them in my hand and said, ‘I can’t wait until you’re pregnant. The thought of you with a big belly just turns me on like you wouldn’t believe.’
“So I turned around and said, ‘I could stop taking them now.’ I guess I expected him to backtrack. It’s one thing to say you’re looking forward to seeing your wife pregnant and another to want that to be next month. But he took the pills out of my hand and tossed them in the garbage. Then we had a quickie on the bathroom sink.”
I laughed. “Well, it would be awesome to have kids around the same age. But are you ready for that?”
She picked up an olive from the dish in the middle of the table and popped it into her mouth. “I don’t think anyone’s ever ready for kids. But yeah…I don’t really want to wait.”
I took Mia’s hands. “I love you, my crazy friend.”
“I know you want to stop talking about this. So I promise this is the last thing I’ll say today...” She squeezed my hand. “I will be here for you every step of the way. Holding your hair back through morning sickness if you have it, getting fat with you, even if I’m not pregnant, and by your side in the delivery room, if you’ll have me. There is nothing you’ll be alone for.”