Those moments when she didn’t respond were the longest of my life. Then her arms came up around me, and I let out a sob. And clung like a little girl.
“Shh, shh, it’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.” She rubbed my back and kissed my head, just as she had a million times before when I’d cried.
She didn’t hate me. Oh, God, she didn’t hate me.
After a few minutes, she drew me back and cupped my cheeks, studying me minutely. “You’re all right? I mean physically?”
Mutely, I nodded.
“You’re not…I don’t know, sick or anything? Isn’t that part of it?”
I jerked a shoulder. “I haven’t been sick at all. Well, other than when I puked up that wine, but…” I trailed off at the horror on her face. “It was only two glasses,” I said weakly. “I had it on an empty stomach.”
“You can’t drink now.”
“I know that.” I sighed. “I’m super hormonal though, so you know, tread gently.”
She frowned and reached down to peel up my T-shirt. My belly was just as flat as ever, and I guess she decided the same because her frown spread. “You sure? That doesn’t look like a preggo belly to me.”
“It’s early yet. Super early. Like barely a baby.”
“So that means…”
Reading the speculative look in her eyes, I shook my head. “I’m having it.” I’d already considered and rejected the options. It would be hard, but I could do it.
I’d wanted to be an adult so badly. I’d get my chance now, that was for sure.
“That’s not what I meant. I was counting forward and figuring it’d be a next summer baby? Ish?”
I nodded.
“Of course you’re having it. You’re not aborting my baby.” She expelled a breath. “I mean, it’s your baby, but dammit, now that I know about it, it’s mine too. And it’s not going anywhere.”
My eyes filled again, happy tears this time. I sniffled and pointed next to my head. “See what I mean? There’s no off button.”
“You’re allowed, considering the circumstances. If it was me, I’d still be curled up in the fetal position on the floor.”
“No, you wouldn’t, because Fox would be carrying you through town.” Shaking my head, I briefly recounted the story of how I’d told him I was knocked up.
Her eyes widened and slitted about five times during the telling, then she propped her fists on her hips. “That jerk knew first and he didn’t tell me?”
“Don’t be mad at him. I made him promise. He insisted I tell you. God, Ame, he was so sweet.” I sniffled again and tried to catch some of the deluge with my sleeve. “He’s going to be a great daddy someday.”
“Not listening. Not listening.” She plugged her fingers in her ears and made me laugh through my tears. “La, la, la.”
Gently, I drew her hands away from her ears. “One baby at a time.”
“You got that right.” She squeezed my hands before pulling me to my feet. “Well, I guess we’d better start preparing. No time to waste.”
I blinked. “For what? I already have dinner planned. I figured we’d have sweet potatoes and roast pork with—”
“No, no, not dinner. I mean for the baby. We’ll have to get a bigger place, but we needed to, anyway. It’ll probably be a long-term project for us to find what we want, apartment-wise, so in the meantime, we’ll have to figure out a new arrangement for our current place. Either way, we need to start looking now. Finding housing is a pain, and we’ll want to stay in Brooklyn because I think that’s a better place to raise a child.”
I followed her to the door and out to the street. “But it’s only a few weeks in—”
She opened the passenger door of Fox’s ‘Vette and waved me inside. “It’s never too soon to start making preparations.” She shut my door and rounded the car. She got behind the wheel and eased away from the curb once she’d ascertained the street was as empty as it would ever get on this side of town. “Can’t be too careful, with a baby on board,” she added as she signaled into traffic.
“No,” I said faintly. “That’s true.”