“I know, right?”
“Did you wrap this?”
“Ha!” I shake my head. “I could never wrap anything that nicely.”
Heather laughs. “Should I open it now?”
“Go for it.”
She unwraps the package with care—you just can’t rip into it when it’s covered in textured gold paper and topped with an elegant mauve peony—then opens the box, revealing a glass pen and inkpot set. Her eyes widen, and a broad smile breaks over her face. “These are gorgeous.”
“I thought of you the moment I saw them.”
“Thank you so much. You’re such a sweet girl.”
“My pleasure.”
Heather is worth thousands of those gorgeous pens. She’s loyal and does more work than I ever thought possible.
At the production team meeting, I hand out some snacks I brought from Tokyo. I give dog treats to the team members with dogs. “Make sure you don’t confuse the human treats with the canine ones.”
“Oh my goodness,” Jerry says, looking at both. He has a couple of basset hounds he adores. “They look exactly the same, except there’s an anime dog sticker on the dog treats.”
Everyone laughs, and I feel my mood rise in response. I’m so blessed I can bring joy into their lives—and share in the happiness.
We have a good meeting, discussing plans for Silicone Dream’s existing products and what we’re going to do to fit the Midnight God line in as well. Under Jerry and Georgia’s competent care, we won’t have to make a huge investment or any major adjustments. After the meeting, I grab my purse and let Heather know I’m heading to Dr. White’s office.
A short drive later, I park my Ferrari and walk into a gorgeous white building that houses the gynecologist’s office. The inside is mainly soft green and cheery yellow. Several comfortable couches with good back support for pregnant women line the waiting room. Against the wall are two bookcases, one with children’s books and the other full of reference books on pregnancy and women’s health concerns.
I walk to the reception desk and say hello to Cassie, whose short red hair clouds around her generously freckled face like a lion’s mane.
“Good morning.” She smiles, all friendly. “On time as usual. And all the way from Tokyo!”
I laugh. “I guess you saw the video.”
“Oh my God, your boyfriend is awesome. He is your new boyfriend, right?”
She knows about Todd’s and my attempts to have a baby and our separation and subsequent divorce. “Yeah. I’m dating someone new.”
“Good for you.”
Cassie told me that she always knew I’d ditch him when I told her we’d filed for divorce. She said she could always tell how long couples are going to last by observing the husband’s behavior. Her opinion of Todd couldn’t be lower after seeing him act like he was doing me a huge favor by begrudgingly accompanying me a couple of times for the fertility issues we were having. As far as he was concerned, they were mine and mine alone to resolve. His penis shot only the highest-quality sperm, thankyouverymuch.
“Tell me how you felt when that gorgeous man sang for you on stage,” Cassie says in a squealy voice.
I let out a breath, shaking with remembered excitement, and start fanning my face. “Honestly? I thought my heart would burst. I still get shivers thinking about it.”
“Lucky you. I was so jealous!” Grinning, she slides a clipboard with the standard patient questionnaire across the counter. “Anyway, fill this out, and Dr. White will see you soon.”
I take the clipboard, which has a pen attached by a shiny metal chain, and take a seat. I’ve answered the questionnaire many times over the years. Now it’s just a formality to make sure my address is the same, my insurance is the same and I haven’t developed any new health conditions. Everything gets filled out on autopilot until: When was your last period?
Good question. I pull out my phone and open the app that I use to record my period. My cycle is highly irregular, so I try to track it just in case it’s important for my doctor to know to make a diagnosis.
But there aren’t any dates from the last two months. I sit and stare at the phone for a moment. I know I didn’t forget to enter the data because I always tap the app to let it know my period has started as soon as it does. It’s a habit as ingrained as taking a shower in the morning.
I go back further until I hit the month when my divorce with Todd was finalized.
Three months ago.