The Moment of Truth

She didn’t begrudge them. She could do herself up like they did, spend an hour in front of the mirror every morning. Her sisters had talked her into getting a makeover once. They’d taken her to a spa and then to the mall where they’d made her buy some new outfits.

And she felt as if she’d been unfaithful to herself as she trudged around the stores in her makeup and new hairstyle, feeling uncomfortable and awkward and wishing she could hide.

She’d hated the attention she’d received from male customers, from a guy she’d known in high school who hadn’t given her the time of day then but suddenly seemed very interested.

Lindy Lu was chewing on her finger. She’d have to get in the habit of keeping one of the pup’s little chew toys in her purse. At least until Lindy was past the teething stage.

Would that be in time to replace it with a synthetic teething ring? The human variety?

“...he said it wouldn’t be a bad thing to steer her in another direction.”

Dana realized that she’d missed something.

“Wait, what?”

“Josh told Ian that it wouldn’t be a bad thing to steer Olivia in another direction.”

“He didn’t like her?”

“He said he liked her fine. He just wasn’t looking for a relationship and didn’t want to lead her on.”

Wow. He’d told the cheerleader the same thing he’d told her. He’d been telling her the truth. Not blowing her off kindly because she wasn’t his type. “Ian and I think it’s because of you.”

Amy’s words were so ludicrous that she almost laughed out loud. “What makes you think that?”

“You’re all he talks about. Dana said this. Dana mentioned that.”

“I talk a lot.”

“And he apparently pays attention to every word. You know how many times I have to repeat myself to get Ian to actually listen to me?”

“Guys like things in ten words or less,” Dana said. “I’ve just never been good at expressing my thoughts in anything less than paragraphs. Maybe that’s the trick, if you talk enough some of it eventually trickles in.”

Amy laughed. And Dana stood, giving one last caress to the side of Skyline’s face as she lifted Lindy Lu up to her chest.

“So there’s nothing going on between you two?” Amy asked.

She was going to have a baby with him, but she couldn’t say that.

“We’re just friends,” she said, not sure at all what she meant by that.

She got out of there before Amy could press her any further.

* * *

JOSH WAS READING, something he’d been doing a lot of since he’d come home from work and pulled another frozen meal out of his freezer. He’d signed on to the internet while the microwave did its thing. And had been on ever since.

While there really wasn’t a rush for Dana to see a doctor, they still needed to make an appointment. Dana was going to need prenatal vitamins and the sooner she started on them, the better. For her and the baby.

Vitamins were just one of the things Josh had read about on the internet. Flipping between various pregnancy-related online articles and a spreadsheet he’d started, he made some more notations.

Earlier he’d left a message for Michelle’s doctor, too.

It was after ten when Dana’s text notification sounded, and he picked up his phone immediately.

I can sublet.

Okay.

Half an hour later, he got another text from her.

Why?

ttyl, he typed. Talk to you later.

He never presented a plan that was incomplete.

It wasn’t until he went to bed sometime after midnight that he noticed Dana hadn’t written back.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

HE’D SAID HE’D TALK TO HER LATER—ttyl. Dana read her phone again as she sat in class on Tuesday morning.

She’d waited until after midnight but he hadn’t called. Or otherwise contacted her.

Should she call him?

For what? She’d told him she could take care of herself, and it was imperative that she do just that. She couldn’t rely on others to make her happy.

She called her mom on her way to Josh’s later that morning. Not to tell her about the baby. She wasn’t ready to do that. Just because she needed to talk to her mom. Susan was in the office with Daniel and seemed a little distracted, but still happy to hear from her. They didn’t talk long.

Little Guy started howling as soon as he heard her key in the lock. If she wasn’t quick about it, the puppy would leave a present for her before she got him to the door.

She stayed outside awhile, enjoying the Arizona sunshine and balmy seventy degree weather, pretending that pregnancy and raising a child, being a single mother, would be a breeze.