“What does he think will happen?” I picture Kate arguing her point, big belly protruding, while her six-foot-three-inch monster of a man scowls and crosses his arms over his wide chest.
“Who bloody knows?” Kate is sure to be throwing her arms up in the air, accentuating her irritation. We lived together for years while we were both in college here in southern California, so I’m well acquainted with her quirks. “Maybe he thinks the baby will fall out onto the pitch and get punted into the goal.”
Dax immediately replies loud enough for me to hear. “That’s not funny, Kate! Fucking hell!” I laugh at Dax’s disgusted voice in the background.
“Oh bugger off, Dax! I’m only joking!” Kate yells back.
“I can call at a better time.” I hold in my amusement to keep Kate from getting angrier.
“Don’t you dare,” Kate snaps. She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Then I’ll have to deal with the angry beast in the next room.”
“All right, all right. How is the baby doing?”
“The baby is big. Enormous. I feel like a… a… what are those big gray whale things that look like seals?”
“A manatee?”
“Yes, that. I feel like a manatee. A big bloated one.”
I roll my eyes and smile. “I’m certain you don’t look like a manatee, Kate.”
“Hmph. I don’t want to talk babies, Abby. Your life must be more fun than mine. What’s going on in sunny California?”
“Not much. Not much at all. I’m sure even pregnant, your stories are better than mine.” I can’t keep the unhappiness out of my voice.
“Abby. That doesn’t sound like you.” Kate must shift or climb into bed, because I hear her grunt and the rustle of fabric as she settles in place. “Tell me why you’re down.”
I sigh. “I didn’t call to have a pity party, Kate. Well… maybe I did, but not the way you think.” I walk over to the windows and watch the sun as it sets over the Pacific, streaks of purple and orange and red reflecting off the water. “I’m just bored, I guess. Or lonely. I don’t know, Kate. All I do is work and come home. That’s it. I have nothing else in my life.”
“You have your family,” she reminds me.
“Yeah, I do.” The dull stab of long-buried pain cramps my stomach before I can force it away. I never told Kate about Nick. I never told anyone, not even Hawke.
“You have me. You could always take a break, come visit to help me get ready before the baby is born.”
“You don’t need me in the way—”
“Are you kidding? I have no bloody clue how to take care of a baby, Abby! I could use all the help I can get gathering all the gear a baby needs. Nappies and bouncers and all that junk. I haven’t even started on the nursery.”
“Maybe,” I reply just to get Kate off the topic.
Naturally, she’s as relentless as ever. “No maybes. Come visit me. It’s been ages since you’ve been. Next week is my last week of work. That gives me four weeks off before the baby comes. I need help decorating and planning, you need time off. Call me when you’ve booked your flight.”
“But—”
“Nonsense. Bye, love!”
Kate disconnects before I can say another word.
I guess I’m going to New Jersey.
Hawke
“Christ, Dax. What the fuck? Are you having one baby or an entire litter?” One foot in the front door and I realize I’ve walked into a nightmare. I glance around the room at the towers of boxes, brightly colored plastic toys, and stacks and stacks of pink fabric folded up on the huge leather sectional.
Dax glares my way, his brow pulling low over his dark eyes. “Don’t be a wanker. This…” A huge hand waves at the piles of baby related crap, “is all Kate and Abby.”
My shoulders tense when Dax mentions Abby. Dax continues staring as I struggle to come up with a response to finding out that the gorgeous, tan, and blonde girl I loved a lifetime ago is somewhere in this house. With me.