by Stacy Borel
“You think I don’t have Dana pegged? I know her game. No need to rush out of here like you’re on fire. I told her no. But I did ask you to join me.”
I looked around. Camden wasn’t anywhere in sight, and the gym was almost empty besides a teenage kid puffing out his chest in front of the mirrors. Good, at least I didn’t have an audience.
“And I declined. I’m going home, getting into some comfy pants that don’t cut me in two, and crawling into my bed.”
“Gaining weight are we?” Dana spoke over Dodger’s shoulder.
I hadn’t seen her coming.
I took a step forward, brushing against Dodger and letting him know my intentions. I was about to tear this chick apart.
“Dana, I think you need to go,” Dodger said, trying to maintain control of us both.
He’s hysterical. Nobody controlled me except for me.
“Actually, no. I was just telling Dodger that we have a bun in the oven. He’s going to be a daddy. Isn’t that wonderful news?” Sarcasm was oozing from my voice. I put my hand on my stomach, making a show of it. Her eyes followed my movement. “Seems that the wedding was the perfect setting for incredible sex and baby making.” My other hand went up to Dodger’s cheek to add insult to injury. “He’s going to be the best father.”
Her mouth dropped open. My eyes squinted as if to really make the news sink in. I swear to god, she had anything else to say, I wouldn’t be held back.
I dropped my hands and looked up at Dodger. My voice went cold. “I’m going home. I’ll text you if I need anything.”
I walked out without so much as a second thought. I did what I came here to do. Baby bomb dropped. At the moment I still didn’t know what I needed to do to make this all seem okay, but one foot in front of the other toward my car seemed like a good start. Oh, and getting the chance to tell Dana my wonderful news . . . yeah that.
Damn that felt good. I smiled and got in my car and headed home.
Chapter Five
INHERENTLY I PUT MY FINGERS on the pulse inside my wrist. Yep, I was definitely panicking. I was on a roll filling everyone in with my latest situation. As challenging as I’d convinced myself it would be, truth be told, the reactions I seemed to be getting were nothing like how I played them up in my head. Keegan had been understanding and loving. And Dodger skipped past the freak out portion and dove straight in to the logistics of future planning. Not that I didn’t think it wasn’t coming. At some point the poor guy was going to be slammed with the weight of it all and flip out. I knew him. This was the calm before the storm. Right now wasn’t the time for me stew over how that will go down. It was now time to let the parental units know. Best way to do this was quick and dirty. Like ripping off the Band-Aid and hopefully the sting wouldn’t be too horrible. I dreaded this far more than I did telling Dodger. I was a daddy’s girl. I grew up well aware of the hopes and dreams he had for me.
Walking downstairs, I figured my dad would be finishing up getting ready for work. He moved about this house like clock-work. He walked the treadmill for thirty minutes, did some light training in the in home gym, and after a shower he always went to the kitchen for his usual cup of coffee and English muffin while he read the paper. Right now I was more than grateful for his routine. Made my life a little less chaotic. Coming around the corner, there he was, toasting his bread and opening the paper to the section he reads first.
He looked up and greeted me. “Morning, pumpkin.”
“Morning, Daddy.”
Walking up to him, I kissed his cheek and grabbed a coffee cup from the cupboard. There was a full pot, thank God. I fixed it just how I liked it and went and sat down on one of the barstools. I kept my eyes on the cup instead of watching what he was doing. I knew it all by heart anyway.
Clearing my throat, I fidgeted with the handle of the cup and said, “Do you have any free time today? I was hoping to meet up with you and Momma for a late lunch date or coffee. There’s some things I need to talk to you both about.”
“I’ll double check my schedule but I’m pretty sure it won’t be a problem. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great. I just want to sit down with you both and fill you in on some things coming up.”
“Have you asked your mother yet?”
“No. I was going to text her when I went back upstairs.”
He pulled out his Blackberry. I found it funny my dad wasn’t interested in updating his work accessories to what everyone else was using these days. He liked what he liked and unless the stupid thing fell on the floor and shattered, he was sticking with it. He clicked around and then looked back up at me.
“There. Schedule is clear this afternoon.”
I looked up and smiled at him. “Thank you.”
He gave me a brilliant white smile. “Of course. Let me know when and where your mom can meet and I’ll see you both there.”
While most would listen to our interaction and think it was too formal, for me this was normal. The three of us all worked and did a lot of things separately. Even my parents scheduled their dates versus going whenever. It was likely how most of the rich community worked. It’s probably why they were all rich to begin with. Careers came first. I was fine with it, nor did I judge.
“Perfect, I will.”
I got up, leaving my coffee untouched and went upstairs. I was going to ask my mom when the earliest she could meet us at Spooned. It was a café that had just opened and their Monte Cristo sandwich was to die for. The moment I started thinking about it, I wanted one. I also remembered I needed to call the doctor’s office and make my appointment.
Sitting down on the corner of my bed, I snagged my phone and text my mom. Once that was done, I googled Dr. Carrie’s office and made the call.
“Good morning, Dr. Carrie’s office,” The receptionist answered.
“Hi, I need to make an appointment.”
“Okay, what’s it for?”
“It’ll be for my first prenatal visit.” The words felt so foreign on my lips.
“Have you ever seen Dr. Carrie before?”
“Not as a patient, but I’m one of his delivery nurses at the hospital. He knows I’m planning on coming in.”
“Oh okay.” The person on the other end sounded so bright and cheery. “Well, I can get you in on Thursday, which is in two days if you’re able to make it. Someone called and cancelled this morning.”
No reason to keep holding of “Sounds great, I’ll take it.”
I heard her typing. She asked for my name, phone number, and basic insurance information. She told me to bring in my identification when I came in and to arrive fifteen minutes before my scheduled time to fill out paperwork. I knew the song and dance. Once I hung up, I felt oddly proud of myself for being an adult and finally doing something proactive about this pregnancy.
I glanced down at my screen and saw my mom texted me back while I had been on the phone. She said she could meet us. I took a deep breath. One step at a time. I knew I probably should have messaged Dodger to let him know about the appointment, but I didn’t feel like doing it right now. Maybe tonight when I soaked in the tub. It was my day off so I decided to treat myself to a pedicure before I faced the firing squad.
It didn’t take long for my morning to pass. My toes were fresh, and I went to the mall, but only window shopped. Only thing I bought was a cinnamon and sugar pretzel. I was currently heading to the café to meet my parents. I decided that nothing I said was going to make this easier on any of us, but I’d at least let them make it through their lunch before I told them.
After parking, I went to the podium and let the hostess know I needed a table for three. She promptly seated me and I sat looking around. I’d only been here a handful of times prior to today. It’s how I knew the sandwich was so delicious. The place had a great atmosphere. It mimicked most restaurants in New Orleans. They even had beignets on their dessert menu that tasted almost just like the ones you could get at Café Du Monde. It was very upbeat in he
re with jazz music playing, and the rounded tables and black iron chairs. Purple, gold, and green masks adorned the walls along with photos from Mardi Gras parades from decades past. The front of the place was wall to wall windows. It smelled sweet like cookies baking and my stomach was growling. Despite my nerves, nothing would stop me from getting my fill of the food here. My appetite was slowly coming back despite the occasional vomit session or scent sending my stomach spiraling.
My mother was the first to arrive, with my dad coming in within a minute of her. Both were seated at my table after they bent down and kissed me lovingly on the cheek.
“How has your day been?” my mom asked as she opened her menu.
“Uneventful. Just walked around the mall.”
“You didn’t have to work?” my dad chimed in.
“I had the day off. Figured I’d treat you both to lunch and make it as relaxing as I can.”
My mom said, “Wish I had a day off. I had to attend a ground breaking ceremony for a new logistics building on the south side of town. I swear, I spend more time being a public figure smiling for the newspaper, than I do actually performing any tasks.”
“You love it,” my dad argued.
She smiled at him like they both had some inside secret I wasn’t privy too. My parents were people I admired and looked up too. They had been married for thirty-two years and were high school sweethearts. Daddy said he saw my mom walk into his advanced algebra class and he was a smitten kitten. Mom’s story is a little different, of course. She said Daddy was the annoying math nerd that did everything he could to get her attention. I guess after he convinced her to meet him for a study session, she decided he wasn’t so bad. The rest is history. I came along about seven years into their marriage. Momma struggled with infertility and when they conceived me, they decided it was too hard on them to try for any more kids. Sometimes I wished I had a sibling but I also know if I did have one, I wouldn’t be near as spoiled as I have been in my life.
Our waitress came up to our table and set down three glasses of water. She greeted us and asked what we all wanted. I was ridiculously over excited about having my sandwich. My parents both got the same thing: a cup of clam chowder and chicken Caesar salad. It was a fairly short wait for our food and small talk was made. My dad talked to my mom about an upcoming business trip he was going to be making to Boston. My mom mentioned another dinner party she needed to attend. I swear these two rarely gave themselves a break. While they spoke to each other, I occasionally interjected just to make them believe I had been paying attention. In reality, I was freaking out about how I was going to do this. The longer I sat here holding it in, the more anxious I was becoming. My toe started tapping on the floor and I was chewing on my lip. It was my mom who took notice.
“Macie, are you okay?”
“Hmmm?”
She glanced at my dad. “I asked if you were okay. You’ve not said much, and you were the one that asked us to lunch. What’s on your mind?”
I blew out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. Fucking hell, here goes.
“Mom, Dad, there’s something I need to . . .” My voice trailed off.
My seat faced the window. Directly across the street stood Dodger s waving at me. I closed my mouth and made eye contact. Furrowing my brows, I watched as he crossed the road, and came toward the café. What on earth was he doing? As he approached the window, I could see he noticed who I was sitting with. When his eyes came back to mine, I knew exactly what he was going to do. Shaking my head back and forth I silently screamed at him, “Don’t you dare.”
Too late. I looked back at my parents and gave them a curt smile, gritting my teeth. They looked so perplexed, like I’d gone mad.
“Mace, what’s going on?” my dad asked.
Not one second after he spoke, a waitress came to our table with Dodger by her side. My parents looked up at him and then to me. I refused to look at my little party crasher. If I did, I’d hand him his ass.
“Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise. Macie, you didn’t tell us Dodger was coming to lunch too. We could have waited to order our food.” My mother’s southern sweet voice oozed politeness.
I couldn’t hold in my distain. Putting my elbows on the table and head in my hands, I blurted, “You ass, of course you would show up.”
Momma clucked her tongue. “Macie Rae, what is the matter with you. Don’t be rude.”
Ugh, I hated being scolded. Made me feel like I was a child again being told what to do.
I dropped my hands on the table, dramatically. “I didn’t invite him, Momma.” Looking up at him with as much anger as I could, I said, “I have no idea what you’re trying to pull here, but you weren’t invited.”
He smiled like he really meant it. “I realize. But I saw you all in here, and I thought I’d come say hello. I haven’t seen your parents in quite some time.”
Being the gentleman that he was, Dodger took a few steps around the table and bent down to kiss my mother’s cheek, then turned to shake my father’s hand. I could tell my dad was a bit more confused by the interruption than my mother was picking up on.
“It’s definitely been some time. Why don’t you have a seat and join us, son. We were just wrapping up our lunch but maybe the waitress can bring you some coffee.”
“No, Daddy. Dodger isn’t staying,” I nearly growled directly at him. “He was just saying hello. Now he’s leaving.”
Grabbing a chair that was at the empty table beside me, Dodger swung it around and plopped down right next to me.
“Actually, coffee sounds great. Thank you, sir.”
Oh my god. Was this really happening? I looked around, then pinched my thigh. Nope, not sleeping. Was I in some sort of twilight zone. I was just about to make the announcement of the year to my parents, and of all the times and places, this piece of work had to show up? And apparently thinks it was okay to sit his ass down and disrupt my lunch. He knew exactly what he was doing. Oh man, when it’s just me and him, I’m going to make him wish he was never born.
“How have you been?”
“I’ve been good. Working and taking in new patients.”
My dad nodded. “That’s right. You do physical therapy don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Have you got plenty of patients?”
Dodger combed his fingers through his wavy brown hair. “Yes, actually. More than I realized I’d be taking on.”
“That’s great,” Daddy said.
“It is. I’m thinking of renting out the office space next to the gym and possibly expand.”
I had no clue it had been going that well for him. How could I have. I didn’t speak to him more than I necessarily had to.
Looking over at my mom, my dad said, “Maybe I should make an appointment with him. I’ve had a pinched nerve in the back of my neck that won’t go away.” He rubbed it like it was currently hurting him. “I’ve changed pillows and done some stretches, but nothing seems to be helping.”
Dodger said, “I’m there Monday through Friday. Just call the front desk of the gym and Dana can schedule you in.”
I growled. “I bet she can.”
Under the table I felt a hand go to my thigh and give a light squeeze. Instinctively I brushed it away. His hand attempted again, but this time I took a hold of a tiny amount of skin and pinched. He jerked away. The side of my mouth tilted up. Try it again and see if you don’t lose a finger, I thought to myself.
My parents were oblivious as to what was going on between Dodger and me at the moment. My mom was touching my dad’s neck, trying to comfort him.
“You need to go,” I grumbled to Dodger under my breath.
“I’ll think about it. But not until after my coffee.”
“Dodger,” I warned.
He piped up. “I have to say, it’s so good seeing you both.”
Mom looked at him. “Same, Dear. But I have to ask, what brought you here today? Macie hasn’t said anything about the two of you being
back together.”
I scoffed. “That’s cause we’re not.”
“For now,” Dodger whispered to me.
“In your dreams,” I shot back.
I heard him chuckle. Yep, I was going to kill him when we walked out of here.
“Actually, Macie and I only just reconnected. I was just as surprised to see her when she showed up to speak to me a couple days ago.”
I shot a look at him. Was he fucking serious? He was practically throwing me under the bus.
“I had good reason.”
“Oh? And what reason was that?” my dad asked, nosily.
I closed my eyes and looked back at my parents. It was time. I wanted nothing more than to get this crap over with so I could go home, if I still had one, and soak in a tub. Too bad I couldn’t have a glass of wine to go with it.
“That’s actually why I asked you guys to meet me.”
The expectant looks on their faces almost broke my heart.
“Mom, Dad . . .” I bit my lip. “I’m pregnant.”
The way I barely squeaked that out, it was like I was a teenager still in high school telling them I’d made the mistake of the century and I was sixteen and pregnant or something. Where were the MTV cameras? My poor mother’s face went pale white. Dad, I couldn’t even read. He was blank.
As if shamed, I looked down. “I’m sorry.”
“Y-you’re pregnant?” Momma stuttered.
“Yes.”
“Please explain this to me, Macie.”
I brought my eyes up to hers, only to see that she was crying. “I made a mistake. It should have never have happened.”
“A mistake?” Dodger’s voice broke through my self-wallowing fog.
I swallowed down my anger, so I could deal with the situation at hand. “Not now.”