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“Okay,” I said.
“Good. I’ll see you in a bit.”
Taking a shower woke me up, and I spent the next couple of hours going through emails and doing a little bit of work. It definitely wasn’t the most productive morning I had ever had, but it kept me distracted and made me feel like I wasn’t completely going off the rails.
Early that afternoon, Ava called me from the parking lot to let me know she was there. I headed down and got in the car, happier than ever to have her as a friend. I glanced into the back seat, but there was no car seat.
“Where’s Robert?” I asked.
“He’s having a day with his daddy,” she said. “When I said girl time, I meant it. I have a feeling you haven’t really talked about everything that’s going on with you right now, have you?”
“Not really,” I said. “I mean, Emily and I talked about it some, but I didn’t really go into details. I know she wouldn’t complain about it or anything, but it’s not like if I talked about everything she would know what I was going through. She’s never been pregnant, and we don’t have any friends with children.”
“Well, I have been pregnant. Twice. One might not have made it all the way here, but that was still my first pregnancy and I can remember what it was like. Consider me your sounding board,” she said.
“Thank you,” I said.
Ava ended up bringing me to a restaurant two towns over. She didn’t explain why. She only said it was a place she really enjoyed. I believed that part of it, but it also felt like she was giving me a little bit of space. Being out of Astoria helped me relax, and we settled into a conversation about everything I was going through at this stage of my pregnancy.
“I know it’s really early, but I already feel like I’m having symptoms. Morning sickness, obviously. That’s what clued me into it to begin with. But I’ve also been really tired. And I’m having a lot of breast pain. That one is unexpected. I’ve never really gone through that with my period, or anything. It’s definitely the tiredness that’s the most surprising, though,” I said.
“Why?” Ava asked. “You’re literally growing another human being in there. That takes energy.”
I laughed. “I guess you’re right. The baby is just so small right now, I didn’t think it would take that much energy, yet. But I guess it is still a major undertaking.”
“To say the least,” she said with a laugh. “If it makes you feel any better, all of that is totally normal.”
“That actually does make me feel better,” I said. “You know what’s also really interesting?”
“What?” she asked.
“Everything I’ve read has said that right around at this point some women start to experience symptoms, which obviously I have. Early in the first trimester, there aren’t as many cravings as there are later. But I’m definitely craving pie,” I said.
“Pie?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Of all things, I have a major hankering for pie.”
“Well, I don’t know how much stock I put into whatever you were reading saying cravings don’t start until later. I think I was pregnant for approximately six minutes when I started craving deviled eggs like nobody would believe.”
“I don’t know if that is more or less strange than pie,” I said.
“To each baby his own,” Ava said. She pulled the menu toward her and flipped through it. “It doesn’t look like this place has any pie. But I happen to know of a little bakery not too far from here.”
I grinned. “Let’s go.”
The little bakery was adorable, and the massive slice of pie served up to me on a cute porcelain plate hit the spot. But as soon as I finished the last bite, the nausea hit me again. I rushed into the bathroom, and Ava came in right behind me. She was there for me throughout the episode. I couldn’t bring myself to be embarrassed. I was so happy to have her support and encouragement; that was all I thought about.
“I’m really going to miss you,” I said as I rinsed my mouth out.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because we’re not going to be around each other anymore,” I said.
“Then why don’t you stay? For at least a little while. Just a few days,” she said.
“Ava, we already talked about this.”
“I know,” she said. “And I didn’t get the answer I wanted.”
I laughed. “This just doesn’t feel like it’s going to have a good ending.”
“Maybe that’s because there isn’t going to be an ending,” she said. “Maybe there’s going to be a beginning. As a matter of fact, no matter what Tom says or does, there is a beginning. Why don’t you just wait and find out what else could be beginning, too? Just stick around for a few days.”
