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“Seems like you would have some trust issues after an experience like that. Yet here you are engaged after just a few short months of dating.”
I never should have told her about that bastard George. Because I did have trust issues. I struggled to take someone at face value and believe they really cared about me for me. But I was not going to divulge any of that to Gloria, clearly. “Hmm. You can’t judge a man by another man’s misdeeds.”
“Good for you,” she said, raising her wineglass. “Life is too short.”
I waited for some further wisdom to follow but none seemed to be forthcoming. I just nodded and sipped my own wine. I wasn’t sure what the hell was happening but I was definitely uncomfortable.
“Michael’s been looking for a surrogate,” she said. “But I’m sure you knew that already.”
I choked on my wine. “Sorry?”
Now that was a hell of a bombshell to drop at lunch.
“He didn’t tell you?”
She didn’t really look surprised. If anything, she looked annoyed, which I couldn’t interpret. I didn’t know her well enough to get a read on her true emotions.
“He did not tell me, no.” Not even a hint.
“He probably didn’t want to scare you, but yes, that’s how serious he’s been about starting a family.”
“I know it means a lot to him.” I did know that. But damn. Michael had been willing to be a single father? Somehow that did surprise me. Then again, I’d never seen him around children.
Maybe it was time to babysit Savannah’s baby. I felt like I needed to see Michael firsthand with a baby. Or maybe that would be a terrible idea. It might make me want to open the baby factory and it was way too soon for that. Like eighteen months too soon for that.
“I’d check the condoms for holes if I were you,” Gloria said, with a tinkling laugh, like that was hilarious.
I had been distracted by my own thoughts but Gloria’s casual and teasing statement was like a bucket of ice water over my head.
“What?” I slammed my wineglass down so hard it was a miracle it didn’t shatter. Could I be pregnant already? I contemplated my uterus, questioning if I could feel an egg dividing in its depths. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. Didn’t women just know instinctively?
“I’m kidding. Michael would never do something so dishonest.”
Well, that was utterly reassuring. Not. I didn’t think he would. Or at least I hoped he wouldn’t. Because that would be very, very uncool.
“Why didn’t he and Becca have children?” I asked, curious what her perspective on their marriage would be.
“Oh, she wasn’t really interested, from what I understood at the time. She felt she was too young. I imagine that would have changed in a few years if she had lived. But it was a source of contention between them. Michael always felt like she overstated her desire for a family when they got engaged. A classic bait and switch.”
Maybe I didn’t need to worry so much about appeasing Becca’s ghost. Having children or not was something you couldn’t be dishonest about. That was just cruel to deny a man (or a woman) a child when they’d expressed such a strong desire for one.
“And then there was her spending. She never understood the meaning of the word budget. Plus there was t
he time I was certain she was having an affair with the contractor who redid their kitchen, but Michael would never confirm it. The contractor installed more than that island, if you catch my meaning.”
Fabulous. Now I never wanted to lean on the island again. Or spread out my takeout over the surface without thinking of Michael’s devious former wife.
Becca really was like Rebecca from the famed novel. Damn. I didn’t need to talk to her, I needed to sage her ass out of the closet. And order a new countertop for the island.
“I’m surprised Michael hasn’t told you this himself. I probably shouldn’t be telling you so many details about ancient history.”
I loved when people expressed regret three seconds after sharing something juicy. As if they’d ever had any intention of not saying it. I was grateful for the insider information. “Oh, I think it’s a tricky thing. Michael feels like if he talks about Becca too much I’ll be worried he’s not totally over her.”
“That sounds like Michael. He’s very considerate.”
I couldn’t really argue with that. “I’m honestly not worried about him being still hung up on her or anything like that. I don’t get that sense from him at all and it’s been ten years. Though I will be happy to buy a place we pick out together.”
I was saying that as part of the overall grand plan, but the truth was, it did sound appealing. I could already picture what a new place together would look like. I was going to layer his minimal style with some dark moody velvets and plenty of texture.
