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Chapter Thirteen
Esmeand I had lunch together, and then she said she needed to do some stuff for her dad and I definitely needed to catch up on work.
“Come to the bar tonight. Please?” As if she really had to ask.
“Of course I will,” I said, kissing her goodbye.
I was in the midst of doing a video transcription when a message from Linley came through.
I need to tell you something, but I’m not sure if I should tell you.
What the hell did that mean? I called her for an explanation.
“What’s going on? Are you okay? Are your parents okay?” My mind went immediately to death and destruction.
“Yes, I’m fine. Everyone’s fine. Sorry. I shouldn’t have written that message like that,” she said.
Trembling, I held the phone tight to my ear.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Are you sitting down?”
Fuck. What was it?
“Yes, I’m on the couch, you’d better fill in me right now, or else I’m going to come over there and make you tell me,” I said.
“Okay, I’ll say it. Gretchen is pregnant. That’s probably against baker-customer privilege to tell you, but whatever. She came in to order a cake. She’s going to surprise Wyatt. I’m so sorry, Paige. Are you okay?”
I burst out laughing. The sound was loud, even to me, and I couldn’t seem to stop laughing.
“She’s pregnant! Of course she is!” I wiped the tears streaming from my face and stood up.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” I screamed. Potato ran into the bedroom to get away from me.
I couldn’t get my breathing or heartrate back to normal. I couldn’t figure out what my body wanted to do.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have told you on the phone. I should have done it in person, but I was freaking out and I didn’t want you to hear it from anyone else. Do you need me to come over?” she asked.
I didn’t know what I needed. Soon, the laughing turned to tears, and at some point Linley said she was coming over and to stay on the line with her. I curled into myself, clutching the phone to my ear like a life raft.
It didn’t take Linley long to make it to my door and soon I was wrapped in a hug that smelled of yeast and fresh strawberries.
By that point my crying had subsided a little, and all I wanted to do was either go to sleep or scream forever.
“I’m so sorry, Paige.” Linley rubbed my back and held me for as long as I needed it.
A body can only cry for so long, but it felt like forever before I could pull back from Linley and take a full breath again.
She was there with tissues and support.
“I don’t even know why I’m so upset?” I said. “It’s not like I wanted to have a baby with him. Well, at least not right now.”
If I said I hadn’t thought about it, I would be lying. Of course I’d planned out my future with Wyatt. He’d take over the insurance company and I’d keep doing my thing and we’d have a lovely house just outside of town with two or three kids and a golden retriever. Wyatt would have a boat and take the kids fishing on the weekends. I’d have a garden and grow tomatoes and volunteer at the library.
When he’d ended things, all of those visions disappeared. Evaporated. The house, the kids, the dog, the life, gone.
Now someone else was going to have that life. Have his baby.
