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FOURTEEN
Iris
I haven’t seenor spoken to Arlo since he came to my cabin last week. I’ve been trying to ignore him when I happen to see him in town but since it’s a small town and we work right across the street from each other, that can be hard to do.
It wasn’t until he left last week that I realized that I never told him that I’m pregnant. I know that I need to and I know that it’s going to be the first question that Lyla, Sutton, and Madelyn ask me tonight when they come over for girls’ night.
I’m not looking forward to it.
I feel guilty enough already and I know that I need to tell him. I just don’t want to deal with all of this on top of the hormones and morning sickness.
I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed with everything going on. I just want things to go back to the boring way that they used to be, before I tossed caution to the wind and screwed everything up.
“Hey! Are you ready to go? I was hoping that you could give me a ride. I lent my car to Record this morning,” Madelyn says as she wanders into Blast From The Past typing on her phone.
“Yeah, where are we going tonight?” I ask through a yawn. “Wait, who’s Record?”
“She’s a friend Flynn and I know from college. She came through town today but her car broke down so she’s stuck here for a bit. I gave her my car to use for a while since I can get a ride with Flynn or walk for a bit.”
“Oh, that was nice of you. Is she coming tonight for girls’ night?” I ask.
“No, I thought that we had some sensitive things to discuss so she’s going to hang out with Gavin while he works on her car tonight. We can all grab lunch together or something later though if you want.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Yeah, you’d like her,” Madelyn says with a smirk.
I’m trying to ignore what she said about sensitive subjects but I know her better than to believe that she’ll let this go.
“I just need to lock up the shop,” I tell her.
I head to the back, double-checking that everything is put away and that the door is locked and the lights are off. I need to mail a few things out tomorrow and they’re on the back counter all labeled and waiting for pick up tomorrow morning.
“Lyla said that we could go over to her place if we want? Or Sutton said we could hang out at the Mystery Cabin.”
I snort as I try to picture us hanging out with all of the attractions at the Mystery Cabin. I’m not sure that it’s the right location to have such a serious discussion.
Maybe it would help cut the tension though…
“Whatever you guys want. We can go to my place too, but be warned that it’s not the cleanest right now.”
“Why don’t we go to mine? That way if you get tired, you can just crash in a spare bedroom.”
I nod and turn off the last of the lights before we head out the door. Madelyn waits as I lock the front door and then we head over to my car.
“To your place?” I clarify and she nods.
“Lyla said that her and Hudson are going to drop off food. He wants us to taste test a new menu for that new place that he’s going to open over in Lilac Harbor.”
My stomach doesn’t know how to react to that news. Certain smells still have me running to the bathroom but I haven’t learned what all they are yet. It feels like they can change from one day to the next.
Some days I love garlic and the next just the scent has me gagging. Other days it’s pickles or certain kinds of cheese. I just want my body to be mine again.
My hand drops down to my stomach and I rub the small bump there. It’s not a baby bump yet, just my usual curves but I swear that I can feel him or her growing in there sometimes.
I’ve been ordering baby books online and they started to arrive in the last few days. I would love to just grab them from the bookstore over in Maple Bend, but I’m worried about word of me being pregnant spreading like wildfire around town.
“Are the guys hanging out tonight too?” I ask as we drive down the slightly congested streets toward Madelyn’s house.
