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“How did a relationship with Rick even happen? I didn’t think you knew him outside of Mike working with the guy.”
“I didn’t know him. About a month ago, he called me out of the blue and asked if we could meet for coffee. I had childbirth classes that evening and mentioned it to him, and he offered to come along. Up until that time, I went alone, and the others there were all couples, so I jumped at the chance.”
“You should have called me,” he said, feeling regretful. “I’d have been honored.”
“Aw, Dev, I’m sorry. I should have called you. Anyway, he wanted to go on real dates, and I refused anything more than just friendship. You’d think with my roly-poly shape that I wouldn’t have that problem.”
Devon couldn’t help himself and he laughed. “Mike would love it,” he said. “He always said he had a penchant for voluptuous women.”
“He used the wordzaftig,” she added, laughing. Her voice had a deeper, throaty quality to it, and he knew that it was the pressure of the baby on her diaphragm. “So, can I come up?”
“Of course,” he said. “Tilly missed you so much, so be prepared. She might refuse to make eye contact.”
“I’m ready to leave, so I’ll see you in half an hour.”
“Ralph is coming,” he told Tilly. “We’d better find his water bowl. I hope it’s not one of the things I packed.”
Remembering all of Mike and Aisling’s belongings were still stashed away in his garage, he hoped she wasn’t planning on spending the night, because he’d have to explain her room no longer existed.
They went outside to wait. It was going to be hot, the fog burning off and the sun creeping up the canyon, soon to peek over the mountaintop. The haze lifted off the vista as he watched, the blue ocean to the horizon coming into view. The sound of the engine straining to get up the driveway put Tilly on alert, Devon’s heart slamming into his chest. The sight of her head in the driver’s side window brought a smile to his face because he knew that body was going to be shocking again. She turned to smile at him when the car stopped. Opening the car door, she pulled her legs out with some effort and stood up, her breasts resting on top of that belly like a medicine ball under her knit T-shirt dress. She didn’t wait for him to approach, but opened the back door for Ralph, who came right to Devon, wagging his tail.
“Good old boy,” Devon said, his usual dog greeting, near tears as he scratched the dog behind his ears. Ralph was Mike’s dog. He even looked like Mike. “I never noticed this before, but Ralph and Mike look alike.”
“Ha! Yes, they most certainly do,” she said. “So how are you, Devon? I didn’t realize how much I missed you until I saw you yesterday.”
“I’ve missed you, too, Aisling. I know you needed time to grieve. I guess I must have, too.”
“We have a lot to talk about,” she said. “Can you offer me a cup of coffee? I haven’t had any since the day we found out about this baby, but I think I need some caffeine to help get him moving.”
“Are you sure it’s safe?”
“He’s fully developed,” she said. “I don’t think much will hurt him now.”
“You still think it’s a boy?”
“I do. I don’t think Mike would have a girl, for some reason.”
They laughed, walking into the house. “Are you hungry? I’ll fix something if you are. I haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“Let’s cook together,” she said. “It’ll take some of the sting out of having to prepare food if we do it together.”
They made eggs and toast and coffee like they’d always done it together. When it was ready, they went outside to eat under the pergola off the living room.
“This is delicious,” she said. “I love my food, as you can tell. My ass is huge. Someone said that’s a sign that I’m carrying a girl, but I never heard of that.”
“You’re fine,” Devon said, making a mental note that he’d check out her rear end when she stood up again. “You are definitely pregnant.”
“You couldn’t really tell until about three months ago, and then I started to show. Last month, this happened.” She pointed to her belly. “The doctor said there was no room in my pelvis, so he just popped out. He’s going to be big. Maybe nine pounds.”
“Can you deliver a baby that big? I mean, will you need a C-section?”
“I don’t know. I can’t imagine pushing a nine-pound baby out of myyou-know-what.” She looked at him sidelong. “We’ve never had any intimate conversation before, aside from my pregnancy test. How does it feel to you?”
“It’s a little strange,” he admitted. “I don’t want to be disrespectful. But you are at my house with this large appendage hanging off your body. That does open the door to conversation.”
She roared laughing. “It really does. Let’s clean up and take a little walk. I missed this place.”
They took the dishes into the kitchen. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he said, relating that he’d cleared their stuff out of his parents’ room and took the room over for himself. “I needed to move forward, and when I knew you weren’t coming back, I did it for self-preservation. I didn’t feel like I could go on living in the past much longer.”
