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“You want to get married after three months?”
“Ha!” she barked out loud, laughing. “No! It’s not that.”
He pulled down the gate of the truck bed and pointed to it. They sat down, the springs groaning under the weight so that they laughed again.
“Are you ready?”
“Go for it,” he said, staring at her.
“I’m pregnant.”
He didn’t reply right away, turning away to look out over the mountains. In the summer, the place was brown and dry. Now, with the rain, it had greened up overnight.
“Wow.”
“Yeah, that’s what Jake said. It’s real early. Only a few weeks, so please don’t tell anyone. Anything could happen.”
“I promise. Will you tell Jake I know?”
“I don’t think so. He’s already obsessing about everything.”
“He does have OCD bad.”
“Yes, well, it’s not fair to burden him more. The less he knows, the better.”
They looked out over the view for another minute.
“I guess I’d better get to work,” Geri said.
“I’m going to come back.”
“Do you feel well enough to come in?”
“I’ll give it a try. I want to keep an eye on the mother of my next grandchild.”
“Oh God, sothat’swhere he gets it!”
Laughing, Big Mike moved his eyebrows up and down playfully.
Later, Big Mike would learn what he’d experienced in the firehouse that day was similar to a panic attack, but Geri had made it all better, which would become her approach for the Saint family.
Dawdling around the mall on Saturday morning, Geri wanted to find something special for Jake for Valentine’s Day. It couldn’t be the usual hearts and candy; he didn’t have a sweet tooth and he already had flooded her with hearts and sentimental stuff. She’d given him a bathrobe to keep at her apartment for Christmas, so it couldn’t be that.
He loved giving romantic gifts and she liked receiving them. For Valentine’s Day, she wanted something meaningful just for him. Not anything about the baby, either, or about their relationship necessarily. Every store she entered fell flat. She didn’t know what to get, just that she needed to get the gift soon because they were leaving on their cruise in just a few days.
Giving up, she was walking to the car when her phone beeped. She stopped in the middle of the parking lot. It was a familiar exchange and she didn’t recognize the number but answered it, her heart sinking when she heard the voice.
“Geri! It’s Roberta Saint.”
Oh God.
“Hi, Mrs. Saint,” she said, deadpan.
“All the wives and girlfriends are coming for lunch today. Can you join us? Jake said you were off work, too.”
“Is it a special occasion?” She knew that was probably improper, but what the heck.
“Not really, just that for once everyone is available, even Candy.”
