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“I’ve never been this happy before,” Kat gushes. “I’d pinch myself if I wasn’t worried it’d somehow make me barf. Again.” She rolls her eyes.
“You’ve been sick?”
“Dude. I’ve been barfing morning, noon, and night. I’ve always been a barfer. As a kid, I couldn’t even look at a boat without hurling, and then in college, it wasn’t a party till Kat Morgan barfed. My brothers have called me Barf-o-matic my whole life. But still, Holy Exorcist, Batman, this baby has taken my queasy stomach to a whole new level.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks. I can only hope I don’t barf while Josh is at dinner with my family tonight, or they might figure out something is up with me.”
“They don’t know you’re preggers?”
“Oh, fuck no. And I’m in no rush to tell them. Miscarriage rates are pretty high during the first trimester, so it might not stick, you know? Especially with all the partying I did in Vegas, which is when it happened. Also, Josh doesn’t want to tell my family the news until they’ve had a chance to get to know him first. He said he wants them to like him for him, rather than because he’s my baby daddy.”
“That makes sense.” I bite my lip. “Do you think Josh wants to be more than your baby daddy someday? Have you two broached the topic of marriage?” Without Kat even needing to tell me so, I know marriage with Josh is part of the ultimate dream for her. How could it not be, when Kat’s always dreamed of finding her Prince Charming?
I think I see a flicker of a frown on Kat’s gorgeous face before she smiles and says, “Marriage isn’t in the cards. Josh doesn’t believe in it as an institution, and I’m perfectly fine with that. We’re deeply committed to each other, and I’m positive Josh will always support his child and me, come what may. He’s even having legal papers drawn up to make sure we’ll both always be well cared for, if something happens to him. I told him that’s great, since I’ve got zero interest in forcing him to make any promises he’s not genuinely thrilled to make.”
I return Kat’s smile, but my stomach has dropped. Kat’s not saying it—maybe not even to herself—but I think she’s at least slightly disappointed about this part of her love story.
“That makes perfect sense,” I say. “I’m relieved to hear Josh is committed to taking care of you and the baby forever, no matter what.”
“He is. He’s amazing.”
My stomach tightens again. This girl mainlines romance like heroin. Yes, I love romance, too. But whereas I’ve seen my favorites—Pride & Prejudice and Lala Land—probably five times each, Kat has seen her favorites—The Bodyguard, Pretty Woman, Pride & Prejudice—at least twenty times each. Kat, unlike me, has always believed she’ll get the same kind of fairytale as her parents one day, and I’m a bit worried she’s settling for something less than that, without admitting it to herself.
Obviously, I’d never tell Kat about my hunch. That would be cruel. If I’m right, she’ll realize it down the road and do what’s necessary for her happiness then.
“Would it be okay for me to tell Henn the baby news?” I ask. “We talk every day.”
“Blab away, Banana. Josh is the one who’s adamant about keeping things mum until I’m through my first trimester. Honestly, I’m bursting at the seams for the whole world to know.”
I laugh. “Something tells me you’re going to blab to your family tonight, Kitty Kat.”
“Nope. Josh and I have talked about it and decided the timing isn’t right yet.”
“No offense, honey, but you’re not exactly a steel trap under the best of circumstances, so I can’t imagine you being able to keep your mouth shut about news this big—especially when you’re face to face with your mother.”
Kat shakes her head defiantly. “Nope. I made a promise to Josh about tonight and I’m going to keep it, no matter what.”
I snort. “Fifty bucks says you won’t.”
Kat rolls her eyes. “I’m not stupid enough to take that bet. Puh-lease.”
We both cackle. God, I love this girl.
The conversation shifts. Kat asks me about Maddy. I tell her she’s still waiting on an answer about UCLA. Studying hard at U Dub while working as a wedding videographer on weekends.
“Oh! Did I tell you Maddy’s documentary won top honors at a huge film festival the other day?”
“No way! Tell her congrats from me.”
“I will. Thankfully, she was able to amend her application to include that new information before the status on her dashboard changed to ‘received’ yesterday.”
“Yesterday? Oh my gosh.”
“She’s praying such a notable award for her film will be the thing to get her in.”
“Of course, it will.”
“Not necessarily. UCLA is the most-applied-to university in the entire country.” I glance at the time on my phone and realize I’m late getting back to my desk. “Son of a beach ball. Rebecca’s gonna be on my ass.”
