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“Hey, Jace,” the plump woman with a white apron says, her face creasing into a smile. “What can I get you?”
“The usual,” Jace says. “What will you have?” he asks me.
“Just a coffee, thanks.”
He frowns. “You need more than coffee. Do you like muffins?”
I nod. My appetite is horrendous and if I could survive on coffee alone, I’d die happy. Food is not high on my priority of things to do.
“I’ll bring your breakfast to the table,” Rosie says and winks at him.
I’m a little shaken, to be honest, and I’m glad to sit down.
“I’m guessing this is your first time to witness a woman in labor?” Mr. Anderson asks kindly.
I nod. “Yes. It was frightening before you came in.”
“You did well, though,” he says. “She’ll be fine and so will the baby. The doctors who work for us are experts in their fields.”
“That wasn’t Sarah’s worry,” I tell him and I start laughing when I remember what she said.
“What was?” he says.
“She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to face her coworkers after they’ve seen her in all her glory,” I say, laughing.
Jace laughs too. I like the sound of his laughter. It’s unexpectedly loud and contains none of the reservations of his normal persona.
“I can see why that would be a concern,” he says.
Rosie brings our food and sets the tray on the table. She glances at the lanyard with my name. “Welcome to The Anderson Clinic, Olivia,” she says. “Come down for a coffee any time.”
Everyone is so kind and welcoming that I’m seriously starting to doubt whether the reader tip at the magazine was correct. I don’t see how such nice people could cover up something as serious as fertilization issues. In the next instant, it dawns on me how naïve that is. Guilty people don’t go announcing to the whole world what they’re covering up.
Mr. Anderson is having an omelet and toast for breakfast. He sees me eyeing his breakfast. “Change of heart?”
I make a face. “Not at all. I’m not a breakfast person.” I sip my coffee.
“Do you want to make a bet?”
“What?”
“First of all, I think you should call me Jace, after what we just went through. We brought a baby into the world.” His eyes twinkle as he speaks. Being so close to him makes my pulse rate go up.
“Hardly,” I quip and he laughs.
Jace. I try out his name in my mind. I love the sound of it. “A bet?”
“Yes,” he says a twinkle in his eye. “Whether it’s a boy or a girl.”
“Okay,” I say, enjoying the moment. “I say it will be a girl.”
“In that case, I go for a boy.” He grins and for a moment, he resembles a mischievous little boy. “Whoever wins has to take the other for dinner.”
“It’s a bet,” I tell him.
He grins again. “It’s a nice excuse to celebrate the birth of Sarah’s baby.”
“I guess it is,” I say and I can’t stop smiling. I try to remind myself of the purpose of my being at the clinic but none of it matters at this moment. I’m having too much fun. I never expected my first day to be like this.
