AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It could be worse . . . look at me.”
Kate admitted that she was dying to know my story, and given that we were roommates now, I told her the truth.
“Wow! All my mates are married with kids, or getting married. Except for Vicky. Vicky is a hoot! Did she tell you about our weekend in Atlantic City?”
“That was you?” I laugh.
I remember the story vividly. Vicky and a friend had met these guys at the craps table, and they weren’t shy about letting them know they wanted to spoil them for the whole weekend. They were taken to the fanciest restaurants and were showered with lavish gifts. Then when it came time for the intimate dinner in the hotel room, Vicky and Kate both did a runner and checked into another hotel. They even bought wigs in case they ran into them.
When they got to the airport, the men happened to be there and were super pissed. The only thing that saved Vicky and Kate was that the airport security detained the men because of the large amount of cash they were carrying. The girls got on their flight, lucky to get away from them.
“That was me alright. It was totally hilarious! No partying for you, though. So if you don’t mind me asking, where’s the Jerk now?”
“Around, somewhere. Like I said, we don’t really communicate well.”
“So is he still getting married? What kinda bird would wanna get hitched after hearing that news?”
“The kinda bird that must really love him, I guess.”
Kate pulls the keys out of her purse and removes a spare from the key ring. “Here you go. Feel free to move your stuff in whenever. I’ll be working late most nights this week because my boss is in town. Maybe you can join us for dinner one night?” She smiles.
“Sure.” I smile back.
With that problem sorted, I focus on packing up my apartment and tying up some loose ends at work before I leave to visit my folks. Haden had booked a flight the day after mine, and would be staying for only the weekend. He tried to book a motel but my mother insisted he could sleep in the guestroom. He thought it was very nice of her, but deep down I knew it was her way of watching him and asking a thousand questions. She reminded me every day that he was the father and this is who my child will look up too.
Great, my child will wrestle boars.
The day before I am scheduled to leave, I am met by an unusual surprise. As I’m just about to grab a quick lunch, I look up and see Eloise standing at my cubicle. Wearing a knitted pale pink top and a grey pencil skirt, she stands proudly in her high patent pumps. Her long blonde hair is parted to one side, and even I have to admit, she is drop dead gorgeous.
“Hi Presley. I didn’t mean to intrude. I was hoping you were free for lunch?”
I’m put on the spot; there’s no way out of this. “Sure, Eloise.”
We head to some “healthy living” restaurant not too far from the office. Salads aren’t really on my agenda, considering all I can think about is a big fat juicy hamburger and a bowl of syrup on the side. Nevertheless, I order a warm chicken salad. Eloise orders a soup that looks like mushed lawn.
“Haden told me everything,” she opens up. “It was quite a shock, and definitely took me some time to take it all in.”
I remain quiet, not sure of where she’s going with this.
“I love Haden. Meeting him was like fate, you know? Everything was just perfect and he is just so . . . I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”
Maybe she can’t explain it, but it is written all over her face. That constant glow of happiness, the eyes dancing in delight, the smile that cannot be erased. She’s in love, and here I sit without a man in my life and the possibility that I will never find love because I’ll be a single mother.
“We want to help you. Both Haden and I. I know he has difficulty showing it. But he is a kind person, Presley, you just have to be patient with him,” she says softly.
“Eloise, despite what happened, I don’t know him from a bar of soap. You have to understand that I need to be able to trust the both of you with my child.”
“But it’s Haden’s child, too,” she reminds me.
“Yes . . .” I admit, “but I’m carrying this baby. I’m the primary parent.”
“So that’s another thing. We’d like to talk about putting together a schedule. You know, what days and weekends we could have the baby.”
My warm chicken salad might as well have been a bowl of jagged-edged rocks. Swallowing a mouthful, the sharp edges painfully slide down along with my overwhelming desire to tell the both of them to fuck off. The baby is still inside me and we’re planning out schedules?!
She reminds me of myself, and maybe if she wasn’t his fiancée, I would think this was a good idea. Especially since I plan everything out and even mentioned this to him. But I’m a hormonal monster in heat, this baby is mine, and there is no chance in hell they will steal this baby away from me.
