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Mary-Beth served more coffee and I emptied the second bag of pastries from my favorite bakery onto the table, along with some granola bars for me and Bryce.
‘You’re fueling us up well,’ said Chip jovially.
‘Yeah, because we’re gonna work you all super-hard, little bro,’ Mary-Beth said.
She gave her brother such a loving look it melted my heart. Her dad hadn’t stepped up, but she had great family support around her, with Chip and Elaine, and Clare too. I knew they were like sisters.
We got everyone’s attention then and gave them all a briefing, from Mary-Beth’s famous renovations folder of all knowledge.
“You’re right, this is like a military operation,” I told her, kissing her lightly on the lips. Everyone milled around afterwards, getting ready to head down to the ground floor and get started on their jobs.
“It’s like going out onto the field,” said Bryce. He turned to Mary-Beth. “You’d make a great quarterback.”
“And you guys make a great team,” said Julie, rinsing her empty coffee cup in the sink.
Soon everyone had filtered out of the room, Maddy now in a baby sling across Clare’s chest. I pulled Mary-Beth close to me and kissed her, long and deep. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said.
“Julie’s right, we do make a good team.”
She blushed and looked away for a moment, and then her eyes met mine, her face flushed.
“It’s good you feel that,” she said. “I do too. And we might need to be… because…”
She paused and listened as everyone left the apartment. Only when she heard the front door close did she continue speaking. I felt a little worry rise in me. What was going on?
“I only just realized…” she said, “when I was chatting to Julie about the renovations. We’ve been so busy and so much has happened, I wasn’t keeping track. And because of the pill, I just didn’t think this would happen...”
Oh boy.
“But, Alex, my period is late. Three weeks late. And my breasts… It’s exactly like with Maddy…”
“You think you might be pregnant?”
She smiled, and then grimaced. “Oh, God, yes, I think so. I feel like I am. I’m so happy and anxious and… everything! I haven’t done a test – I’d like us to do that together. But Alex, I know my body and it’s like I just know. I’m going to have our baby.”
23
MARY-BETH
The apartment-finishing party was great, and we got done about eight o’clock. I’d ordered in a stack of pizzas and when they arrived, we all trooped upstairs and fell on them like ravenous wolves, passing sodas around the table. Clare had put Maddy down to sleep and was still in our room with her. I popped down the hall to let her know the food was ready.
Of course, the first chance I had that morning, I’d told her that I suspected I was pregnant. I hadn’t meant to drop it on Alex like that, but, well, I’d only just dropped it on myself, as I stood there in the kitchen talking to Julie, realizing how late my period was. Finishing the apartments had been interesting, with the added layer of energy, shock and excitement frizzling between me and Alex, and between me and Clare. I’d managed to get stuck into my jobs and it was great fun being with everyone, but it was always in the background. And every time I caught my breath, it would leap straight to the front of my mind. I’m pregnant. Pretty sure I am, anyway.
“Food’s here,” I said in a hushed whisper as I slipped through the bedroom door.
Clare smiled. “She’s just gone down like a dream.”
“Thanks so much, hon. She must have been exhausted after today.” I sat down beside her on the bed and we hugged. “You okay?”
She breathed out a long sigh. “Yeah. Well, I will be. When the dust settles. I know I did the right thing, so…”
“That’s good. Go easy on yourself – breakups are hard. I’m here whenever you want to talk.”
She smiled, on the edge of tears. “Thank you. But more to the point, are you okay? I mean, oh, my God!”
“I’m great,” I said. “Obviously, it’s the only thing I can think about, and clearly it’s the same for Alex too. When everyone’s left, we’ll have to take a test and then we’ll know for sure but…”
