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“I’m not sure how wise my words are, but I do have a story for you.”
“I’m all ears,” I say, sitting down on the couch and putting my feet up on the ottoman.
“So, you remember when you were about five and we went to my brother’s house for Thanksgiving?”
“Vaguely.”
“Well, Paul and Ann Marie had just had Lola. She was only a few months old.”
“Oh, yeah, I kinda remember that.”
“She was such an adorable baby. We were all oohing and aahing over her. And, you just absolutely loved her, right off the bat. You kept asking if you could help with her. You wanted to help feed her a bottle and rock her to sleep. You even asked if you could change her diaper at one point. It was the cutest thing.”
I felt a warmth spread through my chest.
“You were just so enamored with her. When it was time to go back home you cried and told me that you were going to miss her.”
I thought about this. I’ve always liked my cousin Lola but I didn’t remember how special she was to me early on. I didn’t see her for quite a while after that first time because my uncle, my aunt and Lola moved to London and were there for several years before coming back to the States.
“So, anyway, I’m telling you this because, since then, I’ve always thought you’d make an amazing dad. Not a doubt in my mind,” Mom says softly, her voice cracking.
“Thanks, Mom. You always know the right thing to say.”
“I know this is a big decision, Spence. Being a parent is a huge deal. But, I know you’re going to do the right thing.”
Chapter 21
Sasha
It’s almost lunchtime and I can’t think of a single food that sounds good to me right now. Salad sounds disgusting – all that green. A sandwich doesn’t sound too bad if it only consists of bread – any kind of meat would certainly make me barf. Soup? Maybe, as long as it’s blended with no chunks of any sort.
First-trimester nausea is absolutely kicking in. I woke up this morning and immediately had to run to the bathroom and puke.
It’s amazing that I was able to get dressed and come to work. I’ve been sipping hot ginger tea all morning and it definitely helps a bit. But, it’s not a miracle.
Lauren walks into my office and closes the door.
“Have you heard anything else from him?” she prods, leaning forward with big eyes.
“Not a thing.”
“Fuck, I really can’t believe it.”
I had told her all about my chance encounter with Spencer in the coffee aisle. How I told him I didn’t want to see him againand left him standing there. She was certain I would be hearing from him again soon.
“It’s all going to be okay, I promise,” she says, grabbing my hand across the desk. “Women do this all the time. It’s not ideal, of course, but you have lots of great support. Like me – you know I’m there for you. 100%.”
I feel myself starting to tear up and bite my lip. Not here. Not at work.
“You’re the best, Lauren. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I give her hand a big squeeze.
She leaves and I try to pull myself together again. I can do this on my own. I don’t need him. Why do I still want him then?
I finally open up a client file. I have work to do and welcome the distraction.
The client’s name is Wendell and he lives on a pig farm an hour from the city. He doesn’t just live there alone though. He has several thousand pigs and runs a large pork business. When he came in to meet in person, he had straw stuck to his workboots and he smelled like a combination of sweat and corn. Finding him some possible matches is going to be a challenge, to say the least. But, the task should keep me busy for several hours today and, hopefully, keep my mind off the nausea.
Several hours later I come up for air. I reached out to another matchmaker from a different firm and she had a couple of women that seem perfect. They are both country girls, now living in the city and would probably love nothing more than to find a wealthy farmer and hightail it back to the country.
