How to Have Your Boss's Secret Baby - London Casey Page 0,71
I was the one in control here.
“I can’t stop looking at your stomach,” Mom said. “Can I touch it again?”
“Sure,” I said.
I smiled.
I cautiously watched her.
She was… thrilled.
Her hand moved over my stomach and her eyes glistened with fresh tears.
“I can’t believe this. I’m going to be a grandmother. What’s my name going to be? Grandma? Ma? Grand… something?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “You’re acting really calm.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re an adult.”
“I’m not with anyone,” I said. “I’m not married. I’m not engaged.”
“You know who the father is though, right?” Mom asked.
“Yeah. We have things arranged.”
“Are you happy?”
That question struck me. “Uh… yeah. I guess. I think. I’m scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“Just everything,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m writing a new book and then this happened. Things are…”
“Flipped upside down?”
“Yeah.”
Mom laughed. “A baby will do that, Maya.”
She smiled.
I leaned forward and hugged her.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?”
“Everything you did for me,” I said.
“Oh, Maya, stop. It’s my job. I’m your mother. I feel terrible for the way things were.”
“Why?” I asked.
I broke the hug.
“I just… I wanted more for you. I could never get a new pool. Things in the house started to fall apart and I couldn’t keep up with it. But I refused to give up. I won’t ever give up. To me, what the hell is a cabinet worth, right? I saw you look at it ten times. The hinge broke, Maya. I just have to get a new one. But at the end of a long day, I just want to sit down and relax.”
“I’m sorry. I just hate seeing things… broken.”
“Nothing is broken. It just has style.”
“Let’s fix the cabinet,” I said.
“What?”
I stood up. “Come on. Right now.”
“Maya…”
“I have a car outside. With a driver.”
“What?”
I smiled at Mom. “Did I not tell you the guy who got me pregnant is rich?”
“Be careful up there,” Mom growled. “I can do this myself.”
I bit my lip and squeezed the trigger on the power drill.
I screwed the last screw in carefully so I didn’t damage the cabinet wood and to make sure the hinge stayed in place so the door shut evenly.
“There,” I said.
I stepped down and shut the door.
“Looks great,” Mom said.
“I agree. Now… the fridge handle…”
“You have to order that online,” Mom said. “I don’t know how to do that.”
“Consider it done,” I said. “Should we go build a pool now?”
Mom laughed. “Did pregnancy give you some extra energy?”
“Maybe,” I said. “I feel like a superhero.”
“Well, you are right now, Maya. You’re carrying a baby inside your body. You’re growing him or her each day. And then one day you’re going to have that baby and life is just going to keep changing.”
“I know,” I said.
“No, you don’t know. That’s okay.” Mom smiled and looked at her phone. “Oh, damn. I have to get ready for work.”
“Call off,” I said. “I’ll cover whatever your wages would be.”
“No, Maya. I’m not a charity.”
“It’s family. I’m here. I wanted to see you.”
“We’ve been together all day.”
“You have to be tired. You didn’t get to sleep.”
“That’s okay,” Mom said. “I had fun today. Driving around like we’re some elite people. I could get used to that.”
“Mom…”
“Maya,” she snapped. She touched my stomach again. “I just want you to be happy. If you have things arranged with this man, then good for you. And if anything happens, you’re always welcome here. I will make sure this house is always here.”
Mom kissed my cheek. Then she kissed my belly.
That was how things went with her sometimes.
One second it could be fun and games. Then the next it would get really serious.
It was all she knew.
I didn’t feel like lingering around the house and watching her leave for a job she hated.
I took a picture of her fridge and the model number so I could order her a new handle.
Then I texted Connie and Jen.
Hang out?
They both responded.
Connie: YES PLEASE!!!!!
Jen: I’ll bring wine! (And soda for the knocked up one!)
That’s what I was…
The knocked up one.
We met at Connie’s, since her house was empty.
Jen still lived in the same apartment on the third floor above a pizza place and laundromat.
I asked her where the kids were.
“Ben is at his best friend’s, probably glued to video games. And Brooke is at her friend’s, studying.”
“Is she actually studying?” Jen asked.
“Brooke?” Connie asked. “Yeah, she really is.”
“I used to study too,” Jen said with a wink. “Maya studied with her boss.”