she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Then she figured that she’d get back at them, since they thought they were so funny.
“That’s it. I’ve got a secret boyfriend. Graham and I’ve been seeing each other for a month. That’s why he moved here,” she finally said.
Mitzi looked like she was about to cry.
Jody stared at her like she had an extra eye right in the middle of her forehead.
“Are you telling the truth?” Mitzi’s eyes swam in unshed tears.
“I don’t believe you,” Jody whispered.
“I’m so sorry. I was trying to be funny, but that was mean,” Paula hurriedly apologized. “But after that shock, what I do have to say won’t be near as dramatic. Here’s the truth.” Paula took a deep breath and laid her hand on her stomach, which she concentrated hard on settling with a few sips of sweet tea.
“You’re turning a little green around the mouth,” Jody said. “Do you, are you . . . I can’t even say the words.”
“Do you have something incurable?” Mitzi whispered.
“No, it’ll be cured in about three months,” Paula whispered.
Fresh tears flowed down Jody’s face. “I’ve been selfish thinking only about me and my heartache. How long have you had this?”
“Six months, but I only found out about it three months ago. I’m not dying—I’m pregnant,” Paula spit it out.
The whole house went silent. Not a single tree limb brushed against a window. The refrigerator motor wasn’t running, and the ceiling fan didn’t even squeak like normal. Paula wished she had a tigereye stone tucked away in her bra. Those brought courage.
“You’re kiddin’ again, right?” Jody finally whispered. “We’d have known if . . .”
“This is huge. When? Where? Who’s the father? Are you getting married and leaving us?” Questions poured from Mitzi.
Paula shook her head. “Slow down and listen to me. At first I was in denial. You know I’ve never been regular. I didn’t even know until three months ago. Then the doctor said that there was a possibility I’d have a miscarriage, so . . .” Paula hesitated a minute before she continued. “But when I went for my checkup this week, I’d passed the second trimester and she says she thinks the baby is going to be fine now. I didn’t want to worry y’all.”
“B-but you don’t look . . .” Jody stammered.
“Us big girls don’t always get the popular baby bump.” Paula laid a hand on her stomach.
“Or people think we’re pregnant when we aren’t,” Mitzi said. “Who, what, when?”
“Long version or short?”
“Every single word,” Jody said.
“Okay, here goes. I was seeing a man in Tulia,” Paula said.
“Clinton?” Jody said. “The sumbitch who went back to his wife, right?”
Paula nodded.
“You stayed in bed for a whole weekend after he left. We ate half a gallon of ice cream and used more than two boxes of tissues,” Mitzi said.
Another nod.
“And I drove out there to be with y’all,” Jody said. “That’s part of the reason we decided we should put the business here in Celeste to get you out of that area.”
“I couldn’t have gotten through it without y’all. I really loved him.” Paula’s chin quivered.
“Does he know about the baby?” Mitzi asked.
Paula shook her head. “No, and he’s not going to, so that can’t leave this room.”
“Why can’t he know?” Jody asked.
Heat traveled from Paula’s neck to her cheeks. “His wife is pregnant. He’s a bastard, but I won’t ruin her life or the baby they’re going to have. She went through in vitro twice just to have a child. It’s complicated, but they were only separated, not legally divorced. Y’all know the story. It’s not her fault that I loved him, but he didn’t really love me.”
“Remind you of anyone?” Jody asked.
“Of course it does,” Paula said. “That’s what came to my mind immediately when you told me about Lyle. I wondered if you might be pregnant, too.”
“We’ll know in a few days. I’m regular as clockwork,” Jody said.
“Well, we won’t worry about that right now.” Mitzi took control. “What we’re going to plan for now is a new baby, which means we need a bigger place.”
“I vote that we move into the upstairs of the shop,” Jody said.
“But we decided that we needed a house so that we’d have a life and not work every day until bedtime,” Paula said.
“But,” Jody argued, “there are five good-sized bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small room that the previous owners used for an office. One for each of us and one to make a nursery, and