Читать книгу Nine Months' Notice - Michele Dunaway - Страница 13

“You’re kidding me. I did hear you right, didn’t I? You’re pregnant.”

Tori averted her gaze and toyed with her iced tea, using the long spoon to create a tiny whirlpool in the tall glass. She was sitting in the Meyers’ four-season room, surrounded only by Joann and Lisa. Instead of dining out, Joann’s husband, Kyle, and brother, Mark, who was also Lisa’s fiancé, had barbecued. The men had since gone inside to watch the Cardinals baseball game, leaving the women to socialize.

Joann gazed at Tori. “You cannot go silent now. My ears are not shot from having kids. I believe you said you’re pregnant.”

“I did,” Tori said slowly. “You heard me correctly. Nothing’s wrong with your ears.”

“No, but something is wrong with your mouth. You didn’t say anything to us until today,” Lisa jumped in. “How long have you known? You should have called when you first suspected.”

“How far along are you?” Joann asked. She’d lifted her water goblet to her lips.

“My due date’s December thirtieth,” Tori said.

“Oh my God,” Lisa said, her jaw dropping as she worked the math. She frowned. “That means you got pregnant—”

“Back in April sometime,” Joann finished. She tapped her glass with a manicured nail. “That’s an awful long time ago. I’m sure you had quite a few opportunities to spill the beans and share what was going on.”

“I know,” Tori said. She crossed and uncrossed her legs. She wore shorts and a casual sweater.

“So, spill,” Lisa commanded. “We’re a little disappointed that we’re finding out weeks later so you better tell us why and how—all the details. We’re your best friends. We could have been there for you.”

“Right,” Joann said. She brushed some lint off her camp shirt. “That’s the real reason we’re all so frustrated. We haven’t been able to be a part of this with you. We’ve already drifted so much, and it’s news like this that keeps us together.”

“I didn’t even know until I was about eight weeks along,” Tori said, which was the truth. Her friends nodded, encouraging her to continue. “I had some spotting after the first four weeks and then no period after the next month. That’s when I finally went and bought a test. Stress has thrown off my cycles before and I had just moved to Kansas City and, well, after the test I wanted to wait until I saw the doctor before I announced anything. I didn’t want to be like Alicia.” Tori mentioned one of their sorority sisters.

“I remember that. She thought she was pregnant, went out and told everyone and then the doctor said she wasn’t,” Lisa said. “She cried for days.”

“She did get pregnant the next month, though,” Joann noted. “She and her husband had been trying for a while for a child.”

“Well, I didn’t want that to happen to me. I knew for sure the day you called me to tell me the wedding date,” she said, nodding at Lisa. “But I decided to tell you in person instead.”

“Okay, we understand. We’re still going to dish out maybe a smidgen more guilt for you having kept us in the dark, but you know we’re only doing that because we love you.”

“Yeah,” Tori said, her insides warming. Her friends were always there for her.

“Besides, this gives us something to do after the wedding. We’ll have to do baby showers and shopping and such,” Lisa added.

“I haven’t even thought that far ahead,” Tori said. “I’m still crying from having to give up my cute convertible at some point in the near future. I asked fate for change, but this isn’t what I was expecting when I broke up with Jeff and moved to Kansas City. Nothing has gone the way I planned.”