Page 114 of To Hate Adam Connor
“You didn’t come home last night.”
I turned off the stove and leaned on the island. “That’s true, Mom.”
She nodded and started playing with the coffee mug in front of her.
“Do you want coffee?”
“No.”
“Apple juice?”
A slight hesitation…then, “Yes.”
I poured two glasses of apple juice and handed her one. It was a favorite for both of us.
“Did you talk to Jameson?”
“Not yet. I wanted you to be next to me when I made that call.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and I knew I’d given her the right answer.
She took a sip of her juice then reached for a piece of mango. I did the same and then reached for my first pancake.
“Are we going to have a baby, Lucy?”
I poured a good amount of maple syrup on my pancake and took a few bites before I could answer. “We’re having a baby.”
Olive put another pancake and a few pieces of fruit on her plate. “We should make an appointment with a doctor. Be sure.”
“Yes. Do you remember Karla?”
She nodded.
“I got in touch with her the other day to see if she’d want to be my roommate because I knew she was having trouble with hers.” Olive’s shoulders tensed up again. “Anyway, her dad is a doctor, so I thought we could get his help.”
“Will you call Jameson before or after the doctor?”
I shrugged and finished my pancake.
“You okay?”
“Nothing else I can do now, my green Olive.”
For a while we ate in silence. We didn’t manage to finish all the pancakes, but definitely put a dent in the stack.
“And Adam?”
How to answer that loaded question…
“You’re smiling,” Olive commented, averting her gaze when my head snapped up. “Even though you’re too stubborn to admit it, I can see that you like him.”
I parted my lips to make a joke of it, but she cut me off. “I’m glad, Lucy. I’m glad it went well with him last night. You deserve to be happy, even if it’s just for a night when it could be for longer than that.”
She finished her apple juice and jumped off the barstool. “Oh, and yes. I’d like to come to look at your apartment…if you’re still thinking of getting one, of course.”
With those cryptic last words, she left me standing in the kitchen.
A few minutes later Jason was back.
