Page 17 of Can't Win 'Em All
“I guess that depends on how you look at it.” Ruby sat across from me. She’d yet to crack a smile, which was unlike her. For the first time in … well, forever … I found I didn’t want to drop the Booby Ruby nickname and watch her fume.
“Ruby, you need to tell me what’s wrong here,” I said. “I’m about to pass out I’m so worried.”
“Ha.”
I frowned. What was that supposed to mean? “Ha?”
“Ha,” she repeated. “You’re definitely going to pass out. Make sure you have a soft landing. Don’t lean that way.” She pointed toward my left and the hard-tiled floor.
“Ruby, you tell me what’s wrong with you right now.” I wasn’t playing around. Not any longer. The mere thought of her being sick was too much for me. “What did the doctor say?”
“You need to brace yourself.” She was unnaturally calm. If I’d just found out I was sick, I would’ve been throwing myself on the floor and demanding someone fan me. Ruby wasn’t like that.
She took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant.” She blurted the words so fast, at first I wasn’t certain I’d heard her correctly.
“What now?” I leaned forward. She hadn’t whispered, and yet I was positive she’d said something else entirely.
“I’m pregnant,” she repeated without taking a breath. “Knocked up. Preggo to the max. Bun in the oven.” A green color washed over her features. “Pea in the pod. Eating for two.”
I thought she might throw up again. “Okay.” I dragged out the single word. “Is this a happy or sad occurrence?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Well … who is the father?”
She gave me a confused look. “Are you kidding me right now?”
I shook my head. “I’ll track him down and force him to take responsibility if I have to.”
She laughed, but the sound was completely without mirth.
“I’m being serious,” I insisted. “I’m quite intimidating.”
She leaned forward, and for the first time since I’d seen her today, she managed a smile. “Well, I’ve only had one shot in the past fourteen months or so.”
When she didn’t expand, I remained confused … right up until I wasn’t confused any longer. Slowly—way too slowly frankly—reality washed over me. “Wait…”
She nodded grimly. “Yes. I might be carrying the baby, but you too are kind of pregnant here.”
“No.” I shook my head. This could not be happening. I was dreaming … or she was playing a trick on me … or … or…
My mind was going too fast to keep up with. Images swirled through my brain at a fantastic rate—me holding a baby with spit-up all over my expensive suit, me trying to get a date with a baby strapped to my chest, Ruby and I standing over a crib and staring down at it together—and before I knew it I was dizzy.
“I think you’re mistaken,” was all I managed to get out before I pitched forward and smashed my face against the floor.
I could hear Ruby even though I was more than willing to embrace the darkness. If I allowed myself to sleep, then I would be happy when I woke up because this would’ve all been a dream. That’s what I kept telling myself as I slipped under.
It was a dream. Everything would be perfectly fine when I woke up.
TURNS OUT, WHEN YOU FAINT, YOU’RE NOTout very long. I was out just long enough to convince myself I was dreaming. When my eyes opened again, two of my men had me under my arms and they were dragging me toward the elevator.
“What’s happening?” I sputtered, confusion returning with a vengeance.
“You fainted,” Ruby replied. “I’m taking you up to my room to relax.”
Fainted? “I don’t faint.” I had my wits about me enough to be offended. “That’s ridiculous. Girls faint. Men don’t faint.”
“Yes, it’s totally an ovaries thing,” she agreed dryly, shaking her head. “Just … keep your mouth shut for a few minutes. Do you think you can do that?”
