I cupped my belly and asked the nurse, “So am I pregnant?”
“I’ll let you talk to the doctor.”
“You read the results. My at-home test said yes.”
“Believe it.”
Fuck me. I was pregnant.
Time to quit. Time to get a new life. Time to tell Michael.
The doctor spoke to me, but I wasn’t sure what was happening. Listening certainly wasn’t happening. Soon, I left and headed home.
Work could get along without me at that meeting.
My life as I knew was done. I’d changed everything about myself to be who I was at present.
The time had come to figure out what would happen if I let the lies I’d been living disappear and changed everything about myself once again.
As I walked, I realized I needed to quit my job first. After I let myself into my apartment, I tossed all my wine bottles and contacted a realtor.
North Carolina was getting a plus two soon.
All that was left was to tell the truth. I picked up my phone, ignoring all the texts from my friends who knew I’d seen a doctor, and texted Michael, Can we meet for coffee? I’ll buy, but we need to talk.
Then I spoke to the realtor again about how I wanted a brand-new home in a cul de sac, with a fence.
Michael knew nothing about the real me. No one knew Britney Ford was, in truth, Britney Smith from Ayden or that my parents were Betty and Rob and my older sister was Ava. I’d left all of them behind.
Once upon a time, I’d thought older sisters protected little ones, but I turned out to be a failure as a bratty teenager.
Now, I needed to be a mom. And I hoped I would be better at it then I'd been at being a sister.
As I hung up, I read Michael’s text: I can meet at eleven.
That was in twenty minutes. He probably had a lunch break from his butlering.
If I was having a boy and he looked like Michael, he’d get all the girls. If I was having a girl—I winced. I wasn’t ready to even think about that. I couldn’t serve a baby wine to get her to talk.
I changed into a simple smocked Proenza Schouler maxi dress that showed off my boobs and flattered the rest of me as my belly bloat was now cushion for the baby, which was why my snug pants weren’t fitting, and headed out the door.
I needed to be honest though I expected nothing from Michael. He would bail on me. We’d made no promises other than a good time for the past few months.
I rushed and arrived early. My heart was racing as I took a seat. Then I ordered my herbal tea and sat facing the wooden door.
He had twenty minutes in his schedule.
As he walked in, my heart raced. I took a deep breath and realized my child had great genes, at least. His father was tall, muscular, and his thick light-brown, almost blond hair framed his sweet face, and my body purred despite how he was pressing his lips together at the moment.
The second he joined me, I kissed his cheeks like we were friends and said, “Michael, I’m glad you’re meeting me for tea.”
A waiter brought him a black tea with the milk and sugar cubes on the side. He also left a tray of snacks for tea time and left.
Michael tugged his white shirt collar and said, “I was surprised we were going out in public this time. You’ve repeatedly said no when I asked you.”
I didn't remember that. I sipped my tea and stared at him. He was the only guy I’d wanted to date since the moment we met. As a butler, he wore designer clothes. He’d have fit in at my bank’s functions except for his profession. The promotion I'd thought I wanted, which had been stopping me from ever letting things with Michael get too far, seemed pointless.
I put his clothes back in the file of mysteries I would never ask him about, shrugged, and said, “I never wanted my boss to know, but it’s going to be impossible to hide now, and besides, I’m quitting.”
