17
Holly
“You will letme know if the sperm donor steps out of line?” Simon said on the phone. I was parked outside the medical building where Josh and I would soon learn if our baby washealthy.
Was I nervous? Let me put it this way. Did sealsswim?
I glanced around the parking lot, checking for Josh. “Would you and Chris quit calling him that? He has aname.”
“That’s right. It’s Josh-the-fucking-sperm-donor. But you have to admit that’s a mouthful. So Sperm Donor it is. Or I can call him SD. That workstoo.”
I rolled my eyes. Yes, I loved my brothers, but they really could be kangaroo arses attimes.
“Anyway,” Simon continued, “Drew’s been asking aboutyou.”
I laughed and peered down at my growing belly. “I bet he wouldn’t find me quite so crush-worthy now.” According to the pregnancy website I subscribed to, I was officially eighteen weekstoday.
And there was no missingit.
Smiling affectionately at the bulge, I caressed it. I was still completely clueless about the whole mothering thing, but doing this felt right. Like somehow it let Junior know everything would be all right—I would love her no matterwhat.
And yes, I had decided Junior was a girl. Call it mother’sintuition.
Simon cracked up. “Who knows? Maybe he has a thing for single pregnantwomen.”
“Well, that’s not creepy at all…” My comment only made Simon laugh harder. “Does he know I’m no longer engaged?” I asked. “Shit, you didn’t tell Mum I’m pregnant,right?
“Yes, he knows you’re no longer engaged. And no, Mum doesn’t know yet. And neither doesDrew.”
“Oh,good.”
“You should just tell her, then she’ll get off your back when it comes to her plans for you andhim.”
I snorted an unladylike laugh. “Delusional much? That will just make her push things even more. But now she’ll have ammunition—thebaby.”
Of course that was only if Drew didn’t care if I was pregnant or not. If he did, end of problem…on thatfront.
“Good point. Well, good luck with that.” A female voice on Simon’s end said something, but it was too muffled for me to hear. “I have to go now, Hols. Talk to you later.” And with that, he ended thecall.
“What do you think?” I asked Junior. “Do I send Drew a copy of your ultrasound and write ‘Wish you were here’ on it? That’s bound to scare himoff.”
Let’s call that PlanB.
Plan A? No ideayet.
I still had time before the ultrasound appointment, so I walked to the nearby playground and sat on the bench. You couldn’t get a better classroom than this for learning how to be a greatmummy.
Several young kids were running around, giggling. A toddler who was scooping up handfuls of gravel and dumping it on the sidewalk looked up from what he was doing. The woman with him said something and pointed at the approaching man. The kid squealed and toddled over to him. Laughing, the man swung him up and huggedhim.
That sound? Ignore it. It was my ovaries sighingdreamily.
The toddler giggled and the mother gave them both a kiss on thecheek.
This time it wasmewho gave a dreamy sigh. Would Junior and I ever experiencethat?
Or would I spend my life balancing my career with being a single mother, with no chance of falling in love with a man? Right now I had Josh in my life and we were having sex practically daily.Great sex—in case you were wondering. Afterward? He went home and I spent the nightalone.
That didn’t exactly make for a happily everafter.
