Over the moon with you, p.15
Over the Moon With You, page 15
“Um, okay.” Seren’s mind was swimming. She’d thought the last time was stressful when Dr. Bueller had gone through all the possible genetic diseases in twenty seconds flat. But now she was stuck on the question of whether or not she was going to have a huge baby. She wished someone was with her. Someone calm who’d be able to translate everything. Someone like Paige.
“I’ll mark down that you don’t want to know gender for now, so Shonda doesn’t reveal anything.” Dr. Bueller stepped out into the hallway and called for one of her nurses. She popped her head back into Seren’s room and continued, “I’ve got a delivery I need to get to, but Shonda will take care of you. And if there’s any problems, we’ll talk.”
When a moment turned to five minutes, then ten, and then fifteen, Seren went from pacing to fidgeting. She fished her phone out of her purse wondering if Paige would think she was ridiculous if she called. She hoped to find a text from Paige about Saturday but there was only a note from one of the other massage therapists about taking a new client on Monday. She quickly tapped out a reply and then considered texting Paige. While she was debating what to say, her phone rang. Leslie.
“Hey lady. Are you busy?”
Seren glanced down at the hospital gown. “Not exactly. I’m waiting to see another blurry picture of my little alien. And trying not to freak out.”
“I forgot that was today! Excited?”
“My baby might be huge. Or else there was a measurement error last time.”
“Hmm. Did the doctor seem concerned?”
“No?”
“Then I wouldn’t worry.”
Too late. The anxiety had started as soon as she’d woken that morning and remembered her appointment. Now it’d only gotten worse.
“Big babies are cute. Big fat cheeks. I can’t wait to squish your big baby. Can you hurry up and bake that thing?”
“I’m really hoping it won’t be too big.”
“You’ve always had great hips. You’ll be fine. What’s a little more stretch?”
She wasn’t ready to think about the stretching part.
“Want me to meet you at the doctor’s office? We can scream together if they tell you you’re gonna have a twelve pounder.”
“Leslie! Seriously?” She laughed despite herself. “You’re the worst.”
“I’ll be an amazing babysitter and you know it.”
“I do.” And as much as she loved Leslie and valued their friendship, she hadn’t asked her to come to the last appointment when they’d done the genetic screening because having her in the room if she got bad news would only add more stress. And although Leslie had already volunteered to be her partner-in-crime when it was time to deliver, she worried that Leslie would amp up her anxiety. At least she had five months before she had to decide on that. “I’m not sure how much longer before they come to get me for the ultrasound. Were you calling for a reason?”
“I’m meeting Paige later to sign our offer letter for the Landry property. I wanted to ask how your date last night went before I headed over to her clinic.”
“Give me a second to regroup here. I’m half naked and thinking about giant babies.” Seren pulled her gown closer around her.
“I’d like to point out that you didn’t give me a hard time for calling it a date. So. How was it?”
Thinking about Paige was probably a good distraction. She closed her eyes, imagining the moment she decided to kiss her. She’d chickened out at the last second and pecked her cheek instead. “Honestly, it was nice. Paige is…chill.”
“Chill?”
Seren had come up with several other adjectives, but the one she found the most appealing at the moment was that. “I know there’s other things I could say. She’s sweet and easy to talk to. I kind of wish she were the type to simply jump me, but I told her I might need to take things slow and I think she took that to heart.”
“Tell her it’s commitment you have an issue with—not sex. Or drop some hints that you’re extra horny now that you’re prego.”
Seren covered her face with her free hand. “You know more about me than a best friend should. I did try telling her last night that I didn’t want to take things too slow.”
“Drop more hints. Or I can.”
“Don’t you dare.”
Leslie laughed. “Fine, be that way. I’m betting you two are fire in bed when it finally happens. The way she looks at you—oh, lord. I wouldn’t mind someone looking at me like they wanted me spread out on the kitchen table for dinner.”
“Leslie, I’m still in the exam room.” And despite no one being able to overhear the phone call, she knew she was blushing.
“You know it’s true. That woman doesn’t have a poker face. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind taking your—”
“Okay, stop. I’m not gonna lie. I want the sex. The problem is all the reasons on my list for not dating are still true. And you know I don’t often fall for people, but when I do…”
“You fall hard. I know. This time you have to try not doing that. Or maybe it’ll magically work out.”
Seren wondered what working out would mean in this case. She eyed the fetal size chart on the exam room wall opposite the table. At sixteen weeks, the fetus was supposed to be the size of an apple. How big was hers? Clearly it was already affecting her in little and big ways. Speaking of, was she supposed to pee before the ultrasound? Her bladder wished she’d thought to ask. But now that the nausea had seemed to improve, lately she’d go an hour or even two without thinking about the pregnancy. Maybe that was why dating seemed doable when it didn’t last week?
“Do you think it’s fair for me to date Paige and not tell her directly that I’m planning on breaking up before the baby comes?”
“I think she knows what she’s getting into. She’s smart. And if you don’t break up, think of how many rescue cats you could have in that Landry barn.”
“So many.” Seren smiled. “We could be a home for all the black stray cats.”
“Exactly. What I’ve been wondering is how you two haven’t met until now. You’re like two stars destined to collide.”
“I think if stars collided they’d explode.”
“Details. So, can I tell her how much my best friend wants to get laid when I see her this afternoon? I can write it on a little slip of notebook paper and pretend we’re back in high school.”
“Like you said—she’s smart. I think she’ll figure it out. Or maybe I’ll tell her myself.”
Leslie cheered.
The door opened and a black woman in pink scrubs smiled at Seren over her clipboard. “Serendipity? I’m Shonda. By the way, love your name. Ready to follow me across the hall and we’ll take a peek at your baby?”
She nodded at Shonda and reminded herself to breathe. “Leslie, I gotta go. The nurse is here for the ultrasound.”
“Bye, hon. And don’t worry. Your baby’s gonna be perfect.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“I feel like I’m signing my life away.” Paige flipped to the next sheet of the contract.
“It’s always nerve-racking the first time.” Leslie pointed to the next spot for Paige to initial. “But if all goes well, you’ll have your very own little farm.”
Between worrying about the bank financing and all the fine print she was skipping over, she wasn’t ready to think about actually owning the place yet. And after a long day of work, it was hard to do anything more than nod at everything Leslie said about the offer terms.
“Ordinarily I do this all electronically, but the Landrys don’t want to use a computer so we’re going old school.” Leslie pointed to the next line for Paige to initial. “Now usually I recommend a thirty-day close, but I don’t want to make the Landrys nervous.”
“Me neither. And I’m not in a rush.”
“Good. I’ve written up the offer with a forty-five-day close. I’ll let them know you’re flexible on that. You said you had a few more documents to get to the loan officer?”
“I’ve got to close an account with money my dad left me. That’s most of my down payment.”
Leslie nodded. “Sorry about your father.”
“Thank you.” Paige swallowed, trying to focus on the last line Leslie pointed out for her to sign. It’d been three years since her dad had passed, long enough that she wasn’t caught off guard by emotion. Still, tears stung her eyes. He’d love the ranch—especially the old mare, Nellie, and the barn cats. He’d been as much of an animal lover as she was, though he’d never understood why she liked farm animals more than house pets. She thought of Mr. Landry then and hoped he was truly ready to leave. “I don’t mind giving them longer than forty-five days. If they need more time—”
“Mr. Landry is ready to have more help with his wife. If you want this property, we need to move on it.”
“I definitely want it.” A week ago, she’d never have expected all the stars to align so perfectly that a place like the Landrys’ ranch would even be available so close to town—let alone in her budget. Well, the budget part wasn’t a done deal yet. Her fingers and toes were crossed the Landrys would take her offer.
Leslie sorted all the sheets into an ordered stack and Paige settled back in her seat. “So, what happens next?”
“I’m meeting with the Landrys at seven thirty.” Leslie glanced at her watch. “That was when his eldest daughter could do a video conference and Mr. Landry wanted her input. I’ll go through our offer and they’ll have until Monday morning to respond.”
“Monday?” Paige wasn’t sure she could wait that long. As much as it was true that she didn’t want to push the Landrys out, she hated having to wait all through the weekend to know what her future held.
“You said you didn’t want to pressure them. I made the window a little wider than usual.”
“I don’t want to pressure them…” Paige picked up the pen and clicked it. “I’m just not very good at being patient. Once I figure out what I want, it’s hard to slow down and wait for it.”
“That’s funny. I have another friend with that same problem.” Leslie winked. “She mentioned you have plans tomorrow and also that she can’t wait.”
“Seren said that?”
Leslie reached across the table and set her hand on Paige’s. “In case you’re wondering, yes, she likes you.”
“I mean I thought she liked me but…it’s been a little up and down.”
Leslie’s sympathetic look only helped marginally. “I don’t think she knows what to do with you. She really wasn’t looking to date anyone.”
Leslie seemed to be saying “Don’t get your hopes up,” but Paige worried it was too late for that. The problem was, she wanted to imagine that her future included someone else. Someone like Seren. Even if she knew better than to let her heart race ahead, she could easily picture Seren living with her on the ranch.
Leslie continued, “I think you’re exactly what she needs. You’ve just got bad timing.”
“I could wait for her. Maybe after the baby comes and her life is a little more settled?”
“Do you really think you can wait that long? Even if you could, do you want to?”
Paige left Leslie’s office with the question of waiting still on her mind. She knew she could wait, but no, she didn’t want to. She didn’t even want to wait until their date tomorrow to talk to her. She brought Seren’s number up on her phone even before she got to her truck.
Seren answered on the first ring. Did that mean she didn’t want to wait either?
“Hey. How are you?”
“I’m good. Wasn’t expecting you to call, but I will say that I was thinking about you. Guess what? I’m not going to have a ginormous baby.”
“Um, okay. That’s good news, right?”
“Right. I wasn’t really worried but then I was…because who wants to birth a giant?”
Paige laughed.
“TMI?” Seren laughed too. “Anyway, the baby is perfectly average.”
“Sometimes being average is the best thing.”
“Exactly.” Seren exhaled. “I’m sure you wanted to have this conversation, didn’t you?”
“I’m here for any conversation you want to have.” Could she admit that she didn’t have a reason to call and only wanted to hear Seren’s voice? “Did you get any pictures?”
“I did. Only one, but I’ve stared at it off and on for the past hour. I’m convinced that my baby may be average size but above average on the cuteness scale.”
“Well, that’s a given. Have you seen the mom?” Hopefully that wasn’t too much. She quickly added, “Can you text me the picture? I’d love to see.”
“Really?”
“Unless that’s too personal?”
“No—but I don’t want to impose my baby excitement.”
“Impose away. I love baby animals. Even baby humans.”
Seren laughed. “Okay. I’m sending it now. I don’t want to know the baby’s sex so if you can tell, don’t say anything.”
“I doubt I’ll be able to tell.” Paige’s phone chimed when the picture was received. She lowered her phone and squinted at the ultrasound image. She couldn’t help smiling. Babies got her every time, but knowing that this one was growing in Seren made it all the more exciting. She raised the phone back to her ear. “You’re right. This baby’s high on the cuteness scale. I love that little high five they’re giving you. Those fingers are adorable.”
“I know. I’m worried I’m already too attached.”
“That’s not a bad thing.”
“Apparently they give you more pictures at the next visit. This was a quick thing to check the size and the placenta.”
Seren had brushed over the subject of getting attached so Paige decided not to push it. “Usually calf ultrasounds are my favorite, but this human giving you a high five might win on best pictures.”
“Calf ultrasounds? You do that? Oh, my mom would have loved that.”
Considering how important Seren’s mom was to her, Paige was sad not being able to have known her. She glanced at the ultrasound picture and felt a pang realizing Seren’s baby would never know their grandma.
“What are you up to tonight?” Seren asked. “Working late again?”
“Not tonight. I left early to meet with Leslie to sign the offer on the Landry property.”
“Oh, right. She told me she was going over the paperwork with you. Congrats.”
“They might not accept, but I’m pretty excited.” Now that she had Seren on the line, she realized she wanted to share the news with her more than anyone else.
“I’m excited for you. I’ve always loved that ranch. It’s a perfect spot. But. I may be slightly more excited about our date tomorrow.”
“Honestly, I am too.” Hopefully Seren would enjoy what she had planned. “Speaking of, I should probably hang up. I’ve gotta run to the store or my plan won’t work at all. See you tomorrow at three?”
“You can’t drop a hint like that and then hang up. I’ve got questions.”
“Sorry. Can’t answer questions. I’m counting on the element of surprise.” She also didn’t want to disappoint if she couldn’t pull it off. “Thanks again for that picture of your cute baby. Made my day.” Actually, hearing Seren’s voice had been all that it took.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“What are you frowning about? Sea level rise? Those lines are gonna stick, you know.”
“What lines?”
Bea jabbed her between the eyes.
“Ow. Why’d you poke me?”
“You’re going to have the same wrinkles as your father.”
Paige rubbed the spot. “Did you used to poke Dad too?”
“No. That’s why he got so many wrinkles.”
Bea handed her the day’s mixtape—“Saturday Special.” “This sounds ominous,” she murmured, popping the tape in the stereo. She didn’t need to read the smudged titles to know she was going to be embarrassed on her mom’s first day back teaching. Bea had insisted she needed Paige to drive her to the pool and then insisted she needed backup teaching. She clearly had an ulterior motive. Bea wanted to meet Seren.
Paige wished there was some way she could avoid it, for her and Seren’s sake, but that wasn’t the only reason she was wearing her dad’s worry lines. Even though Leslie had told her not to expect an answer on her offer until Monday, she’d hoped to hear something after Leslie’s meeting with the Landrys. Was she within range? If not, could she take on a second job and offer more? She bounced between pondering those questions and wondering if the date she’d planned with Seren was a terrible idea. Before the date, though, she had to get through water aerobics.
“Is Ms. Tatas always late?”
“You know her name’s Seren. Please don’t say anything about her boobs in front of her.” Paige glanced at the locker room door, willing it to open and reveal Seren and simultaneously hoping she’d skip today’s class.
“Someone’s touchy.”
“I’m not touchy. Women don’t need to be objectified by other women.”
Bea rolled her eyes. The locker room door opened but it was Rita, not Seren, who came out. It was thanks to Rita that her mom knew about the planned date that afternoon.
“How much do you know about Ms. Tatas anyway?” Bea asked. “She’s a pregnant masseuse—could be carrying anyone’s baby.”
Claia came out of the locker room next. Along with Helen. Paige lowered her voice and said, “She used an anonymous sperm donor.” That part Leslie had told her. “And she conceived with IUI.” That part Seren had mentioned herself. “Any other questions?” If she didn’t put everything out there, her mom’s supposing would get out of hand.
