“Let’s go inside. Sitting here isn’t helping to calm my nerves.”
“It’ll be…”
“Fine,” I interrupt. “I know. I know.”
When we’re walking toward the clinic, I reach over and grab Nik’s hand. It feels like a bold move, and maybe one that’s going to backfire, but I need stability and a little bit of comfort right now. Luckily, he doesn’t flinch or seem to mind. He simply folds my small hand into his, pulling me closer.
Then in a bold move of his own, he tugs on my arm, leans down, and kisses the top of my head.
“We’ve got this. No more worries, okay?”
I nod, swallow hard, and look up at him.
Well. The baby will be pretty, that’s for sure.
“Five more weeks and we can hear the baby’s heartbeat? Why so long?” he pouts as we sit down for an early lunch at the diner. “It’s the twenty-first century. You’d really think they’d be able to stick that Doppler thing to your stomach and they’d hear the heartbeat without having to shove that thing up your vagina.”
Shrugging out of my coat, I grin at Nik’s grumpiness as I hang my coat on the back of my chair. I’m incredibly proud of myself that I didn’t even flinch at the word vagina. It’s not that the term bothers me, but I’m shy in public. “You’re the one who said it was up to me.”
“I didn’t realize that you would remember that when we were in the room, though.”
I snort. “So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?”
He folds his arms, placing his elbows on the table and leans over. “Just had hopes you’d come to your senses,” he teases.
“I’m all about the buildup. Patience is a virtue, right?”
“It’s going to kill me. And in case you’re wondering, that means that I’m also all about finding out the sex of the baby as soon as they say we can. We’ve had enough surprises for a while, I think.”
“Definitely,” I agree. I was hoping for the same thing anyway, so much like buying a new car, this is also something I’m on board with. That has to be a good sign, that the two of us agree on fairly big decisions.
The waitress stops at our table, handing us each a menu and placing silverware on the table. “Hi there. Did you have a chance to see our specials on the board when you walked in?”
“Yup. Chicken pot pie and French silk pie?”
“We also have a winter salad. It has cranberries, grilled chicken, shredded Swiss cheese, and chopped walnuts over mixed greens. The dressing it’s served with is a poppyseed dressing but you can order whatever you’d like. Can I get you two something to drink?”
Nik gestures for me to go first. “I’ll have a lemonade, please.”
“Iced tea for me, wedge of lemon if you have it.”
“You got it. I’ll give you a few minutes to look over the menus and be back with your drinks.”
“Thanks,” we say at the same time.
I open my menu but Nik’s stays closed.
“You’re not hungry?”
“Oh, I’m starving. Like usual.” He smirks. “But, I know the menu by heart. I’ve been eating here since I was learning to walk.”
“Wait. So you grew up here?”
“Born and raised,” he says, nodding.
“Wow. Never wanted to move?”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Not really. I mean, when I was in high school I had a few years where I thought it was boring as fuck here and didn’t want anything to do with it anymore. But my parents suddenly passed away and this crazy town stepped up in a big way. My parents knew everyone, it seemed, and they took us under their wing. I was married, I’m not sure that I told you that I’m a divorcee or not, but I’ll share more about that later. And by the look on your face right now, it’s glaringly obvious that’s news to you.”
Our waitress sets down our drinks in front of us and Nik orders the pulled pork sandwich with a side of fries and macaroni and cheese. As he’s ordering, my stomach grumbles and even though it sounds like I’ll be in a coma from the carbs, I can’t resist ordering the same. But with extra pickles on the side.
Once our waitress is gone, I launch in. “Married? You don’t have other kids, do you? I mean, it’s okay if you do, obviously, but you haven’t mentioned anything about kids and I would hope that you would have. How long were you married? Why did you get divorced?”
His eyes are wide and he chokes back a laugh. “Anyway, I was married at the time, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.”
“Oh, gosh. I’m sorry. That was a lot of questions all at once, right?”
“It’s okay. I’ll answer all of them rapid fire just like you asked them. Yes, I was married. No children. We were high school best friends turned sweethearts turned we felt like marriage was the logical next step. Turns out that wasn’t the best next step for us to take. We were friends who loved each other but not friends who were in love with each other. Married at twenty-two years old for three years. Divorce was a mutual decision. There’s no hard feelings between us. We talk, but not regularly. She’s remarried to a great guy who had two children from a previous marriage.”
I blink. Once, twice. “Well, okay then.”
He laughs lightly, shaking his head. “You’re welcome to ask me more questions, but that’s the basics.”
“And your parents?”
“Killed by a drunk driver when I was twenty-four.”
“Oh shit.”
“Yup. That’s the gist of it. It sucked. Still does. Especially now with Josie about to have a baby and with us having one, too. Not that they would have loved the idea of us not being together and having a baby, but they would have loved grandchildren and spoiling them. Sucks that they will miss everything.”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine. And how much younger is Josie than you?”
“Five years. She was a freshman in college when we got the call. I was working for an electrician at the time. I have my own company now, not sure you knew that either. She moved in with me a few months after my divorce because she realized that college was far from her thing. Josie worked three part-time jobs at once until one of them stuck. Grocery store clerk, which she loved because she could talk to people all day long and she has too much energy to sit much. She was also a waitress.” He lifts a hand and twirls a finger. “Here, actually, which is where she met her now husband, Dean, so obviously she loved this job, too. And a bookkeeper slash accountant for the electrician I was working for at the time. That’s where she landed. She does my books now, she realized she actually loves math.”
“So she’s also insane.”
He doesn’t hesitate in his agreement. “Yes. Completely. Now she’s pregnant, ready to give birth any day now. She can’t wait to meet you. Dean, too. He’s a great guy. His dad was a dud and his mom worked herself to the bone. Dean helped raise his younger siblings.”
“Wow.” This is a lot of information to digest.
Our waitress brings our meals and Nik drinks down most of his iced tea, asking for a refill. I’m sure he is thirsty. He just talked non-stop for fifteen minutes, catching me up on his life story. After she’s gone, I unroll my silverware, place my napkin on my lap, use my knife to cut my sandwich in half then…