Oh, God.
Nausea swirls in my belly. A cold sweat covers my skin. What a mess! And all because I couldn’t stay away from Thomas. I imagine telling him that I’m pregnant and feel physically sick.
Riley returns in time before I drive myself insane with worry.
“Here you go.” She hands me a small brown bag. “I bought two just to be sure.”
I take it and reluctantly get to my feet. I move to the bathroom with Riley following closely behind. My feet are like two blocks of cement as I walk.
“You’re not going to come into the bathroom with me, are you?” I stop to ask Riley.
“No, but I’ll be right outside the door,” she says.
I enter the bathroom and reach for the pregnancy kit. I tear off the cover and proceed to do the deed. I sit on the toilet and wait for the three minutes to pass. When I’m sure they’ve passed, I stand up and wash my hands. I can’t bear to look at the results.
“Riley?”
“Yeah?”
“Come in,” I call.
She enters, and I hold the kit in her direction. “I’m too scared to look. What does it say?”
She’s quiet for a few seconds.
“Say something.”
“Cora. You’re pregnant,” she says. “There are two pink lines.”
I drop the kit and rush back to the toilet bowl. I kneel, wrap my hands around it, and empty the coffee I’d drank earlier into the bowl. Riley stands behind me and rubs my back. She’s a real friend to stand the stench that fills the bathroom. When I’m done, she flushes the toilet and helps me to my feet.
At the sink, I wash my mouth and face. I want to burst into tears. Life is a bitch. I have the thing I wanted most in the whole world, and now I don’t want it. Or rather, I do want it, but not the father.
“What the hell am I going to do?”
“We’ll figure it out,” Riley says soothingly. “Let’s go make you a cup of tea.”
I raise my eyes to the sky. “I don’t even like tea.”
“I didn’t either, but it’s soothing.” Riley takes my hand and pulls me along. “Don’t look so glum. Things have a way of working out. Admittedly, it’s scary, but you’ll be fine. And you have me and Leo and your mom and family.”
I groan. “Don’t remind me about that.”
“Why what happened?”
“My mom’s gone ape shit.”
“Yeah, I saw her in the changing room,” Riley says with a giggle.
“Not funny.” I glare at her.
“It’s probably her midlife crisis,” Riley offers.
“She’s nearly seventy. A bit too late for a midlife crisis,” I point out.
“She’ll be fine. Did you tell her anything?”
“No. I’ll talk to her during Friday dinner.”
It feels as if my world is crumbling down. Everything familiar and comforting is changing, starting with my body and my mom.
In the kitchen, I settle on the island while Riley makes the tea. I slowly get used to the idea that I’m pregnant by a man who doesn’t want a baby. He can’t heap the blame on me either because we both got carried away by our lust.
“Okay, it’s not as bad as it seems,” Riley says as she places two mugs on the island.
“Please go on.” I wrap my hands around the mug for warmth, even if it’s not cold.
“The plan was to get pregnant, right?” Riley says. “And now you are. You’ve saved yourself money by going the traditional route, and now you don’t have to wonder about the baby’s daddy because you know who he is.”
I nod. “All true and comforting except for the part where Thomas doesn’t want a baby.”
“Then he should have used protection,” Riley snaps.
I nod enthusiastically. “You’re right. He should have.”
“When are you going to tell him the good news?” Riley asks.
Chapter 6
Thomas
A soft knock comes on the door, and I bark out for the person to enter.
It’s my secretary. “There’s a couple here to see you. They don’t have an appointment—”
‘Didn’t you tell them that our opening hours are over?” I snap and immediately feel bad when a look of hurt comes over Brenda’s face.
I shake off my sour mood. I’ve been like this for almost two weeks now, and I know exactly the reason why. Cora. I wish she hadn’t come back into my life. Being with her that one night reminded me of what I was missing. I’d tasted heaven, and now I was back in hell. For that one afternoon and evening, my life had been perfect. I’d forgotten the permanent hole of emptiness I carried with me. I’d laughed harder than I had in all of three years combined.
No matter how much I hid from it, the fact was that I missed Cora. She had been more than an affair. Thinking about her now is not helpful at all. If anything, it’s just making it uncomfortable for everyone who has to be around me.