Page 87 of Into the Dark
“Oh, I’m kidding. It will be totally fine! Anyway, kids are so superficial like that. If you buy him a cone or something he’ll switch allegiance like that.” She clicks her fingers. “You hungry or saving yourself for your picnic? I was about to make some lunch. How is your appetite, by the way? Still fucked?” She turns to me, concern etching her brow.
“It’s fine. I’m not hungry.”
“But you’re eating again?” she presses.
“Yeah, I’m eating again.”
“Good, and no more of those fainting spells?”
“Nope, none.”
She nods. “Good. What the hell was that about anyway?” She pulls a bag of salad leaves and a large, delectable-looking tub of olives out of her fridge and dumps them on the counter.
Okay. Now or never, Alex. Time to say it out loud.
Christ, do I need to say it loud?
“Apparently, it was about being pregnant,” I say.
She whips around and looks at me blankly. “What?”
I nod slowly. “I’m pregnant.”
The color drains slowly from her sun-kissed face and her hands drop heavily to her sides. Okay, as reactions go, I guess this isn’t the worst. Though it’s certainly not the greatest either.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yep, pregnant. With child. I’m having a baby,” I confirm with a soft nod.
“How? What even…? I mean, since when? Jake?”
“Of course Jake, Rob. Who else?”
“I don’t know,” she says defensively. “Okay, of course Jake. I’m just shocked. I mean, how did this even happen?”
I give her a look, and she rolls her eyes.
“Alex.”
I sigh heavily and move to rest my back against the worktop. “Because I was a careless idiot. That’s how it happened.”
“Uh, excuse me? I’m pretty sure he bears some responsibility here.”
“Yeah, well, I’m the doctor. I should have known better,” I say. I didn’t exactly expect Rob to be squealing with joy at this unexpected turn of events, but her reaction is more than a little sobering, to tell the truth.
She purses her lips and shrugs slightly. “Well…I’m sure these things happen to doctors all the time.” She sounds unconvinced, but I appreciate her attempt. “Fuck, you’re pregnant. Jesus. I honestly can’t get my head around this.”
“Yes, it took me a few days too,” I admit.
“So what did Jake say when you told him?” She moves closer now, eyes wide with interest.
I lift my head slowly to meet her gaze, biting hard on my lip. I know when she gets it because she tilts her head to the side and her cornflower-blue eyes widen.
“Alex…” she whispers.
“I’m going to tell him, Rob, just not…right now.”
“Are you keeping it?” She clamps her mouth shut and shakes her head. “Sorry, that sounds wrong. I meant are you going to have the baby?”