Page 10 of Baby Makes 3

I nod. “The medical school student, yes.”

“She—” Christy stops as her eyes tear up.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. It’s just—” She stops there, and I wait for her to continue. “She’s pregnant.”

“Oh.” Those words hit me hard, and I’m not sure what to say.

Christy continues before I decide on a reply. “It wasn’t intentional. She’s on the pill, and she’s very careful. She never misses a dose. But, still, she’s seven months pregnant.”

“I see.” Christy doesn’t seem happy about the news, which means her sister probably isn’t happy either.

“Melanie had made arrangements with a family through a local adoption agency, but their agreement fell through earlier this week. Melanie wants an open adoption, and the family initially agreed, but they changed their minds. They want a closed adoption now. Melanie said no. She wants to know herchild—her daughter. It’s a girl. Anyway, I told Mel all about you and Jamie, and she’s wondering if you might be interested in adoption. Anopenadoption.”

I sit down hard on the stool behind the sales counter and suck in a breath.

A baby?

I’m speechless.

“She’s due in two months,” Christy says. “So there’s not much time for her to make other arrangements. Would you be interested in meeting with her?”

My mind is reeling, my pulse racing. I say the first thing that pops into my head. “I need to talk to Jamie first.”

Christy nods. “Of course. You’d like Melanie. She’s super smart and very level-headed. She knows exactly what she wants, and she’s given this a lot of thought. What I mean is, you can trust her to follow through.”

I stand, managing to keep my balance even though it feels like the room is spinning. “I’ll call Jamie.”

Back in the art studio, I call Jamie, who’s at home writing. I tell him everything Christy told me.

The line goes silent.

“Jamie?”

“Sorry,” he says. “Just give me a moment to process this.”

“Do you want to meet with Melanie?”

“Do you?” he asks.

Now it’s my turn to go silent. Jamie waits patiently, and finally, I say, “Yes. I do. It can’t hurt to talk to her, right? At least hear her out?”

“Right,” he says, sounding almost relieved. “Let’s hear what she has to say.”

* * *

We make arrangements two days later for Melanie to come to the studio to meet with me and Jamie. Christy will be here, too, thank goodness, to act as a go-between. We figured her presence would make Melanie feel more comfortable.

Melanie walks into the shop at six, right at closing time.

She’s not what I expected. She’s taller than Christy, and her hair is dark brown—the same shade as mine. She’s wearing a maternity dress, of course. She’s clearly showing.

“You must be Melanie,” I say, stepping forward and offering her my hand.

She takes it, and we shake. Her grip is firm, confident. “Yes, I’m Melanie Maitland. It’s nice to meet you, Molly. Christy talks about you a lot.”

I gesture to Jamie, who’s standing a few feet behind me. “This is my fiancé, Jamie McIntyre.”

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