Page 106 of Salty Pickle

“Match!” Jason calls, and we all smack each other’s hands to conclude the game.

This is good. I’ve missed playing with the guys. Missed working out. Missed my life before a woman and her goat.

I sit on the bench, chugging water.

Jason drops in place beside me. “You blew us off last week. I half-expected to hear you’d run for the hills after Dad’s ‘Be a good pickle’ speech.”

“I took her to a farm expo last weekend.”

He laughs. “You? With the tractors and livestock?”

I elbow him. “She wanted to go.”

“So you’re getting along.”

“She’s been staying with me.”

“And it’s going okay?”

I run my towel over my head. “It was. Until it wasn’t.”

Jason takes a long pull on his water before saying, “I imagine it’s contentious. She’s pregnant.”

“It’s her goat that’s the problem.”

“Right. Where is that thing, anyway?”

“On my balcony. We’re borderline getting caught. I’m not sure what they’ll do when they find it.”

“And she won’t part with it?”

“It’s her kid. Literally. And now it’s pregnant, too.”

“What? Is there something in the water?”

I drape my towel over my bag. “It’s a goddamn nightmare, that’s what it is. We were doing fine, then it all went to hell.”

“Give it time. Not that it will get better. A baby is a stress no matter what. You going to hire a nanny or something?”

“I’m waiting to see if it’s even mine.”

Jason’s mouth tightens into a frown. “About that. You know you don’t have to wait until it’s born. They can test while she’s pregnant.”

“Right, but it’s a big needle and amniotic fluid and all that.”

He shakes his head. “Aunt Caprice didn’t watch Dr. Phil? My mom did.”

“God, no.”

“Those women were always doing it to be revealed on the show. It’s just a blood test. No needle in the belly.”

“But I googled it.”

“Then you did a shit job.”

I reach down and pull my phone out of my bag. It’s true, I only read the headlines for the search results. It was a tense moment. And Lucy hadn’t wanted to ask the doctor about it.

Why is that?

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