Page 39 of Salty Pickle

Me: New phone! It’s Lucy!

I get an instant reply from Summer.

Summer: Did you have that baby yet?

Me: Not for a few weeks.

Summer: Are you still in the yurt?

How to answer that? As I type, delete, and re-type, April pops in.

April: I was about to go to bed! Lucy! You’re on the grid!

Me: I got a phone from Court. From New Year’s.

April: What!

Summer: You called him?

Me: I’m in New York. He found a farm for me and Matilda to live on until the baby is born.

April: He did what!

Summer: Are you happy there? Did you have sex with him again? ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED?

I wait until their barrage of questions dies down.

Me: No proposal. I’m here until the paternity test.

April: How long?

Summer: Asshat!

I go with April’s comment.

Me: We’ll swab the baby’s cheek when he’s born.

They continue to pepper me with questions long into the night, until they seem content they know everything.

It’s good to have friends again. I plug the phone into the wall before I go to sleep, such a simple thing I’ve not done in a long time.

On Monday, I get an advance of money from the spa for soap and can breathe easier. I take an Uber to a grocery store and carefully pick out a few things I can afford, plus supplies to make more soap.

I’m making my way, little by little.

By the time the appointment rolls around on Thursday, I’m nervous again. Will Court show up? I’m really hoping so.

I Uber to a small community clinic within sight of the bigger hospital complex. The petite woman with glossy black hair asks questions about my prenatal history. “We’ll probably repeat a few things since we don’t have complete records. Bloodwork. Then fit you in for a sonogram. Gina will also do a quick glance at your cervix, since you’re new and so close. Is that all right?”

I nod, watching the door.

She smiles. “Is Dad late?”

I don’t know what to say to that. “He works in Manhattan. It’s not easy for him to come.”

She nods.

I almost ask about the paternity test but decide against it. I’m not doing an amnio, and the hospital will be the time to swab the baby. I can bring it up then.

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