Page 60 of Emerald Malice

I slap my forehead with the palm of my hand while she launches into everything going on in her neck of the woods. “… Meryl’s daughter’s engagement party was quite the affair. They had a string quartet and everything.”

“Jeez. If that was just the engagement party, what’s the wedding gonna be like?”

“My thoughts exactly,” Aunt Annie agrees with a laugh. “But I’m happy for Meryl. It really does something to a parent when your children find their forever partners. It’s kind of like you can relax at last.”

I pull my feet up to my chest. “Is that how you feel, too?”

She hesitates. “Well, I would be thrilled, if and when you meet your forever partner. But really, I just want to know that you’re happy and settled. No matter where you end up in life.”

The pressure mounting in my chest makes it hard to concentrate. But I know I can’t end this conversation without telling her.

“Aunt Annie… I have some big news.”

“Uh-oh! You sound serious.”

“Well, it’s serious news. But… happy, too,” I tack on. “I mean, I’m definitely happy about it.” It’s not that simple, but she doesn’t have to know that. “And I hope you will be, too.”

“Honey, you’re scaring me.”

“I’m… I’m pregnant.”

A long stretch of silence. And then?—

“Oh my God!” Aunt Annie exclaims. “Oh my goodness gracious! Are you really? This is… this is… unbelievable. How?”

“It just sort of happened.” That’s an understatement, but again, we’re operating on a need-to-know basis. “I’ve decided that I want to have this baby. I’m ready to be a mother.”

That last part is more wishful thinking than confidence. Maybe if I repeat it enough times, it’ll start being true.

“Wait…” Aunt Annie’s enthusiasm dips considerably. She sounds worried now. “Sweetheart, are you doing this alone? Is the father not in the picture?”

It wouldn’t be a lie to say that I’m doing this alone. Andrey and I aren’t together.

Then again, I have a black card and a pool house with my baby daddy’s name written all over it.

“No, the father’s in the picture. Sort of.”

“So you’re having the baby together?”

I bite my lip. “Um—yes?”

“Ah!” Aunt Annie is back to sounding thrilled. “You can’t know how relieved I am, sweetheart. Parenthood is hard enough with a partner. I don’t want you to have to do it alone.”

“Well, no need to worry. I’m not alone.”

“Who’s the man?” she asks eagerly. “And when do I get to meet him?”

Okay, there might be a small need to worry.

“Soon,” I lie. “Very soon.”

In typical Aunt Annie fashion, she launches into a barrage of questions without giving me any time to answer. I wait for her to finish before I offer the extremely sanitized version of Andrey’s biography.

“Uh, his name is Andrey. He runs a business in the city. Several businesses, actually. And he’s… he’s good to me.”

“Are you two planning on living together or are you waiting until the baby’s born?”

I glance over at the pretty pool house that’s all mine. “Um, actually, I’ve moved in with him. He wasn’t happy with my apartment. The mold in the ceiling nearly gave him a conniption.”

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