Page 37 of Mia Amata

The lady said, “For you, any time.” She pointed to a small table toward the back, and we made our way to it. The place was pretty small, but almost all the tables were full. We sat down at our table. Soon the waitress brought us menus, taking our drink orders. I glanced at the menu and then up at Randy in surprise.

She smiled, “I told you not to judge by the looks of the place.” The menu had items that you wouldn’t find in a ‘dive bar’. Chicken alfredo, steaks, shrimp. It was the menu of a higher quality restaurant with prices that didn’t seem possible. The waitress came back with our drinks, taking our food order. “The food here is fantastic. Marie and her husband, Leo, own the restaurant. Leo is the cook. You will love it. So… how far along are you?”

“I’m about seven weeks along. Still pretty early.”

“That is so exciting. Am I prying too much if I ask about the father?”

I shook my head, “Not much to tell. I was involved with a man who turned out to be married. When he found out I was pregnant, he wanted nothing to do with me.”

“What a jerk!” Randy said.

“He is. I could have gone to his wife and told her, but they have kids together, which I found out after he dumped me. She deserves to know, but I couldn’t do that to their kids. So I moved away, starting a new life here. Just me and my baby.”

“Well, I, for one,” Randy said, “am happy you did so.”

“Me too,” I smiled at her. “So I was wondering, I need to go shopping for some maternity clothes, baby things, maybe a few household things. Would you go shopping with me? Recommend a few places?”

“Oh, I would love to! We could go to the city. When would you like to go?”

“I know I have time before the baby gets here, so there will probably be more than one shopping trip, but I start work Monday, so I was hoping to go during the week, or if you can’t get away maybe Saturday?”

“We are closed on Fridays; we could go then?” Randy said.

“That would work if you don’t mind that we go after my doctor’s appointment. I am meeting my new OB/GYN early Friday.”

“Perfect!” Randy exclaimed. “How about I pick you up and take you to your appointment? I don’t mind waiting in the waiting room for you. Then we can go from there shopping.”

“You really don’t mind?” I asked.

Randy answered, “I really don’t. It sounds like a fun day.”

“Then that sounds perfect!”

We finished our meal chatting about the shopping trip on Friday, discussing things that I would need for the baby. The topic then changed to Randy and Josh. I asked if they had set a wedding date yet.

“No, not yet.” Randy smiled. “I really want an outdoor wedding, small, on a lakeshore somewhere. Josh’s family really wants us to get married in their church. Josh wants to make me happy, but he also wants his family to approve of our plans, so for his sake, I am thinking of the church.”

“I bet that they will love the wedding no matter where it happens. As long as Josh is happy, they will be happy. Could you have the wedding at a lakeshore and then the reception at the church? Would that be work?” I asked.

“That might be a possibility.” Randy looked thoughtful. “I’ll have to look into that. They do have a nice area for the reception at the church. Also, the minister will be the one doing the ceremony. Surely, he would do a service somewhere else for a member of his church.”

We talked about the other possibilities and what plans she has made as far as her dress and flowers. “We haven’t really done any planning yet, have only been engaged three months at this point.”

“We could look Friday at some dresses if you want. Just to get an idea. Unless you are planning a trip with your bridesmaids or family,” I suggested.

“If we have time, I would love to do some browsing. I haven’t decided who is going to be in the wedding party, but I’m sure when I am ready to buy it there will be a few people that will go with me. I kind of want everyone to be surprised by the dress, but I also want someone else’s opinion, so I don’t buy something I think I look good in, yet it turns out I actually don’t!” She laughed.

“You will look great in whatever you pick. You have the perfect figure to wear pretty much any style dress.” We paid our check and left the pub. “You were right, that place is great. The food was really good. I’ll have to come back.” I told Randy.

“Maybe we can make it our regular spot and go there often. Girls’ night out!” suggested Randy.

“That would be a lot of fun,” I said, “I think if we go every week I’ll be as big as a house! Maybe every other week or something. I would love a regular girl’s night though. Maybe we could do weekly and go someplace different once in a while.”

“I think that would be fun!” Randy said. “We will work something out. I am so glad you moved here.”

“Me too,” I smiled back at her.

Thursday was spent with a little bit of time reviewing things for work and going on a walk with Lucky—all after Randy and I had our morning coffee together. It was becoming a daily occurrence that we had coffee on the deck together every morning. I really enjoyed Randy’s company, and it felt so natural with her. She was quickly becoming my best friend, I felt like I might be able to trust her. I didn’t share my true story with her. I could never share that part of my past with her as it would put her in danger. We also texted each other throughout the day, laughing like schoolgirls over some things. I was starting to feel secure and safe in my new life, but I doubted I would ever let my guard down, too many lives hang in the balance if I do.

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