Page 102 of Mine to Worship

“And I don’t care. Is it okay with you if you have two godmothers?” I ask my daughter.

Kira’s answer is to kick me in the liver.

“I need those organs after you’re born,” I hiss at her.

Both Aubrey and Tara giggle.

“No wonder she is always throwing up,” Aubrey says under her breath and Tara shudders when the food arrives.

“How I will love it when you’re the pregnant one,” I say, as I unfold the napkin on my lap.

Because if there is justice among pregnant women, even though I would never wish my best friends to go through what I did, I do wish the cravings on them. The jam with a pickle, or ice cream in the middle of the night.

Kian has been there the whole time, and I type out a message, contentment settling in my core.

You are the best husband ever.

What shall I bring you?

I am taken care of. I send him a picture of my plate.

Looks delicious.

I smile and show the girls his reply, causing them to playfully gag. I eat my way through the assortment of foods I ordered. I start with a chicken burrito, a slice of pizza, and a salad.

“It’s his dick that got you pregnant, he would say durian smells like perfume. It’s their self-preservation mechanism,” Aubrey adds, with the wisdom of a hundred women that lived before her and did nothing else but study men.

“He loves her, and I am sure he’s relieved she’s eating,” Tara says, sipping from her juice.

Once we finish the meal, Tara rushes back to work to the gallery downtown while I and Aubrey walk to the donut shop, our arms locked together.

“So, how is it going with being your own boss?” I ask Aubrey.

“One step at a time. But I wake up in the morning with the thought that I am doing this for me and for no one else. It’s a motivation booster. There are days I work until late at night, and I don’t even feel the time.”

“I guess that’s why they call finding your passion.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Yes, but I draw in pencil, it’s a good alternative for now.”

“I don’t know how I would have pulled that hyperemesis gravidarum off… I looked it up, it’s horrible.” Her eyes set on my belly with a mix of awe and sympathy.

“It’s better when you feel her moving and see that she’s fine. It is as if all the discomfort disappears.”

“Are you and Kian doing better? Jason was worried. They were talking, and you know I am not the one who walks away from the temptation to eavesdrop.”

I snort and shake my head.

“There was a time I thought I made a huge mistake being with him. We kind of hurt each other. But I love him, and…”

She gives my hand a squeeze.

“And he loves you. That man kept us updated when you weren’t feeling well. He’s a keeper.”

“Yes, he is.”

When we enter the shop, I find Dan.

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