Page 52 of Surprise Baby for Daddy's Best Friend

"Got a place in mind or do you need me to pick?"

Amanda's voice perked up in the background of the call, "I've got that taken care of. It's this Mediterranean place I haven't tried yet by our place."

"Mediterranean, eh?" I nodded and swung my legs off the side of the bed. "Yeah, I can do that. Send me the address and I can meet you two there after work."

"Sounds good. Love you, Kim."

"Love you too, bro," I replied. A small smile crossed my face. Hearing my brother’s voice again made the annoyance of the last two weeks melt away.

I ended the call and tossed my phone on the nightstand. My head was still spinning a little. I needed to take some medicine and splash some water on my face if I planned to exist in the world. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought I had had too much to drink the night before, but I hadn't touched any alcohol at all the day before.

My reflection wasn't much different from how I felt. The dark circles under my eyes were a dead giveaway to how exhausted I was, and how little I had slept last night. My skin had a slight paleness about it too. I splashed water on my face and applied some makeup to add some color to my face. There was no way I was going to go out looking like I had spent the entire night drinking instead of sleeping when I went into the office today.

Nothing about my route to work felt right. Every movement gave me an uncomfortable sensation like I was going to collapse at any given minute. I chose to avoid the subways, if I was feeling this bad while walking down the street, there was no way I could handle a train rattling along on a track. The sudden jolting movements and the extreme heat were too much to imagine.

It was quiet inside the office, and I gave a silent thank you to whatever spirit decided to finally bless me with a gift today. I sidled into my small cubicle and got started on work. But the glare of the computer screen and the muffled sound of conversations a few rows down grated on my nerves. Something needed to change, or I was going to snap at someone. I hadn’t felt this horrible before or so irritated about the littlest things like I was today.

I grabbed a bottle of pain medication and shuffled over to the water cooler and took two pills. It wouldn't be instantaneous, but at least it would help. One of my coworkers attempted to wave me down to talk, but I responded with a glare and hurried back to my desk. I didn't want to be bothered by anyone today.

The rest of the day continued like a nightmare. The pain never went away, and I was still dizzy. My temperature wasn't up which meant I wasn't sick, but something was definitely wrong. If it continued until tomorrow, I promised myself I would call in sick at work and get checked out at the clinic.

At five, I shut down my computer and joined the crowds surrounding the door. Each person scanned their badge to operate the rotating doors, making the process of getting out of work slower than I wanted it to be. There wasn't anything I could do about it. The only other exit was on the other side of the building and would add more time to my walk.

Carl sent a text.

You still good to join us?

Yeah. Can you order me water if you get there first?

You doing ok?

Just a little dizzy. Think I didn't get enough sleep.

I can cancel if you want.

The crowd around the door thinned, and I shifted forward a little before turning back to my phone.

No, you don't have to. This is the only highlight of my day.

Alright. See you soon.

It was my turn to scan my badge and walk back out into the scorching heat. I could wait for a taxi, but the time it would take plus the price of the fare, was going to be way too high for my liking. The only way to reach the restaurant quickly, was by subway. Not ideal, but I wasn't going to cancel just because my stubbornness made me not want to get on a train for a few minutes.

The entrance to the subway was only a block down from where I was, which meant an easy walk. And yet, I couldn't catch my breath long enough to make the distance without stopping every few steps. People stared at me as if I was carrying some strange disease and would spread it to them. Not like I blamed them. If I saw some stranger behaving the same way, I'd worry about my health too.

I covered my nose as I made my way down into the subway. It smelled like someone had farted multiple times, and the smell was trapped in a strange bubble that everyone existed inside within. Graffiti covered one of the walls with a mixture of regular spray-painted tags and a few scribbles with markers. Further ahead, one of the overhead lights flickered, adding to my headache. I turned away from the light as I passed by, focusing on the ground to avoid stepping on someone's shoes.

I turned another corner into the main subway area where the trains would pull in. One rail on each side with multiple pillars dotted the landing. I leaned against one next to the yellow line on the left side where the train I needed would pull in.

The one on the right was the first to arrive, sending large bursts of hot air swirling through the platform. I closed my eyes against the warmth and let out a heavy sigh. Mine should arrive in a few minutes if the signs were correct, and if no kid decided to surf on top of the trains today, or someone caused an accident. Most of the crowd filed into the train on the right, leaving me and a small handful of people waiting on the platform.

I reached for my phone to let Carl know I was still on my way. No signal. I shoved my phone back into my pocket. There were a few stations where I could get just enough bars to send a text, but this wasn't one of them today.

After another five minutes, and the train pulled into the station. The hot air from it pushed me against the pillar I was leaning on. I joined the rest of the crowd and filed into the train. Most of it was packed except for a few seats. One I refused to take, like so many others. That was just an unspoken rule, no matter how tired or how bad I felt. That seat was never worth it.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

I didn't answer the person right away as I wrapped my arm around the pole and braced myself for the sudden jerk.

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