Page 32 of Love You Too

“You really came through for me by talking me through what I was feeling. I’ll always be grateful for that. So if I can help, please let me…”

It’s like a floodgate opens, right there on First Street, with its Mexican food place and a trendy hotel tourists love.

“What do I tell him?Howdo I tell him?” I ask, hating the uncertainty in my voice. This isn’t me. I’m self-sufficient and capable, but I don’t seem to be able to deal with this. “I should tell him, right?”

She nods. “Yes. You have to tell him. But first, you need a plan for how you’ll handle it if he doesn’t want to be involved and what you’ll do if he does. It will make it easier if you’re prepared.”

There are those people in our lives who we form opinions of and never dig beneath the surface, and Mallory has been that type of person for years. I only saw the snooty façade she wanted people to see and never bothered to dig deeper. I credit my brother for giving her a chance because right now, I can’t imagine anyone giving me more perfect advice.

“I want to do this, and I’m prepared to do it alone. He can be involved, but there’s no obligation. The last thing I want to do is trap him into something he doesn’t want. I know I’ll do everything in my power to give this little human a good life. Whether he’s a part of it or not, that won’t change.”

“So maybe,” she prods tentatively, “it will be great either way? And whatever he has to say will only make it better and clearer for you going forward. That’s a good thing for a planner.”

I huff a laugh at that. “Yeah, some planner. I had some vague idea of having kids sometime in the distant future, but maybe this is the universe telling me to wake up and smell the coffee. And then puke.”

She laughs. “Morning sickness?”

“It’s no joke. Plus, it’s crazy, but my body is way past my brain in terms of accepting all of this. My boobs hurt, and they feel bigger. It’s like they’re already getting ready to be little milk trucks, and I didn’t tell them to do anything.”

“Maybe it’s nature’s way of saying you don’t need to control everything. Some stuff just takes care of itself.”

“Okay, Zen master Mallory.”

She holds up her hands in protest. “Hey, I don’t pretend I know everything. I just go forth with confidence.”

“That makes one of us,” I say because I’m so used to pushing the idea away. Then I reconsider. “Actually, no. I have confidence in myself. I just don’t have a lot of faith in Ren.”

“Tell him what you just told me. Tell him the truth and give him time to process everything. Go from there.”

The thought of that makes me queasy, just as Dash returns with three ice cream cones. He hands me the middle one, a chocolate soft serve with sprinkles, my favorite. I get all ready for my stomach to lurch and reject one more of my favorite things, but it doesn’t.

Reaching for the cone, I nod my thanks to Dash and take a tentative lick. The cool chocolate lights up my taste buds, and for the first time in days, I feel like everything’s going to be all right.

“You two,” I say, watching my brother and his fiancée trade licks of their cones. “Thank you.”

CHAPTER 11

Ren

Trix: Hey. Are you around today?

Me: For you, I am. Anyone else, meh

Trix: How do you do that?

Me: What?

Trix: Make everything sound like you’re flirting?

Me: It’s one of my superpowers

Trix: What are the others?

Me: The rest of them only work in person. Wanna come by?

Trix: Yeah. Sure

All isright with the world. A little banter withTrix turns my wayward thoughts about team bonding into fantasies about how to win her over.

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