Page 26 of Dump and Chase

She showed us her new menu and asked for advice. It was hard to be helpful when neither Jill nor I were vegetarians, let alone vegan. Wolseley’s focus was vegan cuisine, which was a hard sell for some, but Minneapolis-St. Paul was big enough to make the restaurant a success.

“How goes the job search?” Jill asked.

“Not well. Would you believe no one wants to hire someone who is going on maternity leave in less than six months.”

“Shit. I’m sorry,” she said. “You know, it’s not ideal, but we have some temporary openings at Richardson’s. They’re six-month terms, but I’m sure you can get by with five months or so. It’s mostly admin work, but it’s better than nothing.”

“If nothing comes through this weekend, I’m going to take you up on that.”

“Have you told anyone else about the baby?” Wolseley asked.

I finished my virgin mojito and sighed. “Not yet. I hit the end of my first trimester in a week. I’ll tell everyone then.”

Jill frowned for a second, but I could tell she was thinking. “I don’t think you should give Ethan a pass. He should be there too, telling his family at the same time.”

“I get what you’re saying, but he starts training camp Monday. It’s kind of hard to pop back here to make an announcement.”

Jill was pursing her lips now. “He makes millions every year. He should be supporting you in some capacity. Emotional support for moments like this and financial support, too. I mean it. You shouldn’t be taking on the financial burden.”

I hated when Jill started acting like a mom. “He knows that. He’s offered to pay for anything, but I don’t want to be beholden to him.”

“All I’m saying is don’t carry the burden.”

“I know. I get it.”

What she didn’t understand is that accepting money from him made me feel indebted to him. And it was stupid because he should have carried half the financial burden, but I also wanted to maintain my distance from him. I’d relied on him once, and I never wanted to do that again.

ChapterFourteen

Tangi

Iwoke up the next morning feeling a little nauseous. I stayed in bed an extra few minutes until it passed. The last few days I’d been getting fleeting bouts of it and on the advice of a pregnancy blog, I’d bought some ginger tea and ginger candies. They seemed to help, so I hauled myself out of bed eventually and grabbed some candies from my bag, leaving a few on the nightstand just in case.

I sat on the edge of my bed, trying to enjoy the ginger candy, which was a bit spicy first thing in the morning, and then I grabbed my phone. A notification made my heart nearly stop. An email from the Ravens? Marked Urgent? I tapped it open and quickly read it. Then I read it again. I needed to pinch myself. They were offering me a job! They said that they understood I’d likely need to leave take a leave by the end of March, and that they could work around it. They were offering me the low end of their salary range, but I expected that based on my experience. They needed to know within twenty-four hours if I was taking the position and if I was, could I start Tuesday morning! They already had the paperwork sent in for an emergency work visa, so I was all set.

I forwarded the email to Jill and Wolseley and followed it up with a text. I needed to give the Ravens an answer. And if I decided to go, I needed to pack up as much as possible and get a flight out as soon as I could to get myself settled. This was all so crazy.

Jill texted first.

CONGRATS! You know whomever they hired fell through. Your gain.

She could be a buzzkill, but she was my buzzkill.

Wolseley texted minutes later.

I can help you pack! And I’ll be crying the whole time.

I had the best friends in the world.

I’m going to need you both to help me pack … if I’m taking the job.

Jill replied first.

You’re taking the job! What time do you need us over?

In an hour? I still need to tell my parents. Wish me luck.

Before I chickened out or thought about it too much, I replied to the Ravens that I was taking the job. I didn’t want to spend the next six months filing paperwork and sending emails at Richardson’s. I wanted to work in my field, and my dream had always been to work with a sports team, something I’d told my friends and Ethan many times. Now I had this opportunity staring me in the face, and they were going to work around my burgeoning belly. What more could I ask for?

---