Page 26 of Unexpecting

There was no way I was having David stop by the house until I knew exactly what was happening. That would just open up a whole can of what-the-hell-is-going-on.

David finally said goodbye, without the kiss I sort of hoped for. Earlier I had given up hope of the idea we would end the day in bed, but I thought a kiss might not be too out of line.

My mind was full of jumbled thoughts as I drove home. Most were happy thoughts, but I had a disturbing one as I pulled into the driveway. How different was the David I had just spent the day with from the David I remembered from all those years ago and the David I’d kept close to me in my fantasies? Was I missing something because my memories were clouding my judgment?

When I unlocked the door, the house was quiet. Cooper and Emma were working at the restaurant and J.B. at the bar. If I hadn’t just spent the day with David, I might be tempted to drop by for a drink. But all I wanted to do was sit and think about every single word David said to me and try to interpret them. Had he been thinking of me as much as I’ve thought of him? Did he blame me for ending things, and did he regret not fighting for me?

On my bed, I found a folded piece of paper.

″Hey,” it said. ”Dinner tomorrow? I have laundry that needs tobe done. J.B.″

Chapter Twelve

“For the optimal pregnancy, the mother-to-be needs a supportive and caring relationship with the father. Even though the father may not appear outwardly affected by the vast changes in the woman as she journeys through the nine months, he will undoubtedly be as interested and anxious as the mother and may demonstrate his concerns in unusual ways.”

A Young Woman’s Guide to the Joy of Impending Motherhood

Dr. Francine Pascal Reid (1941)

Iwoke up Sundayto the sublime smell of frying bacon wafting down the stairs. There’s no better way to wake up. I stretched in bed, already thinking about David. Thinking about how maybe next Sunday I might not be waking up alone. That would be even better than waking up to the smell of bacon. It didn’t take me long to get upstairs, and I was grinning as I hit the kitchen.

″Good morning!” I bellowed.

″I didn’t know it was that good,” Coop muttered from his usual spot at the vast gas stove.

“It’s a beautiful morning,” I told him. Actually, from the window in the kitchen, I could see dark rain clouds crowding the sky. Apparently, I didn’t have a good look before I came upstairs, but that wasn’t stopping me this morning.

″What’s got you in such a good mood?” Coop asked with an uncharacteristic scowl.

Before I could answer, sudden footsteps announced J.B.’s imminent arrival.

″I smell bacon!” he cried as he practically bounded into the kitchen.

“Emma wanted Egg McMuffins,” Cooper explained with disgust as he assembled a bacon and egg sandwich for me. “The bacon didn’t work out, so she was heading out to McDonald’s when I caught her.” Cooper has an unexplained horror of fast food. In his opinion, if it takes less than five minutes to assemble, it’s not safe to put it in your stomach. I, of course, don’t share that opinion. When Emma handed me my plate, she gave me the barest of winks. Maybe I was starting to get that there was method behind her madness of trying to cook.

″You’re chipper this morning, too.” Emma turned to J.B. and then back to me with a suspicious smile. “Both of you in good moods, hmm.” She handed him a plate, and he immediately took a huge bite out of his sandwich.

″Sorry to disappoint,” I told Emma, who was looking expectantly at me, “but I spent a lovely night all by my lonesome. I spent an even lovelier day with an old friend yesterday, however.”

″Who’s that?” Coop asked. I was about to go into details when Cooper held up his hand. It sounded like there were footsteps upstairs.

″Is someone here?” he asked J.B.

″Well,” he said reluctantly. Instantly there was a collective ah from Emma and Coop.

″You left a girl alone upstairs and came downstairs to feed your face?” I demanded with disgust. I sounded a little sharper than necessary only because of the sharp pang I felt in my heart. Not that it’s any of my business who J.B. sleeps with. He can have sex with whomever he likes. What’s it to me, especially when I may well be doing the same thing with David after the movie tonight. It’s none of my business.

To give him credit, J.B. had the grace to appear repentant. I don’t know why I’ve never noticed how cute J.B. is when he is embarrassed. I guess he’s cute all the time, but especially when he’s embarrassed.

″Well, uh, she said she wanted a shower, and girls take a long time. And I’m hungry. I could smell the bacon!” he said defensively. I noticed J.B. could barely meet my eyes, focusing intently on his breakfast. He’d already inhaled half his sandwich, and Cooper began to make him another one.

The footsteps were coming down the stairs now. Coop, Emma, and I turned expectantly toward the kitchen door. The stairs head into the hall,which separates the living room and kitchen and lead to the front door. Whoever she was would have to walk right past us.

″J. B?” a female voice called.

With a last, longing glance at his half-empty plate, J.B. headed for the hallway. I reached over and speared a piece of bacon that fell from the English muffin. If I leaned over the table enough, I could see what was going on at the door.

″What’s she look like?” Emma hissed, trying to see around me.

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