Page 87 of Unexpecting

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

Dr. Francine Pascal Reid (1941)

“You okay? Coop saidyou weren’t feeling well.”

″Um, yeah, but I’m okay now. Just had to toss my cookies.”

He made a face. “Ah. Great. Is it this bad every day?”

″Most days, but I’m getting used to it.”

J.B. remained in the doorway, casually leaning his shoulder against the doorjamb, his arm stretched across, like he was preventing me from leaving. “Do you want to lie down or something?”

″No, I’m fine. Do you want to lie down or something?” I teased. He’d loosened his tie but still had on his jacket. “Have a nice time with Lacey?”

″Man, she’s a piece of work.” His hair fell in tousled waves, looking exactly like Lacey ran her fingers through it. “I practically had to fight her off.” Eyes narrowed, he glanced at me. “You jealous?”

″Of Lacey? She’s harmless.”

J.B. guffawed and came in the room. “I don’t think she’s harmless. Doesn’t she, you know, know about—well, us? About the babies and stuff? Aren’t you two friends?”

″I don’t think it would matter to Lacey if you had two wives and sixteen babies. She likes to play. She tried to play with me this morning.”

″Really?” he asked with interest in his voice. “Now that might be something to see.”

″Men are so predictable.” I sat back on the bed and wished fervently to be able to take a deep breath.

″When it comes to two women, definitely. So how’s it going?”

″Good. Only a couple more hours to go.”

J.B. sat down on the bed. “I feel bad that you have to go through all this,” he said, looking as guilty as he sounded. “All the throwing up, not being able to eat what you want to. Coop told me about the chocolate.”

″It won’t last forever. My mother said she had it too, so it’s one more thing I can blame her for.”

″Are you really okay?” he asked, leaning closer and running a finger down my nose. “You’ve been crying. It gets red when you cry.”

″A little,” I admitted. “It’s just Brit—seeing her get married and everything. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

″Is she being nicer to you about the babies? ’Cuz I’ll really have to hurt her if she isn’t.”

″Oh, Brit just likes to be the centre of her own universe,” I said. “My getting pregnant just disrupted her orbit for a bit. Morgan more than makes up for it. And Cooper and Emma and Libby and… and you.”

″Now.”

″Now is all that matters. There’s no point living in the past.” J.B.’s hand was resting on his leg and I picked it up, rubbing his palm before linking my fingers with his. “Seeing David again taught me that.”

″Glad it taught you something.” He gave my hand a squeeze. “You know, I always thought I’d lose her if she went ahead and had a baby. Betsey,” J.B. said suddenly. “I thought a baby would split us up. And it did, only not in the way I first thought it would. Ironic, isn’t it? And that was then. You’d think I’d grow out of it—this being selfish and childish, but the thing is, I can’t help this feeling. And with you…” he trailed off here and took a deep breath. I could see his Adam’s apple bob, and it’s not even that pronounced.

″But with you,” he continued slowly, “it’s like it’s bringing us closer together.”

″Do you think that’s a good thing?” I whispered.

Instead of answering, J.B. raised our hands, still clasped together, and kissed my fingers, all the while looking into my eyes.

My pulse was racing and my heart was hammering loudly in my chest…

No, that was the door. Someone was pounding on the door.

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