Page 22 of Bewitched

CHAPTER NINE

Saturday, March 8

Dallas

Paige sat in the front seat of her sister Patricia’s car and looked out the window as she listened to her other sisters, Penny and Peyton, discuss the merits of Phoebe attending law school. They were on their way to Burlson to have lunch at Babe’s Chicken Dinner House and discuss Paige’s plan for impending motherhood. It had been a tradition for the sisters to get out of town when discussing anything of significance. Somehow escaping the city limits gave them the illusion that their mama wasn’t breathing down their necks.

Not that Faye Bennett was a meddlesome mom; she was just opinionated. And when Paige broke the news that she was pregnant, her mama was going to have a lot of opinions. The first was that she had to let the father know, which, of course, was the right thing to do. It just wasn’t something she wanted to do anytime soon. After the baby was born seemed like a good time. After all, there wasn’t anything he could do while she was pregnant. Also, she had no way of getting ahold of him. It wasn’t like there was some 1-800-Find-A-SEAL number she could call.

She was only twelve weeks pregnant, so there was nothing but time. And if she was being completely honest, she didn’t really want to talk to him. What would she say? Hi, you rescued me from terrorists in Jordan and then we slept together and then you left in the middle of the night without so much as “thanks”? Not that she was mad or anything. But still…it was going to be awkward. The chances of him remembering her were slim, and she had no desire to refresh his memory. He probably saved several people a week and God knows how many he slept with. As far as she could tell, she was just one of many.

Patricia put her hand on her arm and gave her a smile. “How you doing?”

“Good. The nausea comes and goes, but the desire to sleep is constant.”

Patricia laughed as she pulled off the highway into Burlson. “You know this is the easy part, right?” Flicking her blinker on, she turned onto the main road that would lead them to some of the best fried chicken in all of Texas. “I love all three of my children with every fiber of my being, but looking back, I realize being pregnant was the easiest part of motherhood.”

“Thanks for the pep talk, sis. You’re a real ray of sunshine,” Paige said as her sister pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant.

“I do what I can.” She pulled down the mirror and checked her lipstick. “Let’s go feed that baby of yours and show her what good fried chicken tastes like.”

Paige swept her hair over her shoulder and laughed. “I haven’t found out if it’s a boy or a girl, so don’t jinx me.”

“The Bennett women seem to find men who will give them only girls, so I’m placing my bet on your sweet baby adding to the tribe.”

The sisters piled out of the car and walked toward the restaurant. Paige appreciated that she had the support of her sisters. Her mama and daddy would be pleased, too. It just might take them a while. It wasn’t being unmarried that would bother them. It would be the fact that she was doing it alone. They wanted their girls to be happy, and they probably couldn’t imagine that raising a baby alone would make Paige a lot happier than being in a relationship with someone she didn’t love.

***

The table groaned with food, and Paige was as delighted as could be. There was a large platter of fried chicken, another plate of fried catfish, and bowls brimming with sides. Paige filled her plate with some of almost everything and then decided to add a biscuit. Looking up, she caught her sisters staring at her. “What? I’m eating for two, so I figure the next twenty-eight weeks are all about eating double.”

Patricia and Penny glanced at one another and grinned. They were the two who had kids, so it seemed they had something to say. “Spit it out, you two.”

Penny, the sassiest of all the sisters, shook her head. “Just remember, whatever weight you gain, you’re going to have to lose. The baby will weigh around eight or ten pounds, so don’t fool yourself.”

Lifting a biscuit, Paige poured honey on it and took a big bite. When she was done, she smiled at the group. “Doesn’t bother me a bit. I plan on enjoying this, so if you value your life, don’t get between me and my plate.” The group erupted into laughter and Paige didn’t pay them any mind. There was a plate of fried chicken in front of her and she was going to enjoy it. Waving her fork at the group, she added, “Better be careful. I might not leave any for you all.”

An hour later the women leaned back in their chairs and looked at the empty plates. Peyton took her phone out and snapped a quick picture. “This is something we should remember. We ordered enough food for ten people, and the five of us practically licked the plates clean.”

“Pie,” Paige said as she rubbed her stomach. “We haven’t had dessert.”

Phoebe, the youngest of them all, leaned over in her chair and rested her head on Paige’s lap. “I’ll grab a quick nap. Then I’ll be ready for pie.”

Paige swept the hair off her sister’s face and patted her gently. “Go ahead, Phoebs.”

Peyton tapped her spoon on the table and waited until everyone looked her way. “Let’s start the Bennett sister meeting before any more of us fall into a fried chicken coma.”

“I have decided to tell Mama and Daddy next Sunday at dinner,” Paige said. “I figure if I hold out for very much longer, then it will just blow up in my face.”

“What are you going to do about the baby daddy?” Penny asked.

“I’ll try to find him after the baby is born. I Googled him after my appointment the other day, and there is no information listed for Blake Carmichael in San Diego or Virginia. Those are the two places that SEALs are stationed.”

“How hard did you look?” Peyton asked.

“I entered his name into Google and found nothing.”

“We can use Daddy’s contacts and find him,” Patricia added.

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