Page 33 of Our Unexpected Beginning
Julia:
A warm bed andSammy, my aunt’s Saint Bernard.
Graham:
Be sure to save me a spot. I’ll be back home in a few weeks.
Julia:
Might have to resort to some bribery.
Graham:
Hmm, I think I can manage that.
Graham:
I know what my girl likes.
The early morning light cracked through the windows, casting shadows across the bathroom floor as Julia sat hunched over, her face buried in her hands. Despite her efforts to remain stoic, tears still managed to find their way through her fingers, trickling down her cheeks and splashing onto her lap.
She wasn’t a crier. She loathed it, she was taught crying was a form of manipulation and blackmail, and she despised the way her body reacted to it. Her face would swell and redden, her nose would stuff up and run, and the heavy weight in her chest made it impossible to breathe.
But this morning, she couldn’t hold back the flood. As she sat on the cold bathroom floor, holding a handful of pregnancy tests, she finally gave in to the overwhelming wave of emotions.
The first positive was instant but faint–a fluke.
The second, third, and fourth all taunted her just the same.
Pregnant.
Big. Bold. Mocking letters.
There was no denying it.
It had been three months since she’d seen Graham at the club or in person. Their phone calls stayed heated and turned them into panting messes.
With two little lines, their encounters just went from casual to catastrophic.
It explained why she’d been feeling uneasy and out of sorts. She didn’t have a dust headache or other ailment.
Julia got up from the floor and looked down at the tests lined up on the counter. She leaned forward to wash her face, unable to hide the whirring of her mind. Questions were already lining up waiting to be answered.
Did she want this?
Did she want to have her life tied to Graham?
To a baby?
There’s no such thing as ready, but is now the right time?
Was she strong enough to make the hard moves? With or without help.
Would she be able to Gilmore it and make lemonade or whatever they say?
Was this something he wanted?
Julia stepped into the shower, hoping all the evidence of guilt would be washed away in the current of scalding water to be dealt with when she went home in a few days. Nine months was a blink of time but this had to be kept for now.
