Page 45 of Screwed

There’s no point in lying to Madelyn. She knows me better than most people. Besides, I trust her. I know that I can tell her anything and she’ll keep my secrets, just as I would do for her.

“Do you want to grab dinner tonight? We can bring something over to your place if you just want to take it easy.”

“Yeah, that would probably be better,” I say as my stomach starts to turn.

I can’t tell if it’s from nerves or if maybe these pregnancy suckers aren’t working. I have a feeling that I’m going to need all of the emotional support that I can get after I tell Arlo the news of our impending arrival.

“What do you want to eat?” She asks and I heave.

I spit the sucker out and grab the trash can at my feet and Madelyn winces.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t thinking.”

I dry heave again but there’s nothing in my system to throw up this time besides the sip of ginger ale.

“It’s okay,” I say when Madelyn keeps apologizing.

“Can I get you anything else?”

“No thanks. I brought crackers with me so I can eat them later if I’m hungry.”

She nods, looking worried and I force a smile to my lips.

“I’ll be alright. This comes with the whole pregnancy thing, right? A billion women have survived morning sickness. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” she says but she doesn’t look convinced and I wonder just how bad I look.

Maybe I shouldn’t go see Arlo today…

“I’ll text you about dinner later.”

“Sounds good,” she says and she squeezes my hand before she heads for the door.

I follow after her and lean on the door. I’m hoping that the fresh air will help with the nausea.

“Let me know if you need anything else in the meantime and I can bring it over,” she calls before she heads out down the sidewalk.

I head back inside and check my emails and orders. I need to send out a few things and I let out a breath of relief when I check my bank account balance. I have a good chunk set aside in my savings account but I was worried that I would have to dip into it after I paid for the new security system and display cases a few weeks ago.

The insurance company finally approved my claim and I got the check for that yesterday. I still need to deposit it and I wonder if I should go now before the bank and stores get busy for the day.

I grab my purse, intending to do just that, when the door opens again and Officer Miles steps in.

I completely forgot about him and the theft with everything else going on. I tried to call him once or twice after the new security system was installed a few weeks ago but he wouldn’t tell me much.

“Hey, Ms. Maeve,” he greets me and I smile weakly.

“Officer Miles.”

“I wanted to stop by and tell you that we have good news.”

“You found the antiques?” I ask.

My heart lodges in my throat. Getting back my grandparents’ things would mean the world to me and I’m almost afraid to hope that that’s why he’s here today.

“We did. The thief was trying to pawn them at a shop up in Honey Peak,” he tells me and I sag slightly against the counter in relief.

“Are they… Were they broken?” I ask, almost too afraid to hear the answer. “Or I guess if they were selling them, they must not have been, right?” I babble and Officer Miles gives me a patient smile. “What I’m trying to ask is, are they still in good condition?” I ask and he nods.

---