Page 5 of Abstract Passion

The second I set foot in Petal and Vine, Elizabeth showered me with a barrage of questions. I wanted to answer each and every one of them, but remained tight lipped. Told her I invited Cora for lunch and would answer everything then. Since then, I have felt her concerned gaze on my profile. Have seen her lips part—questions written in the soft lines of her forehead—before she snaps her mouth shut.

It’s been torture.

Any minute, my best friend will walk through the front door of Petal and Vine, pushing a stroller and cooing with her angelic daughter. And then, the three of us will dig in on lunch as I spill the beans about my accidental pregnancy.

Since calling her, I’ve mentally rehearsed more than a dozen ways to sayI’m pregnantwithout saying those two specific words. For some reason, saying more feels necessary.

I hate how I’m riddled with anxiety. About saying the words aloud. About telling my best friend and second mother news that will thrill them. Speaking the words to someone other than Devlyn makes it more real. Tangible. Legit.

Nerves aside, Cora and Elizabeth are the first two women I want to tell.

Mom will find out soon enough, but I need to be in the right headspace to share such big news with her. Hell, Mom doesn’t even know about Devlyn. Doesn’t know we have been in this weird friends-to-lovers relationship for months. Had she known, I would’ve heard an endless string of pleas from her. Daily texts asking for updates on my love life. Calls more than once a week, masked as her checking in but really searching for unspoken clues.

Ugh.

Sharing the news with Mom will be a blast—insert thick layer of sarcasm. I already hear the long list of questions on her roster.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were dating someone?”

“When can I meet him?”

“You found someoneandyou’re pregnant?”

“Did you find a doctor yet?”

“Can I go to your appointments?”

“How long have you known?”

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“When are you moving in together?”

“Are you planning to get married?”

Of all the questions I picture my mother asking, the last is the one I fear most. Deep down, Mom only wants the best for me and Micah. But I am fully aware that, in her mind, love equals marriage and babies. If the solid relationship my parents have isn’t proof enough, her reasons for starting family dinners more than a year ago is definitely hard evidence.

I love my mother. Love her big heart and desire to see everyone happy. Love that dreamy look she gives Dad. I only wish she understood happiness comes in different forms.

When Micah and Peyton announced they wouldn’t start a family, Mom all but lost her shit. She didn’t understand how or why they didn’t want children. Because Nicole Reed doesn’t look beyond her own experiences. Can’t fathom anything other than her own way of life being great. With Micah and Peyton not wanting children, I pray her perspective changes.

The bell over the front door jingles. I plaster on a big smile and mentally prepare myself for the most adult conversation I’ve had in years. Then sag against the arrangement table when a man steps around the pails of loose flowers.

He holds up two large paper bags. “Delivery from See Ew Thai.”

I step around the table, dig into the pocket of my apron, hand him a cash tip then take the bags. “Thank you.”

“Have a great day, miss.”

As the man exits the shop, Cora walks in with baby Clara in her beast of a stroller.

Oh god. Something else to worry over. All the gadgets and gizmos we will need for a baby.

“Auntie Shelly must have big news if she’s sweet-talking Mommy with Asian food,” Cora coos at Clara as she sidles up to the arrangement table. Eyes wide, Clara slaps at a toy dangling inches from her face.

“Guilty,” I say, bending over the stroller and lightly pinching Clara’s toes. “How’s my favorite niece today? Is Mommy spoiling you rotten?”

Clara makes an unintelligible noise and we both laugh. Elizabeth exits the storage room and gives Cora a warm, welcoming hug before removing her granddaughter from the stroller.

---