Page 34 of Knocked Up by Mr. Grump Lawyer

I decided to ask Sandy if she’d called.

“Oh, Atty. Kayla Brown just called in sick,” she told me. Then leaning forward with a meaningful, teasing look in her eyes, she asked, “Why do you want to know?”

I chuckled. “Because we have some work to do on our case.”

“Oh, I see,” she said, nodding with understanding but still raising an eyebrow. I could tell what she was thinking — that Kayla was that mysterious woman I loved.

Is she right?

I literally shook my head to brush off the thought. My mind shifted back to my apprehensions. I needed to hear from Kayla.

Thankfully, she answered my call when I tried again.

“Hi, Kayla,” I greeted, speaking in a low voice. I had stepped out of the office so no one would hear me. “I heard you called in sick. How are you feeling?”

“Oh, hi,” she said from the other end of the line. I could sense the fatigue in her voice. She did not sound like her usual self. “I just… I think I had morning sickness earlier… I was dizzy and kept throwing up.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I said, trying to keep my anxiety at bay. “Do you want me to come over? What do you need?”

“No, don’t come here,” she said at once. “You have to work. Don’t mind me.”

“Kayla, what do you need?” I asked again. “If you don’t want me to go there, I can have Willard get you something.”

“Well…” I could tell there was something she wanted, but she was hesitating.

“What is it?”

“I, uh… I’m really craving for Belgian chocolate ice cream and Belgian waffles…”

I was surprised. But I told her not to worry. “I’ll have Willard deliver them to you as soon as possible. And please don’t forget to take your vitamins, okay? Have you eaten breakfast? You need to just rest a lot today…”

“I’m okay,” she said, giggling. “Don’t fret too much. I’m fine. I mean, it’s normal to have morning sickness, right? And it’s normal to have cravings?”

“Yes, but---”

“I’ll be fine, Robert.”

“Alright, don’t worry about anything here, too,” I told her. “Just don’t think about work today, Kayla. Just relax and enjoy your time off. Rest as much as you can.”

“Yes,Mom,” she answered jokingly, laughing. “I’ll do everything you say,Mom.”

“You better!” I answered in a pretend, stern voice. We both laughed. I’ve never felt this kind of bliss in my heart for a very, very long time. We ended the call with big smiles on our faces.

That afternoon, I was called by Mr. Miller for an emergency meeting. My immediate reaction was to inform Kayla, but I held back. I knew she was probably taking a nap and I didn’t want to worry her. I planned to meet our client first, and then I’ll probably have to drop by the court.

The meeting took longer than I expected. Then I had to wait a long time at the court to process some papers and talk to important people.

I got to Kayla’s apartment at almost six in the evening.

As soon as she opened the door, I immediately saw the angry look on her face. It certainly wasn’t the greeting I was expecting.

“Why didn’t you tell me!” she said furiously, stomping toward the living room as I followed her inside and closed the door behind me. “You didn’t even bother to tell me that you went to Fantasy Flicks to talk to Mr. Miller!”

“Oh, that,” I said, taken aback and realizing what she was so angry about. “I’m sorry, it was urgent and unplanned, and I was thinking about your condition…”

“I’m perfectly fine!” she argued, crossing her arms in front of her chest and pouting her pretty lips.

“No, I don’t think so,” I said. “That’s why you opted not to go to work today, and that’s not like you. You must have felt really bad this morning.”

---