Emily pulled open the door to a midtown Starbucks, welcoming the air-conditioned setting from the summer heat. She immediately spotted Olivia, who’d jumped up from her chair as though it were set ablaze. Emily squeezed through the lunchtime crowd, excited to see her friend. The last several weeks had been nothing short of chaotic, so their time together became limited at best. With a little over a month until she was due, Emily’s schedule danced around weekly doctor’s appointments, Lamaze classes, and purchasing any last minute baby items she and Gavin could think of.
Smiling, Emily approached Olivia and dropped her purse onto the table. As soon as she went to pull Olivia in for a hug, Emily noticed her friend didn’t at all appear her usual self. “What’s the matter?” Emily scanned Olivia’s worried expression.
Olivia hesitated, the lines of her frown deepening. “I have to talk to you.”
“All right,” Emily drawled, her nerves spiking. She’d never seen Olivia look so panicked. Pulling a chair out from the table, Emily sat. Her head spun over every possible thread of bad news her friend could dish out.
Olivia settled into a chair and slid a Venti drink across the table. “I ordered you an iced chai latte. I figured it’ll help calm your nerves after I tell what I found out.”
Emily’s heart dropped. “Liv, what the hell’s going on?”
Olivia nibbled on her thumb nail. “Just promise me you won’t get mad at me.”
“What?” Eyes wide, Emily shook her head. “Don’t get mad at you? What did you do?”
“Em, just promise me you won’t get pissed.”
Emily crossed her arms, her stomach twisted in knots. “Okay, Olivia, even though you haven’t told me what I shouldn’t be pissed about, I promise I’ll try not to get pissed. Is that good enough for you?”
Olivia slowly nodded and blew out a puff of air. “I…” She paused, glanced around, and swiped a hand through her hair. “I called the Maury Povich show and—”
“You what?” Emily gasped, her eyes wider. “I told you not to call them, Olivia. How could you do this to me? Like it’s not embarrassing enough not knowing who the father is, you want me to air my shit on national television?” Emily stood, yanking her purse from the table. “We’re not doing it.”
“Emily, wait!” Olivia jumped to her feet, following Emily toward the exit. She grabbed Emily’s arm and whipped her around. “You’re not listening to me. There’s more.”
“More?” Emily questioned, her brows furrowed. “What, did you tell them what positions I like during sex? Maybe you went as far as letting them know I made out with Candice Weathers at the graduation party while I was drunk?” Without waiting for a reply, Emily pulled her arm from Olivia’s grasp, turned on her heel, and continued weaving through the crowd.
“Emily!” Olivia called. “There’s another paternity test available, and it’s noninvasive.” Emily skidded to a stop. With her lips parted and shock running through her system, she turned around. “It’s true,” Olivia continued. “It’s a simple blood test. You don’t even have to go on the show, and you guys can have the results in less than ten days.”
Emily swallowed, her heart pounding faster. Olivia started for the table and Emily followed. Feeling as though she’d been sucker punched, Emily dropped her purse, pulled out a chair, and stared at Olivia. “Tell me what you know,” she breathed, trying to calm down.
“I’m sorry I called the show,” Olivia whispered. “It was going to be a joke. I wasn’t even gonna give them your real names. I had Olive Oil for you, Popeye Rodriguez for Gavin, and Norman Bates for Douchecock. I figured I’d put the tickets in a card since you wouldn’t let us throw you a shower.”
“Liv, I’m not worried about the show.” She sighed, attempting to compute how twisted, yet hysterical her friend was. “Just tell me what you know.”
“It’s called a noninvasive prenatal paternity test. The woman from the show said some company, DNA Diagnostic Center, performs them at their labs across the United States. They need a blood sample from the mother and a blood sample from one of the potential fathers.” Olivia shrugged. “That’s it.”
Emily shook her head, unable to believe what she was hearing. “How can that be? Everything I read online about the amniocentesis said you need amniotic fluid to perform DNA testing prior to giving birth.”
Olivia took a sip of her frozen Frappuccino and leaned back. “I really don’t understand it myself. She said something about fetal cells in the mother’s bloodstream. That’s it, Emily. Within ten days of the lab receiving the samples, you can go online to the DDC’s website, and you’ll have your results.”
Ten days. Ten. Simple. Quick. Days.
Emily brought her hand to her mouth, her voice a whisper. “My God, why didn’t my doctor tell me about this months ago? This whole time, we could’ve known.” Her heart seared. Their nightmare shouldn’t have lasted as long as it had. Hell, at that point, Emily felt all kinds of fucked up about taking her doctor’s word for it without doing further research.
“It’s a relatively new test, and let’s be honest, your doctor’s relatively old. His office is a throwback to the seventies. Shit, he still performs sonograms.” Olivia slid her chair closer to Emily and placed her hand on her shoulder. “Maybe he didn’t know about it. Either way, you do now.”
Emily swallowed, trying to process what’d been dumped in her lap. There was truth in Olivia’s statement. Emily now knew about the test and soon Gavin would, too. They couldn’t take back the sleepless nights over the last several months. They couldn’t remove every second of the agonizing wait they’d endured. Six and a half months of worrying whether or not she and Gavin would spend the rest of their lives tied to Dillon couldn’t be undone. Armed with new information, Emily wasn’t about to let another wicked, unknowing minute tick by. Standing, she grabbed her purse, popped a kiss on Olivia’s head, and with a scared and heavy heart, headed out the door to go tell Gavin.
She only prayed their long-awaited answer would be the one they so desperately wanted to hear.
Nerves a tangled mess, Emily stepped from the elevator into Blake Industries.
Beaming, Gavin’s secretary stood from her desk. “Hey, Emily!” she chirped, gathering her into a hug. When she pulled back, her smile widened as she gave Emily a once-over. “Not too much longer.”
“Yeah. Not much at all.” Emily shifted in her heels, wondering why she was wearing them. Her swollen belly had nothing on her feet at that point. “I’m ready to be done with this pregnancy.”
“I bet. The last few weeks can be brutal, but it’s so worth it at the end. Before you know it, you’ll have a little life in your arms. You’ll forget each second of discomfort. You and Mr. Blake won’t be able to contain your excitement.” Emily gave her a weak smile. Natalie was on the long list of people who didn’t know the real scenario. With trepidation in her brown eyes, Natalie tilted her head. “Can I… feel?”
“Of course.” Emily took her hand and placed it on her stomach. “He’s very active this afternoon.” And he was. Emily swore her little man was doing cartwheels. Under the silk of her sundress, her flesh rolled in waves with his squirming movements.
“God, I remember this,” Natalie sighed. “Well, enjoy it. There will come a time in your life when you realize this was one of the best parts.”
Emily gave another weak smile and glanced toward Gavin’s office. “Is he available?”
Natalie nodded. “Yep. He just finished up a meeting, so you caught him at a good time.”
“Thanks, Natalie. I’ll catch up with you on my way out.”
“Sounds good,” she said, reclaiming her seat, her attention focused on the ringing phone.