She immediately jerks back to the right, but I stick with her. Definitely on top of my game today.
Unfortunately, she has about a half a foot of height on me, so she immediately sees the bathroom counter.
And what’s lying on top of it.
Damn it.
I watch a sly smile spread across her face. “Secrets? Hmm, very interesting. Why?”
“Because, I still have one minute. There’s nothing to say just yet, but, thank you for breaking in…uninvited.”
She looks down at me, cups her hand over her mouth, and then giggles. Trashhole.
I’m so glad to have a best friend who, without fail, always seems to find the utmost amusement every single time life throws me a curveball. “And here I thought you were just nervous about getting married. I should have known when you stopped eating bacon at breakfast.” She lets out another small giggle, then tilts her head slightly to the right. “Alex, why didn’t you tell me?” Shutting the door behind her, she locks it while still looking at me. Nice.
“There wasn’t anything to tell. And there’s still not…not for another forty-five seconds or so.” Harlow cranes her neck as far as she can to try to catch a glimpse.
“Ohmygod! Harlow, chill out! As if I’m not nervous enough.”
Taking a break from her neck lengthening exercise, she once again tips her head in my direction. Still smiling, she places both her hands on my shoulders. “Alex, what is there to be nervous about? You’ve done it three times before. What’s one more?”
Oh, my best friend and her infinite wisdom…
“You’re kidding me, right? We’re talking about the possibility of another child here, Harlow, not whether or not I should add another half-mile onto my daily run.” We let out a simultaneous laugh. Right, like I run…ever. I’m not even sure why I said that. Even the remote possibility of being pregnant is screwing with my brain.
Releasing a quick nervous breath, I turn my body away from hers to face the mirror. I let out a long, deep sigh and gesture towards my reflection. “That’s why. I’m too old. I can barely keep up with Rylie. Can you imagine a baby?”
“You are not old. If you’re old, then I’m old so that can’t be true. And Rylie...” She pauses and shrugs her shoulders. “Well, let’s just hope she’s going through an extremely energetic and inquisitive phase.”
“Case in point, there’s no way I can handle another one. They get worse the more I have!”
I watch her lips quirk up, and my eyes follow her in the mirror as she moves to stand next to me. Placing her arm around my shoulders, she pulls me into her body, giving me a much needed squeeze. I lay my head on my best friend’s shoulder as she continues. “Plus, we don’t know anything yet. Why don’t we just take a peek at the test before we start having an unnecessary emotional breakdown, hmm?” She stares at my mirror image for just a little while longer. I can tell she’s thinking because she has that far off stare when she’s challenging her brain.
She’s totally counting.
My suspicions are confirmed as, right on cue, her green eyes move away from mine and fall directly to the counter. “Time’s up, Alex.”
I knew it.
Her eyes flicker back to mine and I just stand there. Not moving.
We hold each other’s stare until she widens her eyes at me in a rather threatening manner. I exasperatedly roll my eyes back at her, but, knowing she’s right, I eventually nod my head and drag myself to where the potentially life-altering contraption waits. I glance back at her over my shoulder, hoping maybe she’s kind enough to have disappeared, leaving me alone to discover my fate. Nope. She nudges her head in the direction of the test and I purse my lips, giving her one last protest. “Fine!”
Once again facing the counter, I reach forward and close my eyes. Taking in a deep breath, I allow myself a few seconds of peace in an attempt to calm my heart which seems to have found its way into my throat. Working through my thoughts, I try to tune out my best friend standing in the corner, nervously shifting her stance and sighing out loud over, and over, and over…
A baby? Wow. Never in a million years would I have thought I would be doing this again. Blake! Ohmygod! Blake will flip out! He’s going to be so excited!
Just the thought makes me smile and I open my eyes. Maybe I can do this.
Picking up the test, I take my first glance. Hmm.
Inching my face closer, I narrow my eyes to get a better look. Then slowly, I tilt my head thinking maybe that will help. Nope.
Holding the test up higher, I try looking at it that way.
“Alex! Seriously, I’m dying over here!” Internal eye roll.
I squint even harder, and as I again bring it closer for another look, a hand magically appears over my shoulder and tries to grab it out of my grasp. Luckily, my reflexes are still at top speed. I drop the test to my waist and throw my elbow back just a little to provide Ms. Nosey Parker ample warning. “Back. Off. Harlow. Give me one freakin’ second.”
“How long does it take to read the damn test? It’s either positive or not. What’s the problem?”
I raise it back up and look again. “Well, the problem is I can’t tell if there’s a second line. It kind of looks like it, but I can’t tell for sure.”
“What? You’re crazy. Let me see it.” She snakes her hand over my body and grabs the test before I have a chance to deflect.
“Harlow, damn it!”
I watch her eyes as she attempts to focus them. After a few seconds, a small smile appears on her face as she raises her eyebrows, looking at me over the stick in her hand. “Alex, there’s another line. Clear as day. There are two blue lines. Here, see for yourself.”
She hands the test back to me and I take another look. Yep. Two blue lines.
“Well, it wasn’t that clear just a second ago.” I continue to stare, wondering where the hell this other blue line came from, when realization finally strikes. I lay the test back down on the counter and whirl around to face Harlow. “Harlow, I’m gonna have a baby!” With my heart pounding, I run over to her and throw my arms around her neck. “I’m gonna have another baby!” I shout as we both jump up and down together from pure excitement.
I’m gonna have another baby. Holy crap.
Unwrapping my arms, I attempt to slow my heart rate and gradually back away from Harlow to take a seat on the commode. All this crazy ruckus is making me light-headed. Once the back of my legs feel the cold porcelain, I plop down onto the seat. “I’m gonna have a baby.”
Smile still intact, Harlow simply nods her head. “Yep, you’re gonna have a baby.” She lets out a small giggle. “I guess you have your blue now…you know, for the wedding. All is complete.”
As I sit on the toilet, the knowledge that I am indeed going to have a baby settles into my thick brain. “Harlow, I’m not too sure about this. Throwing another baby into the mix is just plain crazy.”
“Well, I don’t really think you have much of a choice in the matter. Good thing you have nine months to get used to the idea. Plus, you have Blake, doofus. You’re not doing it yourself.”