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Erica stared at her wide-eyed. “He can’t be. He’s in jail.”
“I’m incredibly aware of that, but thank you for reminding me. Yes, my husband, the father of my child, is in jail, so he can’t go with me. I will not walk into a class and have to explain where he is. I’m having a felon’s baby. I’m not proud of that, but it’s what’s happening.” She pointed at her belly. “This is a felon’s baby.”
Erica shrugged. “You probably shouldn’t put that on a T-shirt.”
Allison stared at her, prepared to tell her off for being so insensitive. But instead of yelling, she found herself laughing. It started with a little uncontrollable giggle, then grew. The more she laughed, the more she wanted to give in to the humor. In the back of her mind, she was braced for the tears that would inevitably follow, but for a few glorious seconds, she just laughed.
Erica watched her warily. When the chuckles had faded, she asked, “Are you having a breakdown? Should I call 911?”
“Shut up. I’m fine.” She drew in a breath. “No birthing classes. I’m not doing it.”
“It’s your decision. Just don’t blame me when you forget what to do.”
27
“You okay?” Killion asked as he carried plates to the kitchen sink.
“Fine.”
He looked at her. “‘Fine’ isn’t an acceptable answer. When a woman says she’s fine, she either means I don’t want to talk about it or Now you have to guess what’s bothering me and if you guess wrong, you’ll be punished.”
Erica laughed. “Have I ever done that to you?”
“No, but the potential is always there.”
She rinsed the plates and stacked them by the dishwasher. “I refuse to be judged by your past relationships. I have my flaws but playing games isn’t one of them.”
She looked at him. “I meant it, I’m fine. Summer’s doing better. You heard her at dinner. The harassment seems to be dying off. Hopefully it was short-lived and she won’t have to deal with it much longer. It didn’t go viral, thank God, so there’s that.”
She paused, glanced around to make sure they were still alone in her kitchen, then lowered her voice.
“She’s sticking closer to home. I’m a bad mom, but I’m liking having her around more.”
“That doesn’t make you a bad mom. You wouldn’t wish the problem on her in the first place.”
“Of course not. I’d much rather they came after me.”
“Then they’d have both of us to deal with.”
She groaned. “Don’t protect me. I’m very capable.”
“Yes, you are. I’m not questioning that. But I’d still get between you and any harasser.”
She told herself not to read too much into his words. He was being a guy, nothing more.
They finished clearing the table. While Killion loaded the dishwasher, she wiped the counters. They’d just finished when Summer burst into the kitchen.
“I said I’d help! You did everything!”
Erica leaned against the counter and smiled. “You said you’d be back in five minutes. You were gone football time five minutes.”
“Sorry.” Her daughter grinned. “I really did go upstairs to read Jackson one story, but then I got a text from Donovan.”
Erica struggled to put the name in context. Who was—“Oh, the friend who’s a guy and having trouble with his girlfriend.”
“That’s the one.” Summer danced from foot to foot. “They’re fully broken up and he’s sad, but he still wants to go to prom. He’s a senior and he said he doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life explaining why he didn’t. So he asked me.”
She held up both hands. “As friends, Mom. I’m serious. Don’t make it more than it is.”
