Page 49 of My Girlfriend is Not the Father

‘I was talking to the dog.’ Jade set her keys on the side table.

Lucy groaned. ‘And here I was about to tell you how much I love the new hair colour, but I’m withholding my compliment ’cause you suck.’

Jade patted the top of her head. ‘Fall colours. Gotta keep up with the trends. And if I want to make my end-of-the-year goal, I need to encourage my clients to spice up their colour routine.’ Jade scratched behind Chucky’s ears. ‘So, what’s up? You said I had to come over right away.’

‘Um, pretty sure my text said if you had nothing going on, you could come hang out.’ Lucy dug out the tub of Chunky Monkey, Jade’s favourite, and offered her a spoon. Lucy preferred Chocolate Truffle, but she loved the little routine they’d built of sharing bites out of the same tub. And yes, it was dumb, and yes, so very sixth grade of her, but it forced their heads close together, and Lucy could indulge in the fantasy of Jade leaning in for a kiss.

‘Fair.’ Jade leaned against the counter and crossed her ankles. She dug into the ice cream and wrapped her full lips around the spoon. Lucy ripped away her gaze.

‘So, I’ve got something to tell you.’ Lucy placed the spoon on the counter.

Jade’s smiled dropped. ‘Yeah?’

Today was a freakishly warm mid-October evening, but everything was so hot. Lucy’s cheeks burned, and the ice cream was not helping cool her mouth down enough. ‘I’m, um. I’m pregnant.’ Saying the words out loud to someone else landed her reality with a thud. I’m actually, genuinely, not hypothetically, for real this time pregnant.

Jade’s eyes went wide, and her chest lifted like she sucked in a breath but didn’t release. Lucy couldn’t interpret anything behind her expression. After what felt like the longest few seconds of her life, Jade pulled Lucy in for a tight hug.

‘You’re going to be the best damn oven that bun has ever seen. I’m so happy for you all.’ Jade stepped back and stared at Lucy’s belly. ‘Why do I have a weird urge to touch your stomach? Don’t let me be one of them.’

‘One of who?’

‘You know, the people that feel entitled to rub a woman’s belly if she’s pregnant.’

‘You can rub this bad boy anytime.’ Lucy patted her stomach. ‘It doesn’t even belong to me. Property of two queens from the Greater Twin Cities area.’

Jade shook her head. ‘Everything about that statement is so wrong.’ She grabbed the spoons and ice cream and jutted her chin towards the sliding glass door. ‘Want to sit outside?’

Like Pavlov’s dog, when Lucy unlocked the door, Chucky dashed outside and tumbled in the grass. A smattering of moths flew in the moonlit air. Lucy followed Jade to the swinging bench and tucked her legs under her butt.

Everything was different. Lucy knew it would be, but it was really, really different.

The rickety wooden seat swung in a hypnotic rhythm as silence filled the space. Jade dug into the dessert and took a hefty spoonful. ‘Okay, tell me everything. How did the dads react? Total freak-out? Was Mason super chill? Did Drew bawl? Or in a shocking twist, the other way around?’

Lucy was in a dream. That’s what this was … Jade was here, next to her, but she was foggy and fragmented. She needed to tell Jade how she felt, how she loved that Jade was here, but she wanted Jade here with her. Not as a friend, not as a buddy. Lucy wanted her arms, and love and heart, and why did this all have to crash on her tonight of all nights?

Jade’s words lingered in the air, just like the moths, and she continued peppering Lucy with questions about how Lucy’s dad felt, how Lucy felt, if she felt anything different in her belly. Lucy’s gaze floated to the north star. She mumbled responses but couldn’t form anything super coherent. The star seemed to flicker broader, wider than she’d seen before, and she wondered for a moment if that was her mom winking at her from wherever she was.

A spoon waved in front of her face, and Lucy blinked back to reality.

‘Hey, you good?’

No. ‘Yep.’ She was lost, scared, and felt more alone than she’d ever felt before. But she was also happy. She needed physical touch right now more than anything, but Jade normally shrank back when Lucy reached for a hug. Lucy wanted to hear everything would be fine. She wanted Jade to snap her out of whatever was happening right now.

The bench stopped swinging. ‘Are you crying?’ Jade’s gaze flashed across Lucy’s face.

‘Nah, must be the allergies.’ Her eyes filled, threatening to overflow. One more word and Lucy was sure the salty-tear floodgate would fly open.

Maybe Jade could sense this, or maybe she needed touch as well, but she inched towards Lucy and draped her arm across the back of the swing. Lucy gratefully accepted her silent invitation and snuggled against her chest. She melted into Jade’s comforting embrace, indulging in her warm body and musky citrus scent. Moments passed in silence, the only sound, the chain squeaking against the swing, and the grass squishing under Chucky’s rolls. The fear and trepidation within Lucy seemed to drift away, and her stomach loosened. She wasn’t sure how long they sat there, but the moon moved behind the trees. Finally, an exhausted Chucky flopped on the deck.

‘Thank you for being here,’ Lucy whispered. Jade planted a kiss on her head, and Lucy savoured the soft touch.

Jade patted Lucy on the arm and gave her a gentle squeeze. ‘I will always be here.’

Lucy wasn’t sure what power those words held, but her chin trembled against their intention.

Chapter 18

Jade