Page 6 of Omega’s Oath

Taking a bite of the red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting, she sighed in pleasure. What was another pound when she was carrying a football around with her anyway? Thinking of football made her think of Harlan. Why, after all this time had he just turned up? She’d been happy to see him, he’d been her best friend for years and the silly misunderstanding when she was in college had driven a wedge between them that she’d allowed. Regret hit her and she was happy to have a chance to make things right.

He’d been the only person on her side as a child, always going to bat for her, wiping her tears away and protecting her from the cruelty of a family with a sharp tongue and beliefs that dated back to the dark ages. It was good he’d come.

Her phone pinged and she lifted it seeing Aide’s name.

Aide: Hope you enjoy the cake. Don’t forget to save me one.

Rose snapped a quick pic of her eating hers and sent it with a smiley emoji.

Aide: Hope that wasn’t mine you were eating.

Rose grinned.

Rose: Nope. Yours is safe…. For now.

Aide: See you tomorrow, Rose.

They had no plans tomorrow, as it was Sunday and a non-workday, although her job wasn’t exactly nine to five.

Rose: Tomorrow?

Aide: I’m meant to be building the rest of the furniture for the nursery for you.

Rose had clean forgot about that.

Rose: Ah, yes, of course. See you around three?

Aide: Sounds good.

Rose laid her phone down. That should give her plenty of time to catch up with Harlan and get home.

The next morning Rose decided to do a little shopping before she met Harlan. She still had her hospital bag to put together and needed a few more pieces to go in it. It was hard to believe that in a little over a month she’d have a baby. Excitement warred with fear at the thought of the labor and the end result.

It sucked that she had no partner to share it with, but she pushed the thoughts away; she was lucky to be having this child at all. Early menopause had almost robbed her of her chance, and only chance and luck had allowed her to go to the doctors when she would’ve typically dismissed the symptoms as stress.

That, and catching the first time after the blood test and scan had revealed she was about to ovulate. Rose had known what she wanted, so choosing a donor had been easy. What had been most hard was telling Aide that the baby wasn’t his. Coming so quickly after their wild sex in her kitchen it was easy to see why he would’ve thought that, but she’d reminded him they’d used a condom.

He’d seemed almost crestfallen, disappointed and she’d desperately wanted to console him but stopped herself. That wasn’t her job, he’d made it clear she wasn’t the woman for him, and she couldn’t chase him. Now she reflected it might have been for the best. His friendship was something that had been invaluable in the early days of sickness and secrets when she was keeping it from everyone until she felt it was safe to say something.

The bond they had was one she cherished, even if she did find herself wishing he’d been the father of her son. Dreaming that he’d teach him to play soccer or sit him on his knee as he taught him coding. Sometimes she thought she saw a look of longing in his eyes that matched how she felt when he thought she wasn’t looking but she knew it was wishful thinking.

Shaking her head, she rid her brain of a fantasy that couldn’t be and would do no good to want and looked at the cute pale blue onesie that read, Mommy’s coffee buddy. She added that and more first-size diapers to her haul and paid, noticing she’d lost track of time and it was already eleven-fifty. She’d have to haul ass not to be late for Harlan.

Arriving at the restaurant just two minutes late, she saw Harlan and waved as she walked past the hostess with her bags. He stood and moved to take the bags from her, placing them on the inside of the booth on her side before helping her with her coat.

“Sorry, I’m late. I got distracted by baby clothes.”

Harlan chuckled, and she realized she’d missed her friend, his warm, easy laugh reminding her of good times.

“It’s okay, Rosie. I know what you get like when you shop.”

Rose smiled as she picked up the menu. “I know, I just lost all sense of time.”

Harlan shook his head with a grin. “Good to know some things haven’t changed.”

“So, tell, me all about you. How have you been?”

Harlan laid his menu down and looked at her. “Gosh where to start. After we lost touch, I went to work for Sanex as a junior rep. Worked my way up and became head of sales for the East Coast. I got married, got divorced, and now I work for Pharmacorp as director of sales.”