Andi darts her eyes between the two of us and Angela takes a deep breath. I squeeze her hand and she gives me a look. I raise my brow and her subtle nod tells me she wants me to take over.
I turn and smile at her parents. “Mr. and Mrs. York. Grandpa. We need to tell you all something?”
Mrs. York has a wild, excited look on her face. She claps her hands in front of her. “What is it?”
“A few weeks ago, while we were in Vegas, Angela and I got married.” The words come out fast not giving them a chance to voice their disapproval. “We’re in the process of fixing it. We know we were impulsive and both of us are truly sorry for keeping something so big from you guys.”
Her mother's shoulders sag and she frowns at me. “I thought you were going to tell me that you’re pregnant.”
Chapter 13
Angela
I must be the slowest woman on the planet. I’ve been throwing up every morning for the last week. Here I am, once again, bent over the Crawford’s toilet bowl throwing up all the dessert I ate yesterday. It wasn’t until my Mom mentioned she thought I was going to announce that I’m pregnant that I even considered it a possibility.
I mean, I thought I was a few days late, but I started a new pack of pills this morning and I never had my period last week. How the hell am I so dumb? When I was in high school, once I was sexually active, if I was one day late, I would start panicking. Now apparently, I can have all the symptoms thrown at me, and it still doesn’t click.
I had kept my expression neutral though. The last thing I needed was for Justin and I to realize that I may be pregnant while in conversation with my parents. No. I needed to first make sure. I didn’t want him to worry unless there was something to worry about.
How did this happen? We've used condoms and I’m on the pill. I take a deep breath as my stomach starts to settle. I’m not going to panic, at least not until I know for sure there’s something to panic about. I get up off the floor and move back to my desk.
I wonder if Lia suspects anything. After all, I was sick every morning last week. I’m not concerned about Wyatt. He hasn’t been here that often. Oh, God. What if Lia does suspect and she told Wyatt. And he tells Justin. Fuck, I don’t want Justin hearing it from anyone else.
I pick up my cell phone and scroll through my contacts. I can’t phone Bridget; she works nine to five. I can’t ask her to cut out of work to bring me what I need. Andi is my other option. She’s an event planner and sets her own hours. If she’s available, she'll be here in a flash. I dial her number and she picks up on the second ring.
“Hey, sweetie.” She greets everyone who is not a client as if they’re a close friend. “I was just thinking about you.”
I don’t wait for her to tell me why she was thinking about me. “I need a favor and I need you not to freak out.”
Lia walks into the office and places a glass of ginger ale in front of me. The fact that it’s not a cup of black coffee like last week tells me she suspects, as well.
Andi’s silent for a moment. “What’s the matter?”
“Seriously, Andrea, you can’t freak out. I’m freaking out and I need you to be the calm one.”
“Jeez, you’re using my full name.” She chuckles waiting for me to continue but I stay silent. “Okay, I promise. I won’t freak out.”
I can’t say it. Like yesterday when I needed to tell my parents about my marriage, I chicken out. “You don’t have to wander through the store. In the feminine products aisle there are these flat boxes with fancy plastic sticks in them.”
Andi’s voice is deadpan. “The flat boxes in the feminine products aisle have pregnancy tests in them.”
“Yes, those.” I exhale trying to ignore Lia’s giggling. “I need one. In fact, you know. Bring one of every kind, just to be sure.”
There’s a long silence and then an ear-piercing squeal. I pull the phone away from my ear. Once it seems she’s calmed down a little I bring it back. She’s high pitched though. “I’m going to be an aunt!”
“Calm down. And you cannot tell anyone. I want to tell Justin first. It’s bad enough you and Lia have to know.”
“Fine, I’ll be quiet. Where are you? At work?”
“Yeah, I’ll text you the address. And please. Be discreet.”
“What, you don’t want the woman at the checkout counter to know I’m buying a pregnancy test for my cousin’s wife?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “God, this is a nightmare. Just hurry up.”
As soon as I hang up, I text her the address and wait. I drop my head into my hands.
“For what it’s worth,” Lia says. “I think you already know what that test is going to say.”
“But we’ve been careful.” I mean, of course I ignored the signs. This was not supposed to happen. “What does he have? Super-sperm or something?”
Lia burst out laughing. She keeps entertained and in somewhat high spirits until the doorbell rings. “Finish that ginger ale. You’re going to need to pee soon.”
She heads downstairs and both her and Andi return. Andi has a small brown paper bag in her hand. “Let’s get this over with.”
I take the bag from Andi and take out the box. She only bought one. It’s one that has a pregnant slot and a not pregnant slot. Shit. I’m really going to do this. “How do I do this?”
Lia rolls her eyes. “The instructions are in the box.”
I frown at her. “How do you know?”
“When you’re married to a
