I frown. Megan’s usually very high energy. “You feeling alright?”
She lifts a hand and waves it around. “Fine, fine. I just woke up early and it was a long drive all by myself.”
“Coffee?” I offer. “Lance will be on his way home from work soon, I can have him stop somewhere and pick up a fancy coffee if you don’t want boring made-at-home coffee.”
“Nah,” she says. “I’m trying to cut back on my caffeine intake.”
That provokes another funny look from me. Megan cutting back on caffeine? Next she’s going to tell me she’s given up drinking.
But I don’t say anything because she pushes herself up to sitting and climbs to her feet. “I need a snack,” she announces. “I’ve been craving cheese and crackers lately. Do you have any? Or should we make Lance hit a store on his way home?”
Amused by the fact that despite cutting back on caffeine for whatever weird reason Megan seems to be entirely unchanged, I lead her to the kitchen in search of cheese and crackers.
A few minutes later, we settle on the couch with a spread of three kinds of cheese—cheddar, muenster, and string cheese—two kinds of crackers—Ritz and Wheat Thins—plus some sliced ham for me, and we have ourselves a fancy version of Lunchables, the colored lights of the Christmas tree in the corner adding a cozy ambiance.
Megan laughs as she prepares her plate. “I feel like I’m in elementary school again, but this is the only thing I’ve been able to eat lately.”
I give her a quizzical look as I break off a piece of cheese and lay it on a cracker. “Are you okay, Megan?”
She nods, holding a hand in front of her mouth as she chews. “Yeah, fine. I’m fine. I’m just …” She bites her lip in an uncharacteristic display of reticence. Megan usually blabs everything that comes into her head. Especially to me.
“You’re just …”
She raises her brown eyes to mine, something in her expression that I can’t quite define—excitement? Fear?
Taking a deep breath, she straightens her spine. “I’m pregnant.”
My eyes grow wide, and I blink a few times. That wasn’t at all what I expected her to say. “You’re pregnant?” I squeak.
She’s the one that’s always hassling me about getting pregnant. Anytime I don’t feel good, she’s always popping up with comments about how Lance might’ve knocked me up. So for her to beat me to that milestone is surprising.
Her cheeks turn a little pink, and I reach for her free hand, giving her a squeeze. “That’s so great. I’m so happy for you. When did you find out? When are you due? What did Chris say?”
“Um, well.” She ducks her head again and pushes a stray dark curl behind her ear. “I haven’t quite told him yet.”
That has me blinking in astonishment again. I clear my throat and lick my lips. “Um … why not?”
She sighs, her shoulders slumping in a defeated posture that I so rarely see on Megan that I’m immediately concerned. I nudge her plate closer. “Eat. Spill. What’s going on?”
She pops a cracker into her mouth and chews slowly before shaking her head. “I honestly just found out a couple days ago. I haven’t told anybody else. You’re the first to know.”
That sends a shot of … something through my gut. While I’m thrilled she chose me to be the first to know, I also feel a little weird that I’m finding out before Chris. Shouldn’t he be the first to know he’s going to be a father? I mean, after Megan of course.
She shakes her head at the expression on my face. “I know. But he’s been so busy and all worried and out of sorts. He got hurt, you know”—she waits for my nod—“and between the talk of surgery and the physical therapy and how long he’s going to be on the injured list and what that might mean for his long-term career prospects …” She sighs. “I just didn’t want to add anything to the pile yet. He’s all wound up about Coach Hanson retiring. Chris thinks there’s something hinky about the whole thing, since Coach is young to retire. So he’s worried maybe Coach is sick or …” She waves a hand. “I’m not sure what exactly. So between pushing himself so hard I’m afraid he’ll make his shoulder worse instead of better and worrying about Coach …” She spreads her hands in a helpless gesture, then lays one gently over her belly. “I figured the news could wait a bit until things calm down.”
“Have you scheduled a doctor appointment or anything?”
She shakes her head. “No. I want to tell him before I do that. He’ll want to come with me, as long as he’s not at an away game or anything. I just don’t know if telling him will make him work harder at his therapy or if it’ll make him slack off and claim his injury has him sidelined for the rest of the season so he can be there for all my doctor appointments, you know?”
I spread my hands. “Or you tell him and let him make his own decisions because he’s an adult.”
That makes Megan laugh. “Oh, Abby. That’s a bit rich, coming from you, you know. You’re the one who always tries to make sure the outcome will be exactly what you want before making any decisions or giving out too much information.”
Heat rises to my cheeks. “True. You’re right. But I’ve been working on not taking on responsibility for other people’s emotions anymore. And Chris loves you. He’ll be thrilled at the prospect of having a baby with you. He’ll be hurt if you wait too long to tell him.”
She sighs again. “You’re right. I know. It’s just …” She closes her eyes and sucks in a deep breath. “I’m terrified,”
