“Nice,” he said. “I’m thinking you have an idea what to do with this room.”
Gini smiled and opened her eyes wide, then moved her left hand and the paper fell to the floor. Robert reached down and picked it up. In the corner, written in awkward letters, was “daby.”
He leaned over and cupped his hand under her chin and kissed her. Then it hit him. “Gini… are you trying to tell me you want to have a baby?”
Gini grinned and rubbed her abdomen.
“No,” he said. “You’re pregnant?”
“Oh, yes. Bay… be, boy, Rob… bie.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oh, yes. Cat… ter… rin, Guin… ney, bay… be, gether.”
Robert put his arm around Gini and called Dr. Nelson.
“Linda, Gini thinks she’s pregnant. Can you check her?”
“Absolutely. My appointments are done for the day. Bring her over.”
Robert was skeptical since there was no indication that Gini’s hormone count had changed. However, her hormones weren’t constantly checked, and it had been a while. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on Gini’s part, or maybe she wanted another child. If so, they could adopt. But as he thought about it, he realized that Gini always knew such things.
They walked to the kitchen as Robert folded the paper and stuck it in his pocket. “Listen, Deb, Gini and I are going to go check something out. We won’t be long.”
“Okay, dinner’s regular time.”
“No problem, we’ll be here.”
Debbie went into the empty room and picked up the tablet from the seat. The page on top was blank; the hard hat was on the floor in front of the chair.
About an hour later, Gini and Robert walked in laughing and talking, arm in arm. Robert put a prescription bag on the kitchen counter.
“So, what’s up?” Debbie asked coming into the room.
Robert opened the bag and handed Debbie the pill bottle.
Debbie looked at it and then at them. “Prenatal vitamins? Gini?”
“Oh, yes.”
Robert took the folded paper out of his pocket, opened it, and laid it on the kitchen island. Debbie put her hand over her mouth, covering her grin.
“Daddy, Daddy,” Jessica called, running into the room.
He lifted her up on the counter. “Princess, how’d you like to be a big sister?”
She looked at Gini, then threw her arms around his neck. “We’ll name him Robbie.”
Jessica already knew—whether Gini had told her, or she had her mother’s same sixth sense, Debbie didn’t know—but Jessica knew.
Chapter 15—Filled with Heartache
The house was full of happiness after the big announcement. And Catherine was thrilled that she and Gini would have kids the same age. How wonderful to share such joy with her best friend.
Debbie tried to be uplifted with the news, but it only compounded her anxieties. She kept waking in the middle of the night in cold sweats with her heart pounding. What if Gini died in childbirth? What if Robert found out about her and Gini. How could she tell Kensy to leave her alone without hurting a woman she adored?
Kensy had been worried about Debbie since her friend had died. It was like Micky had taken a part of Debbie with her when she left the earth. Kensy had had talks with both Robert and Reverend Gilbert about Debbie’s withdrawal. Robert shared her concern, and the reverend had told them both that Debbie was grieving and the best thing to do for her was let Debbie figure it out on her own. “Grieving can be a long process for folks. They just need to find their way through it,” he’d said.
Kensy wanted to be with Debbie and help her with her grief, but she didn’t want to smother her either. They hadn’t played much tennis in the winter, since the indoor courts at the club had been under renovation. Debbie was buried in sadness, and Kensy knew it, but she would give her some space. And she would also keep in touch to check on her and make sure she didn’t go too far down. She cared a lot for her friend, the devoted big-hearted nurse that she had quietly fallen in love with. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out Debbie and Micky had been lovers. Kensy was just going to be there for Debbie until she could see there was a bright light and good life ahead of her.
It was a Saturday afternoon late in March. The weather was still cold, but the sun shone brightly. Debbie thought she was going to burst with worry and grief. She put on her coat and went for a walk. The more she walked, the deeper she fell into painful thoughts. She wanted to run away, yet she had nowhere to go. She walked and walked, not paying any attention to where she was, then looked up and discovered she was in front of Kensy’s boutique in the town center. Debbie was frozen to the bone, her nose running, and her eyes watering from the stinging cold.
Kensy walked a customer to the door and found Debbie standing with her hands in her coat pockets, staring into the store window.
“Dee… Debbie! What are you doing?”
Debbie slowly turned to look at her. She was numb. What was she doing at Kensy’s doorstep? That was the last place she wanted to be.
Kensy put her arm through Debbie’s and took her inside. Debbie didn’t say a word, just walked almost flat-footed, dumbfounded.
“Lorraine, can you take care of closing the shop? I need to be with my friend.”
“No problem, Kens.”
Kensy took Debbie to the back room and sat her in front of the hot radiator at the wall.
“Here, drink this coffee.” Kensy held the mug
