6. Emily

Chapter six

Emily

O n the way home, the baby decides it needs cheesecake from Mario's deli and a large order of crab rangoon from the little Chinese shop next door. I should be watching every penny and every calorie, since my butt and savings will never recover at this rate, but both of those are definitely a problem for future Emily to deal with.

I feed Sir Jon and collapse into my trusty recliner…the only place I can sit or sleep comfortably with this ridiculous third trimester heartburn and spend the afternoon watching game shows as I work my way through the food.

Sir Jonathan/John-John/John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt finishes his meal and comes to rest on what little is left of my lap, shoving his ungrateful face into my food until I finally give in and let him have what's left of the cheesecake. He's way too picky for someone I found in the back alley behind the shop.

At five, Angie calls for her daily check in.

"Still pregnant?" she teases, as she does every day.

"Still pregnant," I tell her with a long sigh.

Angie's been my best friend since ninth grade. She never lets a sigh go unnoticed. "What's wrong? That asshole isn't back, is he? I'll send Michael over–"

The asshole in question, of course, is Ivan–the most beautiful man I'd ever seen in person until today. He'd disappeared as soon as the word "pregnant" appeared on the test. "It's just been a weird day. Weirdo customers." I tell her the tale of the two hot guys, leaving nothing out. She just laughs.

"Damn, girl. Getting men to run must be your special talent."

"Hey! I mean, you're not wrong, but why you do you have to point it out when a girl is down?"

She chuckles. "Girl, you're not down. With your luck, you're better off that they always run away. Ivan would have just made life for you and the Gremlin harder."

I sigh. "Probably." But damn, it sure would be nice to have some help now that I can't touch my toes.

"Not probably. He would have totally made your life harder–always disappearing on ‘business'." I can almost see the face she's making. "The universe did you a solid, getting him to go. He was probably up to no good. He would have dragged you and the Gremlin right into it."

"Yeah…" I agree.

Angie changes the subject. "So, you still up for the baby shower? It's all Mrs. Downs can talk about."

Angie's day job is at a nursing home. I've become a regular over the years with leftover and unsalable bouquets. I've even done a few flower arrangement classes for the residents. Despite their age, there's been no judgment from the ladies about my single mom status. In fact, quite the opposite–they've taken a great interest in hosting a baby shower for me.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. I have the perfect muumuu for it."

Angie laughs. "I promise you, you are nowhere near as big as I was at the end with Junior."

"I don't know…I think my cankles are setting records over here."

There's a crash and a scream from Angie's end. "Sorry Em, I've got to go play kid referee," she says with a sigh.

"Alright, love you."

"Love you too. I have my phone on me all the time. Call at the first sign. I'll take you down there twenty times if I have to."

I laugh. I don't tell her I plan on waiting until the very last moment. "Will do," I lie, then end the call.

Sir Jon comes around again and flops his long body alongside mine in the recliner, hogging up more than his fair share of the real estate, but I'm too tired to shove him away. The six o'clock news comes on as the sun sets outside. I should get up and do things, but instead, I lean back in the recliner and kick my feet out, pulling the blanket up over me and allow the exhaustion of growing a squirmy little baby drag me into unconsciousness.