“Okay. I’ll let him know.”

“I can’t wait. I’ll help you with the baby in any way I can. I wasn’t able to be there much for your wedding, but now it will be easier.”

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t do much either.”

“Well, I’ll let you go. Drink lots of fluids and eat healthy. Do you know the sex of the baby yet?”

Oh God! I wanted to tell her so bad, but Max and I had made a promise to each other. “Not yet, Mom. Our baby is stubborn. The legs were closed. Maybe on the next visit we’ll find out.”

“I’ll call you soon. Love you. Bye.”

“Love you, Mom.”

Chapter 33

2 Months Later

Becky

“I could eat everything off this menu,” I said, feeling hunger pangs.

“Me, too,” Jenna added. Jenna looked like the ideal pregnant woman. You couldn’t tell she was pregnant, except when you saw her stomach. Her face glowed with a flush of pretty pink, and you could tell how happy she was. As for me, my feet, my hands, and my face looked puffy, mostly from fluid retention.

“Well, I’ll be joining you all soon,” Nicole stated, looking at her menu.

There were no movements from the three of us, except for Nicole’s eyes flickering back and forth on the menu. We were waiting for her to clarify her comment, but she offered none.

“What did you say?” Kate asked after a long period of silence.

Nicole dropped her menu on the table. “I’m pregnant.”

“Oh my God. Congratulations,” the three of us squealed.

“When did you find out? When is the baby due? How? I mean, forget the how,” Kate snorted. She was rambling so fast she had no idea what she was asking.

“We haven’t announced it to our families yet. So you’re the first. It’s only been two months. Our baby is due seven months from now, in June.”

“That’s awesome. We can have play dates,” I said.

“Did you have morning sickness?” Jenna asked.

“No. I’m hoping that I won’t get it.” Nicole shrugged her shoulders. “After seeing what you had to go through, I hope it never happens to me.”

Kate crossed her arms on the table and gazed at all of us. “I’m just glad that I won’t be the only one with a child. Now you’ll understand what if feels like to be a parent. I love Kristen and I wouldn’t want anything different, but it can get crazy frustrating at times. But at the same time, there’s a lot of joy and wonderful memories you wouldn’t trade for anything.”

When the waitress came by, we ordered our food and drinks.

“How are you feeling?” Nicole gazed at me. “We’re praying everyday that your baby and you are safe.”

“Thank you. I’m tired and bloated.” I looked at my hands. “But I’m thankful that I’ve been steady. My kidneys are functioning, but not to their full capacity, and my blood pressures have been normal. I’ve been very lucky. I just need to hang in there for another month and a half.” Suddenly, my body flushed with warmth. I took a sip of my water, hoping it would help me cool down.

When the waitress came back with our food, we ate and held small conversations about Jenna’s honeymoon, the baby shower Nicole and Kate were hosting at Jenna’s house, and what items to register for.

“Isn’t this strange?” I asked, looking at my friends. “We used to talk about the guys we were we dating, our jobs, and our sex lives. But now...we’re taking about marriages and having babies.”

“We’re at that age,” Jenna sighed. “And pretty soon, we’ll hang out at our kids’ birthday parties, graduations, and I hate to bring up the morbid topic, but funerals as well.”

“The circle of life,” Nicole added. “It’s never ending.”

“I’m just glad that we have good friends to share all of the happiness, and even the sadness, because the sadness isn’t so bad when you have friends to talk to,” I said, talking another bite of my big, fat, juicy hamburger. It oozed with a satisfying sensation. The warmth that spread so quickly in my body disappeared. Maybe I just needed to eat more, but I wasn’t as hungry as I was with the first bite.

“It sure isn’t.” Jenna smiled at me, then at Nicole and Kate.

“Let’s make a toast,” I suggested, lifting up my glass of water. “Not the kind you would eat.” We all laughed, recalling Matthew’s words. I laughed lightly and said, “Sorry. I had to say it. Anyway, here’s to Nicole being pregnant, having safe deliveries, and our lifetime friendship.”

With a clink, we toasted. After Jenna placed her glass down, she got up. I immediately knew what she was up to. Not wanting her to pay for the bill, I followed after her. “Jenna. What are you doing? I told you I got this.”

Jenna turned to me and looked surprised. “How do...Becky. No. I’ll get it.”

“It’s too late, Jenna. I already gave the waitress my credit card the second I walked in the door.”

“No you didn’t,” she argued, opening her purse.

“Want to find out?” I challenged with a smirk. “I didn’t bring my purse up here, did I?” My expression faded into a scared one when the room started to spin. Everything around me seemed to move in slow motion. Hot and cold feelings alternated quickly, flashing through my body. The sudden change of temperature hit me fast and hard. My heart was pumping in overdrive, and it got worse when I felt like I was losing my breath.