KATIE
Ihave to say, Wayne has done a pretty decent job of being around. From what I’d gotten to know about him, I half expected our little liaison on top of the shed to be the end of the whole thing. A nice farewell full of pretty words and a good orgasm or two.
But it’s been several weeks now, and he’s still here. Hell, he even went to my first doctor’s appointments with me. I hate to say it, but compared to the Wayne I used to know that’s almost gold-star worthy.
And yet…
I just can’t shake the feeling that it’s all some kind of act. I just keep waiting for the mask to slip and for old Wayne to come swaggering back into the picture.
Granted, he’s got plenty of swagger even in this new version.
Coming out of the bedroom, I see mail on the floor below the slot and my stomach drops. As if pregnancy wasn’t enough, David Chase’s lawyers have sent me some new demand almost every day.
Without work to go to, I wind up bouncing all over my apartment all day. Chased around by the billion things I’ve got to worry about.
Sure as shit, an envelope from Simonson and Associates glares up at me from the floor.
“Shit.”
My hands shake so bad picking it up I almost drop the coupons and junk mail that came along with it.
I can’t open it. I mean, I know I have to eventually, but I just can’t face it right now. After another shitty night of no sleep, I don’t have the strength to read whatever they’ve cooked up now.
It might not be so bad if I had an attorney of my own to forward stuff like this to.
Everyone at the clinic says I’ve got an ironclad case, and the documentation to back it up. Which sounds nice and all, but doesn’t amount to much if I don’t have a job to make the money to hire a lawyer.
Wayne offered to help out and I turned him down. Maybe I shouldn't have—maybestillturning down his legal help, when he’s asked repeatedly, is a dumb move—but things between us are already so tangled, I can’t imagine adding another layer. I’m probably being stubborn, but I can’t make myself ask him.
Is it possible that he’s both too present and not present enough at the same time? It’s like he wants to help in all the ways except the ones that are actually what I want.
I don’t need a lawyer right now. I need apartner.
Okay, maybe I do need a lawyer. Badly. But if legal counsel is all Wayne is going to be, I’d rather not.
Given the fancy letterhead I’m up against on a daily basis, I’m pretty sure Simonson and Associates would wipe the floors with a public defender, paper trail or not.
“God,” I mutter, dropping the stack of mail on my side table. “Not again.”
It’s a beeline for the bathroom to hunch over the toilet and cough up everything but my toenails. Whether this is stress over being sued or morning sickness is a coin toss. They’ve bothworked overtime to make sure my stomach stays empty most days.
A shower makes me feel a little better, but only a little.
Wiping fog off the mirror, I barely manage to push my hair up in a towel before I hear my phone buzzing. Following the sound, I find my phone under the mail on the side table.
I can’t help smiling when I see Wayne’s name on my screen and swipe through to the call.
“Hello?”
“Well, well.” His grin is audible over the line. “I was worried I was going to have to bust the door down or something.”
“Wait, you’rehere?” I look through the peep-hole to see him smiling on his phone.
“I knocked but nobody answered.”
Dropping the phone to my side, I flip back the lock and open the door.
“I was in the shower.”
