I nodded and walked out of the room with a smile on my face and a huge weight off my shoulders. I had gotten accepted to one of the best psychology programs in the country, was going to intern in the lab that I’d been dying to work in for four years, I was freaking engaged to the man of my dreams, and Mom was better. So much better.
I must’ve beenin a better mood than usual because Sal almost immediately noticed.
“What’s got you all happy today?” he asked, sitting in front of me at the bar and stuffing a pen into his pocket. “You never smile this much.”
Placing his favorite drink in front of him—a Sprite—I grabbed a rag and washed the bar top. “Just some things,” I started. “Some reall—”
Sal grabbed my hand. “What’s this?” he asked, looking at my hand. “That boy didn’t.” He slapped the countertop. “Michael proposed to you, didn’t he?” Before I could even get a word into the conversation, Sal continued, “See, I saw the way he was looking at you the other night. I went home to my wife and said that you two would be engaged by the end of the month. And looky!”
A laugh escaped my lips, and I let him look at the ring. “That’s not the only good news,” I said.
“Are you pregnant too?” Sal asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Definitely not pregnant.”
I gnawed on the inside of my cheek at the thought of having kids with Michael. I didn’t know when I’d want to have them, but … did he even want to have kids? Hewasolder than me and had Melissa already. Would he want to raise another one?
“Then, what the hell is it?” Sal asked.
“I found out today that I’ll be participating in an internship in the fall,” I said to Sal.
It might not be good news to him since I was going to have to stop working here. But it was great news to me.
I toyed with the ends of the rag. “So … I won’t be able to work here anymore, starting in September.”
Sal let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. “It’s about damn time.”
“You’re not angry?” I asked.
Sal leaned against the bar and started laughing in thecrazy old mankind of way. “No, Mia! You’ve been here for years. It’s about time you started focusing on yourself and not entertaining other boys in this bar. You have your whole life ahead of you. You’d better be visiting me with Michael. Bring him around more often. I miss him here.”
He tapped the counter with the side of his fists and got up from his seat. “Oh, and Mia? I’d better be invited to the wedding,” he said, chuckling away as he walked toward one of the back rooms. “Or I’ll be after Michael for that one.”
CHAPTER39
MIA
Saturday morning, I sat on the edge of the bed and clutched my belly, my head in my other hand. Light flowed in through the window, and I moaned quietly in pain, trying not to wake Michael up because it was his day off.
My stomach tightened, and I felt like I was about to puke my guts out. I squeezed my eyes closed, hoping the feeling would pass quickly because I had to go dress shopping today. We had already made an appointment, Serena had taken off work, and I wanted to go.
When I gagged, I hurried to the bathroom, stuck my head into the toilet, and vomited. It was quick, but I felt like shit the entire time. I flushed it down and cleaned my teeth, hopping into the shower before Serena picked me up in Damien’s car so we could get Mom from St. Barbars.
When I came out, Michael sat in his bed, scrolling through his phone, chest bare to me. He looked up and furrowed his brows.
“Did you get sick this morning?” he asked, placing the phone down next to him.
“Yeah, but I feel better,” I said, brushing it off as if it were nothing. “It was probably that chicken last night at the restaurant.”
He paused, giving me that hard expression he always did when he wanted to say something, but then nodded. “You okay to go out today? You can always reschedule,” he said.
I kissed him on the lips, heard Serena blast the horn outside, and said, “I’m fine. I’m going out with Melissa tonight anyway, so I can’t miss it. I’ll tell her that you love her.” I swept my thumb across his lower lip and watched him smile. “See you tonight.”
After kissing him again, I grabbed my things and hurried to Damien’s SUV. Damien’s father was handicapped, so this SUV was suitable for Mom’s wheelchair and everything that she needed to go out with us.
We drove to St. Barbars, listening to music like we used to do. I held my stomach, vaguely feeling like I was about to puke again, and took a deep breath.
“Are you okay?” Serena asked as we pulled into the assisted living center’s parking lot.
