“Just wondering how today went,” Sage said innocently. She picked up her glass of iced tea and took a sip, waiting.
The server appeared before I could answer, so I made her wait a few minutes longer while I gave her my drink order. “Could I get a Sprite, please?”
“Absolutely!” the waitress, who’s name tag read “Emily”, said. “I’ll be right back with your drink and to take your order.”
I opened the menu in front of me, perusing it while Sage tapped her foot with impatience. “What are you getting?” I asked her without looking up from the menu. I was trying to buy myself some time before the inquisition.
“The cheeseburger. It’s to die for and I’ve been craving it all week. The home fries are also good.”
“Hmm, alright. I’ll take your word for it,” I closed the menu and sat back, lifting my eyes to look at her. She arched a brow at me, her impatience clear as day. “It was fine. Sort of.”
“Sort of?” she leaned forward, but before I could start filling her in, Emily was back with my Sprite.
“Have you ladies figured out what you’d like to order yet?” she asked, setting the cold glass down in front of me.
“We’ll both have cheeseburgers and home fries. Extra pickles and onion on mine,” Sage answered.
“Oooh, extra pickles on mine too, but hold the onion,” I made a face. At Sage’s questioning look when Emily left, I explained. “Onion is one of those foods that isn’t sitting well with me. Even the idea of onions makes me feel sick.”
Sage nodded with understanding, then leaned forward. “So, spill it. What do you mean it’s ‘sort of’ fine?”
“I don’t know,” I sighed, not really wanting to get into it all in the middle of a diner on a Friday evening. I didn’t know anybody around me, but they probably knew Noah, or the Wood family. “I really didn’t think this through. I mean, his entire family works there, so I’m not just keeping a secret from him, I’m keeping a secret from them all. What if they hate me for it?”
“They’re not going to hate you for it,” Sage rolled her eyes at my dramatics. “The Woods are easy going, family-oriented people. They’ll understand your…situation.”
“Sure, but that’s providing he’s not the, you know,” I looked around, checking to see if anyone was listening in, but the patrons around us all seemed pretty involved in their own meals and conversations.
“Whether he is or isn’t the father, they won’t fire you for being pregnant, Nellie. First of all, it’s illegal to fire someone for being pregnant in Canada. And if you really wanted to know for sure, why not tell Noah and ask if he’d get a paternity test?”
I chewed on my bottom lip thoughtfully. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
Sage studied me for a moment, considering. “Why not?”
“Because, then I’d have to let him be a part of everything.” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, suddenly feeling like I wanted to crawl out of my skin.
“And that makes you feel…vulnerable? Scared?” Sage was trying to understand, but good luck to her, I didn’t even understand it.
“I guess? I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I always got the impression Noah was a player who didn’t want to settle down. Me strolling into town and saddling him with a kid is the opposite of his preferred bachelor life.”
“There’s a chance he’s the father, and I think you need to give him the opportunity to be there if he wants to. You can’t make that choice for him,” Sage replied.
“I know, but…”
“You work for him now, Nell. You aren’t going to be able to hide this forever, and he’s going to have questions.”
I frowned, not liking what she said, even if it was the truth. At some point, Noah was going to notice my growing belly. Surely, he’d put two and two together and suspect.
“I’ll tell him…eventually,” I managed to say. “I want to wait until I’m absolutely certain it’s going to stick.”
My inkling told me it would, that in one year’s time, I would be the mother to an actual human being, but my fears told me to not get my hopes up. It was early, and so much could go wrong.
It was better to not get my hopes up too much, at least not until I was well into my second trimester.
* * *
Noah
* * *
