“I know, Kellie. It’s okay. I know you’re mom’s not in it for the money. Hell, I was there the day Cassidy told her she wanted to buy her a house and a car and your mom threatened to take her over her knee for even suggesting it.”
“Yeah. We never wanted her to waste her money on us. Cass was the one who earned it. She was the one who should be enjoying it.”
“You know she only did those things, bought you things because she loved you. She didn’t care about her bank account either. I don't think she ever really knew how much was in there” I explained on Cass’s behalf.
“Yeah, she was one of a kind. Fuck I miss her,” Kellie declared as a tear escaped and trickled down over her cheek.
“Me too. Me too.”
I choked back my own tears. Falling apart right now was not going to help either of us and the truth was, I was so tired and hungry that if I didn’t fix one of those problems soon, I was going to end up a blubbering mess. And I wasn’t even the pregnant one.
“Okay. Enough tears. Let’s go find some food.”
“I don’t know…”
“My treat.”
“I can’t ask you to do that,” Kellie protested weakly.
“You’re not asking. I’m offering. Now, where can I get a burger?”
This wasn’t right. I’d barely been here a hot second and already I could see that this wasn’t right. I needed a minute to come up with a plan on how to fix this, but first I needed a burger and fries.
“Yeah. Eddie’s Diner I hear is good.”
“You hear?”
“I haven’t…”
“You know what, it doesn't even matter. Let’s go find out. My treat,” I added before Kellie could object.
“You don’t have to…”
“Yeah I do. You’re letting me hide here so I’m taking you to lunch. Now, hurry up. Because I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”
Kellie looked up at me with grateful eyes. For the first time in a while, I felt like I was right where I needed to be when I needed to be there. Kellie needed me. She needed someone. When she struggled to push herself out the chair, I offered her my hand and pulled her up. How she’d been doing this on her own was beyond me and impressive.
A few minutes later she’d changed into a long flowy dress and a pair of flat sandals before swinging her purse over her shoulder and following me down the path to my car. The sleepy dog was still in the same place and when Kellie called his name, he lifted his head but made no attempts to move.
Opening the door for her, I pushed the seat back giving her as much room as I could before helping her get in and rounding the car.
I started the engine and turned to look at her, her eyes hidden behind oversized dark glasses. “So where am I going?”
Quickly Kellie rattled off directions and even though she’d never been there, she knew exactly where it was.
“How far along are you?” I asked, still trying to wrap my head around the fact Kellie was not only pregnant but she was really, really pregnant.
“Eight and a half months.”
“What? That means you’re due in what? Two weeks?”
Rubbing her belly tenderly, a content smile creeping across her face. “Ten days actually.”
“Ten days! That’s super soon.”
“It really is.”
A few minutes later we pulled into the diner and were seated inside waiting for our milkshakes. I can’t remember the last time I’d had a strawberry shake, but from the moment I’d spotted it on the menu, I couldn’t think of anything else.
