“But you’re barely showing at all. A man is never going to notice that, and you’re not getting sick anymore.” Allison shrugged her shoulder. “I say you go and relax, soak up some rays and hit the spa. Pamper yourself a little—you deserve it.”
“Do you think so? I mean, he has to find out sooner or later that I’m pregnant, but I’d rather it be later.” Preferably after the baby was born and she was in the hospital. “I actually like working for him, you know, but keeping this a secret is stressing me out.”
“Stress is not good for the baby.” Jamie had moved around the back of the couch and was massaging Mandy’s shoulders.
Jamie’s light fingers kneaded the knots in her muscles, and Mandy whimpered, “I feel completely overwhelmed. There is so much I’m supposed to know. Fetal development, what to ask the doctor, what foods to avoid, how to know when you’re in labor...I can’t keep up.”
“So take all your reading material with you on this trip and just kind of take stock. It’s a lot to learn, but some of it is justcommon sense. And what’s important is that you be relaxed and stress-free, not whether you know which kind of bottle to buy. That stuff is trial and error.”
“Listen to Jamie,” Allison said, perching on the coffee table, her long legs crossed. “She’s the only one of us who knows a damn thing about babies.”
“I know you shouldn’t swear in front of a baby,” Jamie said.
“The kid’s not even born yet! And damn isn’t a swear word, it’s a pejorative.”
Mandy’s eyes were half closed, and she rubbed the last of the tears off her cheeks. Jamie’s slow and steady massage was lulling her, relaxing her. Maybe she could do this.
Motherhood was common sense, that’s all. She knew not to swear in front of a child, just like she knew babies could drown in mop buckets. She knew babies needed powder so their bums didn’t get sore, and she knew a fever in an infant meant a visit to the pediatrician. She could handle this, one day, one diaper at a time.
She wanted her baby with a fierceness that surprised her. She wanted to love this child unconditionally and guide it to be a responsible, ethical, confident person.
It was scary, but exciting.
Now if she could just stop having sex dreams about Damien Sharpton giving her multiple orgasms, she would really have a handle on things.
Chapter Four
“Mother, I’m trying to pack for this trip for work, can I call you later?” Mandy tossed a pair of pants aside. She’d never get the button closed on those.
“What trip for work? What is this all about?”
“I thought I told you...my boss is going to Punta Cana and needs me to accompany him.” Linen skirts were a good choice, comfortable and cool. She stuck two in her open suitcase.
“Punta Cana? Isn’t that in the Caribbean? Flying doesn’t sound safe in your condition. What will you eat? They won’t have any of your favorites. And rough roads. I’ve heard that, I’m certain of it.”
Mandy rolled her eyes, glad her mother couldn’t see her. Her mum always found a way to be elitist and offensive. “Mother, I will have gobs of food to eat. It’s a resort, catering to Americans and Canadians.”
“Just as bad. Think of all those French-Canadians in thongs, dear.”
Now she did laugh, tossing her blow-dryer into her bag. “There’s nothing wrong with wearing a thong. It means they’re comfortable with their bodies. It’s probably very liberating.Maybe we should try it—I’ll get Daddy a thong for Christmas, and he can wear it to the lake.”
Mandy knew she shouldn’t tease her very proper mother like that, but she was feeling so much better, she was almost giddy. It was as though the minute her pregnancy hit the sixteen-week mark, the curtain on her fatigue had lifted. And her stomach had decidedly popped. She rubbed her waist, the jeans she was wearing digging into her flesh.
“Mandy, you’ve lost your mind.”
“Possibly. Do you think I should go topless on the beach? I finally have a chest worthy of baring.” Not that she would, ever in a million years, but shocking her mother brought a sick sort of glee.
“On a business trip! Good God, you really have gone off the deep end. It’s the result of being left pregnant and alone by that old man you were dating. You never should have gone out with a man so much older than you. They’re all having their midlife crises in their late forties...it doesn’t surprise me he didn’t want a thing to do with real responsibility.”
The conversation was no longer amusing.
But before she could tell her mother to mind her own business, she followed up with a dig about Mandy’s toy shop.
“At least you finally have a real job. I know you’ve always enjoyed your hobbies, dear, but now is time to settle down and do what’s best.”
What made her feel the lousiest was that she really couldn’t argue with her mother. The shop had neverfeltlike a hobby, but after diddling around with it for three years, it hadn’t turned a profit, and she couldn’t say that she had ever really aggressively sought its success. She hadn’t even written a business plan, she’d just opened a shop. So yes, ithadbeen a hobby.
“I still wish you’d come home and let your father and I help you out.”
