I took out my phone and tapped out a message to Mel.
Ready to talk? I’ve got big news and it’s NOT about a guy.
I didn’t have to wait long for a response from her.I’ve got big news, too. The most adorable storefront has just come on the market. It’s pricey, but in a cool location.
I breathed a sigh of relief. My best friend was talking to me again.
Been thinking about you a lot,Mel texted next.I’m sorry about being mad at you. Seamus, the shit, deserved that, not you. Forgive me?
You bet. I’m sorry, too. Send me a link to the storefront. Talk later?
Yep. Love you.
I responded the same and slipped my phone back in my pocket. I’d give Mel a call when I got off work and start patching up the best friendship I’d ever had. And then I’d think about my next move, the one that would take me out of Poplar Springs. I didn’t even let myself think about the fact that I’d likely have to do that alone. Brian wouldn’t go with me, so the best we could hope for was a long-distance relationship and co-parenting situation. I sighed, hating the idea, but not seeing another option that I could live with. I just couldn’t see myself making a life here.
TWENTY-SEVEN
CAITLIN
My morning sickness was particularly bad this morning. I almost threw up on Mitch and Charles’ plates. “Why did it have to be eggs?” I whined to myself as I sat on the bench outside the diner with my head between my knees. Someone had kindly given me a mint ChapStick and I’d been diligently smearing it under my nose to try to mask the scents that were making me nauseous.
It didn’t always work. Like today.
“You feeling any better?” Aurora asked, sitting down next to me and handing me a cup of mint tea.
I took the cup but couldn’t bring myself to take a sip. “Not really. Please tell me this goes away?” I was absolutely miserable.
Aurora hummed for a moment. “Unfortunately, not for every woman. I was lucky, sort of. I had specific triggers that I was able to avoid for the most part,” she said.
“Like what?” I needed the distraction and held the cup to my nose to breathe it in.
“A1 Steak Sauce, oddly, which was great for me because I never used it. As soon as we figured that one out, Marc banned it from the diner and then never bothered to bring it back. That fake lemon scent in different cleaners? Sort of smells like a chemical lemongrass.” Aurora rubbed her chest. “That one was awful. And then there was Marc’s cologne. It was the same fragrance he wore when I first met him. I loved that scent and I would swoon every time I smelled it on him until I was part way through my first trimester. We were having sexy times but I’d just eaten and…”
I gasped. “Oh no!”
Aurora laughed. “Yep, all over him and the bed.” She shuddered. “We laugh about it now but at the time, I was devastated.”
“Does it still bother you?”
“No, thankfully, but the twins were almost two before we checked to be sure.” Aurora squeezed my arm. “You’ll get through it too. But we may want to keep you away from any egg orders.”
“Which is pretty much every breakfast meal.”
“Give it a few more weeks and see how you’re doing once you’re past your first trimester. If it’s still bothering you, you could always switch over to the lunch and dinner prep shift, if that would be easier,” Aurora offered.
“That might be a good idea. You wouldn’t mind?” Aurora had been an absolute gem of a boss to me. Her and Marc. And from the moment she found out I was pregnant, she’d been incredibly accommodating.
“Hey, I’ve been there. It’s miserable. Although the Alastair twins will be devastated not to have you serve them. In all the years they’ve been coming to the diner, you are the first and only server they’ve ever tipped.”
“I’ve been doing the crossword puzzle with them,” I said. “Couple weeks ago, when I stopped at their table to refill their coffee cups, they were stuck on a Bauhaus clue. I was able to answer it. Ever since, we’ve sort of been doing the puzzle together.” I never expected to enjoy it, but it was fun the way they always took me so seriously.
“Really?” Aurora chuckled. “They used to bring the obituaries to the diner and discuss all the recent deaths. It got way too morbid, and customers would complain, so Marc made them stop.”
I snort-laughed and cringed when my stomach threatened to go for a spin. Holding the tea under my nose, I took a small sip, hoping I would be able to keep it down. “I guess I have my own morbid curiosity as to what they’d find so interesting, but I’m enjoying the crosswords.”
“Good for you, hun. I know they appreciate you.” Aurora rose. “Okay, as your boss, I’m telling you to get out of here. Go for a walk. Go home and take a nap. Whatever you need. Text me in the morning if you don’t think you can come in. Otherwise, see you tomorrow.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you in a lurch.”
