Chapter 13

 

Julia

 

I slept better than I probably should have over at Mike’s. The guest bed was more comfortable than my own bed and once I fell asleep I didn’t toss or turn at all. When the sun started to peak in the next morning, I couldn’t believe just how great a night of sleep I had gotten.

“Hungry?” Mike asked when I came out of the bedroom after freshening up in the bathroom.

“Starving.”

“Then let’s get you some food, little lady.”

Mike started piling on a bunch of food for me. He had made some sausages, eggs, and pancakes. He poured me a big glass of orange juice and then sat down to eat with me. It was nice being there with him. I felt so safe around Mike, not just physically, but emotionally. I didn’t have to worry about chaos at all with him and that was a relief. Plus, it was amazing to know that he could answer any of my pregnancy questions, that took a lot of worry off my plate.

“You’re going to get me fat,” I laughed as he poured some syrup onto my food.

“You should gain twenty to thirty pounds. And don’t worry about what you gain. It’s important to eat and take care of yourself. That’s all you should worry about. You can always lose the weight after the baby is born.”

“Yes, doctor,” I said as I ate the food in front of me. I hadplanned to try and be a little picky with my food. Ideally I wanted to eat healthy foods and stay away from sugars and unhealthy carbohydrates, but for this meal I was just going with the flow.

“So what do you have planned today? Your color looks better. Are you feeling dizzy when you stand at all?”

“Nope, no dizziness. I’m feeling pretty good. I was thinking of going shopping for some comfortable clothes. I know I’m not going to be showing anytime soon, but I’d like at least one outfit I can wear when my pants start getting too tight. And if I keep letting you feed me, I suspect that will happen sooner rather than later.”

“No way I’m going to stop feeding you, so I guess you better get those pants.”

“Yeah, I’ll buy a couple pairs just in case.”

“Are there shops like that around here? I’ll go with you if you’d like. I’m not afraid of a little shopping.”

“It’s New York, Mike. There are shops for everything all over the place. I’d love some company shopping. I think Kendra is busy this afternoon and I haven’t really confirmed the news with anyone else yet.”

“Deal. I’m at your service,” Mike said as he dramatically bent over.

Shopping with Mike turned out to be really enjoyable. He had a decent sense of style and was able to quickly adapt to the trends in the maternity world. We went into a couple boutique stores and I quickly ruled them out as anything I was willing to pay for. Many of them were charging a couple hundred dollars for their jeans; it was outrageous. I certainly wasn’t going to pay that much money for pants that I’d only be wearing for a couple of months.

Finally we found a shop that was in one of the malls. It was a national chain store but they had reasonable prices and a variety of options that I really liked. Not to mention the prices weren’t crazy.

“You should get them all,” Mike said after I finished trying on a few outfits.

“What? No way, I’m not even showing yet. How do I know what they will look like when I get big and fat? I’ll just get this outfit.”

“I think you’ll look amazing with your baby tummy.”

“Really? Amazing?” I asked a little skeptical.

“Yep. You’re so darn beautiful now, you’ll only get more beautiful as the pregnancy progresses.”

“You’re such a suck up,” I laughed.

“I’m serious, Julia. Do you really not see how beautiful you are?”

“No, not at all.”

“I just don’t get that. I mean you’re a smart, intelligent woman. You have to know you’re stunning. Like ten out of ten level of beautiful.”

Mike was laying it on thick as he complimented me. There was no way I thought I was a ten out of ten. Maybe an eight on the relative scale for female beauty but sometimes I thought even that was pushing it.

“I’ll admit that I’m not hideous,” I said.

“Oh, that’s all you’re going to admit to?”

“Yep, I’m not hideous. Maybe a little above average,” I laughed.

“Oh, wow, I can see we have a lot of work to do with you before you’re a mother. You don’t want your daughter to worry about how she looks, right? You have to see how beautiful you are. It’s not like you need to lead with it, but you need to understand it. I bet guys are throwing themselves at you every time you’re at the bar.”

“No, that does not happen,” I laughed.

“I practically threw myself at you.”

“No way, I was totally the one flirting with you more. You were all cool and collected.”

“I’m good at pretending,” Mike said.

I ended up buying one outfit and then we called it a day for shopping. It was fun hanging out with Mike. I’d definitely enjoyed it and as we were saying our goodbyes I decided to see if Mike wanted to visit some more later that evening.

“I’m going to be watching a few more episodes of our series if you want to come over tonight. Kendra will be home and I think she might watch as well. She saw the series already but says she’d like to watch it again.”

“Yes, I’d love to,” Mike responded freakishly fast.

“Okay then, come on over whenever you’d like.”

“Five o’clock sound good?” he asked.

“Yep. I’m probably going to go sleep until then,” I laughed. “I’m so tired. I just can’t shake this feeling that I need more and more sleep.”

“Julia, you are literally making a new human inside you. Sleeping is good. Eating is good. Drinking water is good. You have to do those things to keep your body working.”

“Thanks for that reassurance, Mike, I appreciate it.”

“Okay, go sleep. I’ll see you later,” he said as he opened the cab door for me and sent me on my way.

When I got home Kendra was there waiting for me. I could have sworn she said she was going to be gone all day but she looked really worried. Then I pulled my phone out to see what if I had missed any messages from her. Sure enough she’d been texting me all morning and I hadn’t responded to any of them.

“So, you’re not dead. That’s good,” she said and rolled her eyes.

“Nope, I’m alive. I’m so sorry I didn’t see your messages. I totally got wrapped up with Mike and shopping and I didn’t check my phone at all this morning.”

“Girl, I thought you were dead on the sidewalk somewhere. Geesh. You text me and tell me you’re up and heading out from his house and then don’t text me back at all. What are you doing to me, woman?”

“I’m sorry. But Mike is coming over here to watch television and visit tonight, if you’d like to yell some more.”

“He’s coming here?” She asked and started messing with her hair. “When? How long do I have to get ready?”

She looked like someone who was excited for a boy that they had a crush on to come over. It was a little confusing since Kendra didn’t date white guys at all. She exclusively dated men of color and hadn’t ventured away from those preferences since I’d known her.

“Why? Are you trying to steal my baby daddy,” I laughed.

“No! I don’t want him, but I bet he knows some damn fine doctors in this town and I’d really like to meet those friends of his.”

“Oh, I see what you’re plan is. Make a good impression so he can fix you up. I got you, girl. I’ll help you out,” I laughed.

She rushed out of the living room and back to her room where she remained for the rest of the evening. By the time Mike showed up she was done up like she was going out on the town, except she had her sweats on to stay in and watch television.

Kendra was a pretty girl without all the hair and makeup, but she was drop dead gorgeous when she did herself up. A little piece of me thought I should have done my own hair and makeup, but then I remembered that Mike and I were just friends and it didn’t matter if I had my hair done when we were hanging out.

“Well, don’t you ladies look pretty?” Mike said as we let him into the apartment.

I could tell he was good with people. New people, friends, pretty much anyone felt comfortable around him. There was no denying the charisma he had. It was one of the things that had thrown me off so much when I first met him, but I was started to get used to it now that we had hung out a bit.

Our night of Netflix watching went fantastic. We got through five episodes and it was really fun having Kendra there too. She took the pressure off of the romantic stuff that had been going on between Mike and me so we were all able to just hang out and have fun.

Mike even told her about a few friends of his that he thought she would like, both of them doctors, and when he pulled up his softball league photo, it was clear that Kendra would have taken either one of them. Nearly all the guys on Mike’s team looked like they could have posed for GQ magazine. It was a little intimidating knowing that he had so many good looking friends.

“So let’s make a plan to go out sometime and we will invite Kendra and I’ll invite one of my friends,” Mike said when he finally headed home for the night.

“Yes, let’s do that,” Kendra interrupted and gave Mike a hug. “I swear if you get me one of those men I will owe you for the rest of my life.”

Mike just laughed and shook his head. I was pretty sure women tried to get him to hook them up with his friends a lot. But they were probably more interested in hooking up with him if they knew him.

“He is so perfect. I can’t believe you’re having his baby,” Kendra squealed before the door of our apartment was even closed all the way.

“Kendra, he can hear you.”

“I don’t care,” she yelled. “Mike is so handsome,” she said teasingly.

“Okay, okay, he is handsome. But he is also a really smart guy and very kind too,” I added.

“And you’re not going to date him? Tell me you’ve changed your mind on this. He’s perfect Julia. He’s the guy for you. This is meant to be, I feel it in my bones.”

“Okay, I’ll admit that the thought of being more than just friends with Mike has crossed my mind. But I’m planning on just seeing how things go between us. There is no telling how he’s going to react as the pregnancy progresses. There is no telling how I’ll react. But yes, I’m going to keep the option open of having something more than just friends,” I said as Kendra started smiling and jumping up and down. “But only if you stop jumping around like a teenager,” I laughed.

 

***

 

A few weeks later Sarah and Kendra had put together a list of condos for us to go look at. I had my preapproval from my bank and I was ready to make an offer if something came up that I couldn’t live without.

The housing market in New York moved fast. Placed were often sold before they were even put on the market at all. Sarah had come around quickly to the idea of me having a baby. At work she was constantly talking about the best preschools and how I needed to get my unborn baby onto the wait list.

Preschools were not even on my radar yet. I hadn’t looked at daycare either. All of that was a little overwhelming for me considering I hadn’t even made it to my first ultrasound appointment yet or bought my new condo.

One thing at a time was about all I could do. On this particular weekend I had my eyes focused on the condo search and nothing else. I gave Sarah and Kendra my ideal requirements and they were excited to put together the list of places to see. We invited Mike to come too, but he was on call for the weekend and apparently tons of ladies were going into labor. My realtor arranged a vehicle to take all of us around and we started our search early Saturday morning.

“This first place is a little run down inside, but the building has been updated in the common areas. The price is well below what you were looking for so you’d have plenty of wiggle room for remodeling,” my realtor Beth said.

“I’d prefer not to have a remodel job, but I’m open to looking at it since it does have some good square footage.”

“That’s the big selling point of this place. It’s bigger than any of the other places we will look at today.”

“Great, let’s take a look,” Sarah said enthusiastically.

I walked into that first condo with an upbeat opinion and totally open to liking it. But it was a pit. The building was really old, even though they had remodeled, it still didn’t look all that great at all. I knew it wasn’t the right fit for me.

We continued down the list of places and one after another I was disappointed. Sometimes there was a glaring issue like super small windows, or tiny bedrooms, and other times I just didn’t get a good vibe from the building or the location. I was exhausted when we pulled up to the final building for the day.

“Maybe I’ll have to do some research on my own,” I said. “I could narrow some places down online.”

“Sure, let’s just look at this place though. It was over your preapproval budget but they just lowered the price. The owners moved overseas and would really like to unload it.”

As I looked up I realized we were at Mike’s building. I loved his building. It sounded like an amazing place to live but I really didn’t think I could afford a place there. Not a two bedroom like I wanted.

“It’s a two bedroom?” I asked.

“No, it’s a one bedroom with a den. But I believe the owners added double doors to the den so it’s pretty much a two bedroom. It’s small, but very nice inside,” Beth said.

She went on to list all the amenities of the building and I was hooked. I knew I liked the place when I had visited Mike, but the idea of living there was just amazing. I could see raising my child there. I could see living there for a very long time. It felt right. The building felt right.

When we got into the apartment I knew it was mine. I felt at home from the moment I walked in there. The place was empty and as the sun was starting to set I walked up to the windows and looked out at the view. It was a little different than Mike’s view, but still unbelievably gorgeous.

“It’s eight hundred square feet, but that’s big for this area of town. Plus, it’s a newer building and you shouldn’t have many issues for several years.”

I walked into the bedroom, explored the bathrooms, but when I stepped into the den I knew I was going to make an offer. It was the perfect size for a baby room and had some beautiful built-in book shelves.

“Let’s make an offer,” I said to Beth.

“What are you thinking? Maybe go in about ten percent below their asking?”

“Sure, but I’ll pay their list price if I have to.”

“They just lowered the price today, so they might want that list price. But your preapproval will go far with them. A guaranteed sale at a little lower price might just go through. Sign these and I’ll get the offer over to them. It’s late and they are overseas so we probably won’t hear back until tomorrow though.”

We did all the things that needed to be signed right there in the apartment and Kendra, Sarah and I went out for drinks to celebrate afterwards. Of course, my drink was just a fruit juice, but it was still nice to have a night out with my friends.

“Do you think I should have asked Mike before buying a place in his building?” I asked the girls.

“Oh, Mike lives in that building?” Sarah said looking really worried.

“Yeah, is that bad? I stayed there the other night. Loved the building but didn’t think it was in my budget.”

“So he doesn’t know you were considering a place in his building?” Kendra chimed in.

“No, but now you guys have me worried. Is this bad? I mean he likes the building. I would think he’d be okay with me being in a nice place.”

“I don’t think it’s about you being in a nice place,” Sarah added. “I’m just worried he might think you’re trying to get him to co-parent or be more involved than he wants to be.”

“He’s pretty involved right now,” I laughed.

“I know, but there’s no actual baby right now. I’m just worried that he will not take it well,” Sarah added.

“I’m sure he will be fine,” Kendra said reassuringly. “He’s not going to care. But you should text him or tell him before you end up running into him in the elevator.”

“Of course. I mean, we are talking all the time. I’ll tell him right now,” I said as I pulled my phone out.

“Oh, no, this is not a text messaging sort of thing. He needs to see your face and you need to see his. Tell him in person. Where is he right now?”

“I think he’s at the hospital,” I said.

“Then go there. Offer to bring him dinner or something and talk to him,” Sarah added. “The last thing you need is him freaking out and thinking you’re some sort of stalker.

“Stalker?” I laughed. “He wouldn’t think that!”

“Did you forget how he reacted when you showed up at his office?” Kendra added. “You need to nip this in the bud early so you don’t have to worry about it. I’m sure it’s going to be fine, but you need to tell him tonight.”

“Fine,” I said as I sent Mike a text and offered to drop off dinner and tell him about my condo shopping. “I’m texting him now.”

Within five minutes he responded and I made plans to meet up with him in an hour. The girls decided to stay at the bar and keep drinking their real drinks, while I grabbed a cab and made my way to the hospital.

I stopped and grabbed some delicious burgers for us to eat and only ended up being a few minutes late. Unfortunately, Mike had just been called into deliver a baby and I ended up sitting in the lounge for two hours before he was finally able to get a moment free.

“Well it’s cold, but mine was delicious,” I said when he finally came in.

“Thank you so much. You didn’t have to wait though. It’s getting so late.”

“I know, but I had to tell you about the condo I put an offer in on. It’s in your building,” I said going straight for my news.

I’d decided that showing any sort of trepidation would only make it seem worse that I hadn’t talked to him first. Instead, I was going full force with the excitement and I was putting on a good show too. I smiled big and tried my best to look really excited, which I was, but I was also really nervous to see how Mike was going to react to my news.

“That’s good. It is a nice building. But I thought you said you couldn’t afford it?” He asked as he ate his burger.

“I didn’t think I could. But there was a one bedroom with a den that was just reduced. It will work nicely for a baby room. It’s on the fifteenth floor. Looks over the water more than the city but it has a nice view.”

“Julia, that’s great. You’re really going to like that building and it will be a great place to raise your baby,” he said and then went right back to eating.

Mike continued to eat his food without talking at all. We sat there in silence and I realized there was definitely an issue with me buying this condo and not giving him a little warning about it first. He wasn’t rude about it at all, he was kind and said all the right things, but Mike was pulling away from me for sure.

“So we will see if I end up getting it or not. The offer is in, so I should know by tomorrow.”

“That’s good news, I better get going. It’s a busy night,” and just like that Mike was gone.

He didn’t give me our usual hug goodbye. There were no sweet reminders for me to eat more or drink more water. He was just gone. My heart sank at the possibility that I had upset him by buying a condo in his building, but I was trying to give him some time. He didn’t say he was upset. He didn’t act upset. Perhaps he was just busy.

The next morning when the condo sale was approved, I sent a text message to Mike to let him know it had gone through. I didn’t get a response back that morning at all. That’s when I knew something was really wrong. He didn’t text me back later that night either. In fact, it wasn’t until Monday afternoon that he finally replied with a thumbs-up emoji. That was it, two days later and all I got was an emoji. This was not good at all. This was bad.

Mike probably thought I was trying to force him into a co-parenting thing or make our friends with benefits relationship something more. And although I definitely wouldn’t turn him down for either of those options, I honestly didn’t buy the condo intending for him to be anything more than a friend.

Nothing had changed. I was still perfectly fine with being a single mother. I was just going to do it from a kick ass condo that happened to be a few floors down from where he lived. Where I lived didn’t have to matter. The building was huge and it was likely I wasn’t going to see him at all even if we lived there together. There were thousands of people that lived there. But I couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in my stomach and the idea that Mike and I might have just broken off our friendship because of my condo purchase.