Charlotte felt like a blob. Her legs could hardly carry her, it seemed, and she knocked her stomach into everything when she tried to maneuver, unsure about where the babies began and she ended. “I don’t have spatial awareness anymore,” she whined, leaning her head back in Sean’s car. He drove her to work every morning, these days, given that she was now unable to ride a bicycle. It was winter, anyway, and the rain drizzled constantly.

“You’re complaining, but you haven’t noticed I’ve packed on about eight pounds since you moved in with me,” Sean laughed, turning his face toward hers at the traffic light. He stole a quick, sweet kiss from her before turning his gaze back to the road. “Every time you order takeout or indulge in your cravings for blocks of cheese, I don’t know what you expect me to do. I have to fight to look this good.”

Charlotte giggled. “We’ll go on a serious diet once the babies are born. Which is hopefully soon, because I feel like I’m going to explode any minute.”

“All right, honey. Have a good day at work,” Sean said playfully, using a sitcom voice.

Charlotte lifted herself with a grunt from the passenger seat, stepping onto the sidewalk directly next to Lyle.

“Good morning, Charlotte,” Lyle said, greeting her warmly. He whooshed his umbrella over her head, saving her perfect blond hair from the rain. The lack of bike rides and the pregnancy hormones had truly elevated her hair game. “How was your weekend?”

Charlotte could hardly remember it; she was so plagued by baby brain. But she grinned and pulled a few things from her mind, finally answering the question and asking the same.

“I finally heard from Evan’s attorney. The case has finally been dropped,” Lyle said, propping the door open for her. They stood in the foyer, drying off. “It took far longer than we expected. We had to write several different pleas, explaining the situation. But in the end, the issue of Katrina’s disbarment eventually helped them drop it. It alerted the judge to the severity of the situation.”

Charlotte nodded, walking to the elevator. “Do you miss her around here?” she asked.

“Not at all,” Lyle said quickly, stepping into the elevator beside her. “She made the environment quite tense, don’t you think?”

“I do,” Charlotte murmured, not wanting to dive into the details of it. Truly, Katrina had been reminiscent of some of the worst girls from Charlotte’s elementary school days.

“Did you see the paper this morning?” Lyle asked. “There was an announcement of Evan’s divorce. I can’t imagine what that woman is going through, learning of an affair like that. Such a tortured thing.” He shook his head with sadness, clucking his tongue.

“She should be happy she’s rid of him. I’m surprised she married him to begin with. From what Sean’s told me, he was a wretched boyfriend at Yale. He was always cheating on her then.”

“Maybe this was the last straw. Or it was too public, forcing her to take action.”

They reached the top floor and began to go their separate ways, before Lyle turned quickly, halting her. “Wait. Charlotte. I’d like to schedule a meeting with you today. You’re here for four hours today, correct?”

Charlotte placed her hand on her stomach, nodding. “I’ll be here till around one. But I can stay a bit later.”

“Great. Mr. Ellis and I would like to speak with you about something.”

Charlotte frowned, but agreed, waddling toward her office. She collapsed in her chair. A moment later, Katrina’s old intern entered, offering her tea and a cereal bar, and she accepted gratefully, feeling her hunger escalate with every passing moment.

She worked through the morning, diving into her various cases, happy to occupy herself with such a variety of clients. Although she missed having such high-caliber clients like Sean, she knew that hype generated after exposing Evan Greene for what he was would lead Ellis and Associates to even bigger cases. They were the most talked about tech law firm in the area. The thought of it thrilled her.

At around one, she headed to Lyle’s office. Her heart fluttered, nervous to appear before just Lyle and Mr. Ellis. She hadn’t spoken to them alone since Katrina had been fired, and the memory of it wasn’t a pleasant one for Mr. Ellis.

She entered and sat before them. Mr. Ellis’ cheeks were rosy, his lips moist. Beside him, Lyle sat with a broad smile on his face, assessing her—his favorite employee.

“So. Mr. Ellis and I have been discussing your recent performance,” Lyle began, his voice formal.

“It’s been a real pleasure working here throughout my pregnancy,” Charlotte began. “Thank you for allowing me to cut my hours down. I’ve been so exhausted after lunch. And I don’t want to turn my office into a nap room.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Lyle said, bowing his head. “But this meeting isn’t about that. Rather, we noted there’s a major hole at the office, without Katrina. Of course, she wasn’t doing the work necessary for her position and title. But we won’t go through that again.”

Charlotte’s left eyebrow rose with suspicion. A slight smile crept across her face. But she didn’t yet speak.

“We’d like to promote you, Charlotte,” Mr. Ellis said then. “We’d like to give you Katrina’s old position, along with a pay raise. This would be effective immediately, assuming you’d like to accept it.”

Charlotte kept her composure, but inside, she felt like she was flying, rocketing her way straight up to cloud nine. “I’d love to accept this position. Of course, you know I won’t be back at full speed until after the babies are born.”

“Of course,” Mr. Ellis said, his voice warm. “Take your time. And know that this position is waiting for you when you’re ready.”

Charlotte thanked them both with a warm handshake, then a hug. She felt like sobbing, but she held it in, tracing her eyes from one old gentleman to the other. “It’s been a true gift working for you both. It’s changed my life.” She placed her hands on her eight-month pregnant belly, and gave them a sheepish grin—one, she knew, was overzealous, that made her now slightly chubby cheeks more noticeable. Pregnancy had made her round, but beautiful.

She returned to her office, dialing Sean’s number quickly, feeling elated. He answered her call before the first ring had finished.

Her voice was joyous as she squealed, “Sean. You’ll never believe it.”

“Did they promote you?”

“Wait. How did you—”

“Honey. I’ve been waiting for this moment for months. If they weren’t going to do it soon, I was going to come in and give them a stern talking to.”

Charlotte giggled, staring out the window at the February drizzle. “Thank you.”

“I’m proud of you. You know that.”

“I’m proud of you, too. Always have been,” she replied wistfully.

“Thanks, Mom,” he quipped.

Charlotte sniffed. “You know. I’m going to be a real mom in just a few weeks. Can you believe it? I got promoted. But that isn’t even my biggest leap of the year. I have to step up to the plate. I have to learn how to breastfeed. Oh, God, I have to learn to do a lot.”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself. Just enjoy this moment. Look out the window.”

“I am,” Charlotte whispered, placing her fingers against the chilly glass. She shivered.

“Did you know I’m looking back at you? All the way over here, at Lawson Technologies.”

“You stalker,” she tittered. “Get back to work.”

“Not until I go pick my girlfriend up from her office, and take her for a celebratory lunch. No work for me.”

“I’ll see you in five?” she laughed.

“I love you,” he whispered.

She returned the deep, wonderful words, feeling them warm her heart. She swiped her fingers through her hair, letting her head fall back, feeling such unequivocal happiness. It felt as if she’d just breathed oxygen for the first time.

Charlotte eased into the Tesla about eight minutes later, her belly heavy, her body aching. She tipped a small kiss on Sean’s lips, and he drove them toward Capitol Hill, where he parked next to a Mexican restaurant they both loved. He helped her inside, where a surprise guest revealed herself, leaping from her chair and clapping her hands.

“They finally gave you the promotion!” Chelsea exclaimed, pulling her friend into a side hug, unable to wrap her small arms around Charlotte’s round belly. “You’re really shattering that glass ceiling.”

“I do have three other humans to help me now,” Charlotte joked. “That glass ceiling didn’t stand a chance.”

Chelsea giggled, kissing Sean on the cheek in greeting. They sat together, the three of them, and ordered many rounds of tacos, speaking overtop of each other, fueled by each other’s happiness. Sean announced that he wouldn’t be going back into the office that day, that he deserved a long afternoon watching movies with his girlfriend. There was a sense that this cozy Mexican restaurant was a refuge from the cold, rainy Seattle day.

The long afternoon carried on, allowing them to pop popcorn, to dive into one fantastical movie after another. When Charlotte had to go upstairs to take an early nap, Sean went with her, tucking her in and sleeping alongside her, telling her that he couldn’t get enough time with her, not ever. Nuzzled into his arm cocoon, she soon found sleep.