Chapter Twenty-Two

~Nicole~

“So, tell me more about this James fellow, the rich man? Is he nice? Do you know anything about his personality?”

“Oh Mom, I don’t know if I wanna have this conversation.”

“Why not?”

“I dunno. It’s personal. And I don’t even know if he’ll really be in my life much, so I don’t want you romanticizing the idea of him.”

That was my job.

“Honey, you said he helped you find this apartment, set you up with health insurance. I’m pretty sure he intends to be in your life at least a little bit.”

“I… I guess you’re right.”

“I am every now and then, so go on. Tell me about this mysterious benefactor.”

“Well, he’s tall. Like over six foot. And handsome, but that somewhat seems to go hand in hand with being young and rich.”

“So, he’s young then?”

“Yes, Mom, this isn’t a robbing the cradle situation.”

“Hah, but I do think a cradle is definitely involved in your relationship.”

“You got me there,” I laughed lightly, emphasis on the lightly. “But yeah he’s somewhere in his thirties.”

“Thirties? So that’s quite a bit older than you.”

“I mean, yeah, but it’s not old.”

“Fair enough. So, he’s tall and rich and older but not old. What else?”

“He’s got a really low voice. Like almost off the register, and he has some of the most intense eyes I’ve ever seen. It’s almost like a predator, but not quite as scary. Well, maybe sometimes he’s scary. But in a good way.”

“In a good way?”

I nodded. “Yeah, the kind that gets your blood pumping and puts you a little bit on edge, like you’re really alive for the first time in a while.”

“Oh. I know what you mean. People like that can be pretty dangerous, Nikki. I remember how electric I felt when I first met your father, and we both know how that turned out.”

“Boy, don’t I. But I don’t think he’s like that. If anything, James is the anti-thesis. He’s always so effortlessly cool, it’s almost uncanny. Hardly anything seems to ruffle him, and he’s just adapts to every situation like it’s nothing. If I was in his situation, I probably would not have reacted at all like he did.

“And he’s so generous. I mean, I know he’s loading so it’s not a big deal to him to drop a thousand dollars, but he just thinks of everything and never hesitates to buy something if he thinks it will help the child. He’s smart too, which makes me think I’m going to have a snarky little rug rat no matter who they take after.”

“Wow, with all those compliments, I would almost think you had feelings for him.”

I stopped short at that, eyes going wide and my heart skipping a beat. Of course, Mom didn’t miss that for a second and gave me a curious look.

“Do you have feelings for him?”

I looked at her blankly for several moments, but a whirlwind was going on inside my mind. Of course, I didn’t have feelings for him! That would be stupid. And while I was a lot of things, I was not stupid.

…most of the time.

But then again, I felt a strange attachment to him that I had never felt before. How could I be so invested considering I hardly knew him? I have never much of one for spontaneous human bonding, so maybe it was because I had his child inside of me?

“I don’t think so,” I murmured finally before stuffing a very large bite of lasagna into my mouth.

“You don’t think so? That means you don’t know so?”

“That is how English works, last I checked.”

“Alright. Well keep an eye on that. Maybe it would make things easier if you did.”

“Or maybe it wouldn’t,” I countered.

But Mom shrugged but I could already see the fantasy building inside of her head. For someone who had been in a loveless marriage for years, she certainly was a hopeless romantic.

Thankfully, she let it drop and the rest of the meal we stuck to safer topics, like what I could expect from my pregnancy and scheduling future doctor appointments.

Too soon night was falling, and it was time for Mom to go. Although she didn’t have to work anymore, she did have one shift a week at her local grocery to get her out of the house and give her fun money. She offered to call in, but I didn’t see a reason for her to miss one of her work shifts when I could see her at pretty much any weekend.

“Alright, well I suppose I better pack up and go,” she said, sighing as she looked to her wristwatch.

“Yeah, especially of you want to get a good night’s rest.” I stood, my belly sufficiently full, and went to the kitchen. “I can wash you dishes really fast if you want them to be clean for the ride home.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that, dear. Just keep it until next time. You can certainly use the left overs. I imagine you’re pretty much always busy with the baby and your job.”

“You’re not wrong there. Thank you, Mom, again. I really mean it.”

“Of course, it’s the least I could do.”

“Well, can I walk you to your car?”

“Oh no, darling, that’s okay. That’s far too long of a walk for you to go out of your way.”

“Are… are you sure? I don’t mind, really.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Let me just grab my purse and I’ll head out.”

We made it to the door and hugged again. We held it for quite a while before I went to open it for her.

“You know, everything has pretty much blown over back in town, if you ever want to visit.”

“Really?” I said with a laugh. “And why don’t I believe that?”

“I’m serious,” she objected, her eyebrows nearly going to her hairline. “Almost everyone’s forgotten about it and moved on.”

“Well I haven’t,” I said flatly. “Let’s not ruin this great night by talking about those backwards-backwater-backstabbing gossipers.”

“Right, of course. I’m sorry. But if this ever gets too much for you, know that you’re always welcome back into my home.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Please do.”

She stood on tiptoes to give me a little peck on the cheek then headed out, walking down my hall slowly, as if she didn’t want to leave either. But we were both adults with lives and responsibilities and a whole lot of emotions to sort out.

I waited until she was all the way in the elevator before slowly closing my door and slumping against it.

Wow, that had gone so much better than I thought it could. Maybe this was the turning point, where my life went from mostly hardship to mostly awesome. Was that a thing that could happen? Had I gotten all my hard knocks in when I was younger and now I was getting the free passes that my karma had built up?

I hoped so. It would certainly make having my baby a whole lot easier.

Crossing my fingers for good luck, I locked the door and headed for the shower. I had one more day to the weekend before it was back to the old grindstone, so I figured I might as well relax as much as I could.

Goodness know, as my belly grew bigger, that comfortableness would be hard to come by.