Chapter 1 - THE SECOND PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT
At my baby shower, my husband kissed my forehead while my best friend raised a champagne flute and called us “the perfect family.”
So when it was my turn to speak, I smiled at thirty-two people and said, “Before we open the gifts, I have one more pregnancy announcement.”
Maren’s glass stopped halfway to her mouth.
Beside me, Gavin went completely still.
Nobody else noticed.
Not yet.
I rested one hand beneath my eight-month belly and looked across the backyard at the woman who had been my best friend for eleven years.
“Maren is twelve weeks pregnant.”
The patio exploded.
“Oh my God!”
“Congratulations!”
“Maren!”
My mother actually clapped, and someone near the gift table squealed, “Two babies!”
Maren didn’t smile.
Her face had gone the color of the white linen tablecloths she had chosen for my shower.
Gavin’s fingers tightened around my shoulder.
“Tessa,” he said under his breath.
I turned toward him.
He looked terrified.
It was the first honest expression I had seen on his face in twelve days.
I waited until the cheering faded.
Then I smiled again.
“You should probably congratulate Gavin too.”
Silence rolled across the backyard.
A fork hit a plate.
My mother lowered her hands.
Gavin dropped his arm from my shoulders.
I finished the sentence.
“He’s the father.”
Nobody moved.
Maren stared at me.
Gavin whispered, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Saving everyone some time.”
“Tessa.”
“No, really. Think how exhausting it would be for you two to call everybody individually.”
Maren took one step toward me.
“Tess, please.”
I almost laughed.
She had helped me choose the bassinet sitting twenty feet away.
She had painted sample squares on my nursery wall and rubbed my back through three months of morning sickness.
Now she wanted discretion.
Gavin reached for my elbow.
I moved away.
His mother, Lorraine, stood near the dessert table staring at her son.
“What is she talking about?”
Gavin ran a hand over his mouth.
“This is not the place.”
I looked at him.
“You thought my house was the place.”
His head snapped toward me.
Maren closed her eyes.
That reaction told everyone there was more.
My sister June came to my side.
“Tessa, do you want to sit down?”
“No.”
For once, I wanted to stand.
Gavin lowered his voice.
“You’re upset. We should go inside and talk privately.”
There it was.
Not denial.
Not confusion.
Just an attempt to remove the witnesses.
I picked up the remote beside the cake.
The television beneath the covered patio had been showing ultrasound pictures and stupid candid photos of Gavin assembling the crib.
Now a screenshot filled the screen.
Maren’s name was at the top.
Doctor says twelve weeks. Everything looks good.
Gavin’s reply sat underneath.
Wish I could’ve stayed longer. Tell our little peanut I love them.
Someone gasped.
Lorraine said, “Gavin?”
He said nothing.
Maren did.
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
“The pregnancy?”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Tess—”
I clicked again.
Another message appeared.
Once the paperwork is done, she can’t just tell me to leave.
Maren had replied:
And the house?
We’ll deal with that after the baby comes. She’ll be exhausted. I’ll bring it up again then.
The backyard went so quiet I could hear leaves moving along the fence.
Lorraine gripped the table.
“You were trying to take her house?”
“That is not what happened,” Gavin said.
“Then explain it.”
He looked around at our families, coworkers, neighbors, and the friends who had brought diapers for the daughter we were supposed to welcome together.
His face hardened.
“This is between my wife and me.”
I clicked once more.
A photograph of my nursery appeared.
Cream crib.
Sage curtains.
The wooden moon Maren herself had hung over the changing table.
Below it was her message.
Honestly, this room would be perfect for ours. Once she’s gone, we can repaint it.
Lorraine sat down hard.
Maren began crying.
“Tessa, I am so sorry.”
“Not yet.”
She blinked.
“What?”
“You don’t get to apologize until you know what you’re apologizing for.”
Twelve days earlier, I had still believed Gavin was the safest person in my life.
I hadn’t known he was cheating.
I hadn’t known Maren was pregnant.
I hadn’t known they were planning a future inside my house.
I had only wanted to check whether somebody had bought the stroller from our registry.
Instead, Gavin’s iPad had lit up beside me.
A message from my best friend appeared on the screen.
Does she still think the papers are just for refinancing?
May you like
That was when my marriage ended.
I simply hadn’t told Gavin yet.
