Nine Months' Notice. Michele Dunaway

nearby. Tori navigated the route easily and soon sat across from Lauren in one of the Plaza’s restaurants. The two ordered and were soon munching on appetizers as they discussed how Hailey was doing.

      “Jeff says hi,” Lauren suddenly said, sliding in her words at a break in the conversation.

      “Tell him I say hi, too,” Tori said, working to make her voice casual. She wasn’t sure how much Lauren knew. “Except for work, I haven’t seen him in a while.”

      “He said you two were just friends now,” Lauren admitted. She watched Tori’s face carefully, looking for revealing expressions, but Tori remained matter-of-fact. “I wanted you to know that I hope you and I can always remain friends.”

      “Of course we can,” Tori insisted. She took another bite of her salad and waved her fork in the air. “It’s better this way. Relationships just don’t work out when you’re in two different cities. Besides, it was probably time for both of us to move on.”

      “It’s good you two can be friends,” Lauren noted.

      “We were always friends first,” Tori said. At least that much was true. She took a drink of her water. Lauren was having a glass of wine and she took a sip, rolling the merlot she’d ordered over her tongue.

      “Enjoying that?” Tori said, realizing that it would be at least another nine months before anything alcoholic touched her lips.

      “Oh yes, I am,” Lauren said as she took another sip. “I never drink anything but water when I’m out with Hailey, so being out with another adult female means I can indulge a little.” She stabbed a piece of the thinly cut beef that topped her blue-cheese-and-steak salad. “This is good,” she said. “And the company is great, too.”

      “Thanks,” Tori said. “You gave me an excuse to get away from the office.” With Lauren’s visit and the doctor’s appointment, Tori had taken the afternoon off.

      “So how’s work?” Lauren asked.

      “We won a major contract to redo Fredrikberg Finance’s network. They’re a loan brokerage with ten offices all over the city. We haven’t had a glitch during the procedure, but their president calls me every day anyway for reassurance.”

      “Well, you look healthy,” Lauren said. “You’ve got a glow about you I haven’t seen before, so Kansas City must be agreeing with you.”

      “It is,” Tori said. At least her job was.

      After having dinner last night, Tori had decided to bite the bullet and tell her mother and stepfather about the baby.

      Surprisingly the conversation had gone quite well. They’d quickly hidden any disappointment that there wasn’t a husband to go along with the baby and offered whatever help she required. When she thought about it, Tori realized her parents were quite excited they were going to have a grandchild.

      So far she’d told no one else, although she now decided to call her friends. She still hadn’t decided what to say to Jeff. Tori took another bite of her salad. She’d given up all fattening foods the day of the pregnancy test, opting for only the healthiest things available. When she felt hungry, she munched on saltines or rice cakes. She missed chocolate-chip cookies terribly, but she was determined not to swell up to the size of a hot-air balloon.

      “Earth to Tori,” Lauren said.

      “Sorry,” Tori said. “My mind has been processing so much lately that sometimes it just shuts down.”

      “I was like that when I was pregnant,” Lauren said. “It was as if, in utero, Hailey was absorbing all my brain cells. Justin called me a flake.”

      “He didn’t,” Tori said, laughing.

      “He did,” Lauren admitted with an expression of mock horror. “I only let him get away with it because he indulged all my strange cravings. I would want fried pickles, for instance, and he’d drive to O’Leary’s and get them. He’d even get me Ted Drewes or Fritz’s concretes at all odd hours. I also craved mashed potatoes and fajitas. The poor guy didn’t have a home-cooked meal for months.”

      “I don’t cook very much, and I can’t stand sliced turkey anymore,” Tori said. “I just look at it now and want to puke.” Although the ice cream treats Lauren had just mentioned sounded heavenly.

      Lauren’s expression turned quizzical. “I was that way with scrambled eggs. I couldn’t even be in the same room and smell them.”

      “I’m fine with eggs,” Tori said, before she caught herself. What was she doing discussing cravings with Lauren, who didn’t even know she was pregnant? Now she had to use the ladies’ room. While she’d heard trips to the bathroom became more frequent as the baby grew, maybe it was also psychological. Or perhaps it was due to the eight glasses of water she consumed every day. “Excuse me a second,” she said, rising and heading to the restroom.

      When she returned, Lauren was staring at her strangely. “So why haven’t you told Jeff you’re expecting?” she asked.

      “What?” Tori slid into the seat and paused. “I’m not pregnant.”

      “Then what would you call it?” Lauren asked. She pushed her blond hair behind her ears. “You forget that both my aunt and my mother work for obstetricians. I can spot a pregnant woman a mile away.”

      Tori winced. She should have kept her mouth shut about her cravings.

      “So, which doctor are you seeing?” Lauren asked.

      “Dr. Hillyer,” Tori admitted, willing herself to keep her eyes open. At this moment she wanted nothing more than to close them and hide from the impending cloud of doom. Dropping through the floor was another option, if the tiles would be gracious enough to open up.

      “When are you due?” Lauren asked.

      “December thirtieth.”

      “And Jeff’s the father and he’s in the dark,” Lauren continued.

      “I just had my first visit with the doctor today,” Tori said. She fiddled with the cloth napkin. “I wanted to be sure I was pregnant before causing any undue excitement. You know how many things can go wrong in the first trimester.”

      “You have to tell him,” Lauren said. She twirled her wineglass between her fingers, the red liquid swirling. She frowned before adding, “He has a right to know.”

      “Yes, I know he does. And I will tell him,” Tori said. “Just not yet. I want to get a few other things sorted out on my end. But I promise that I’ll speak to him. Sometime. It’s better this way.”

      “For who? You?” Lauren shook her head. “The longer you wait the worse it’s going to be. At some point he’s going to find out. He’s not stupid. He’s quite able to put two and two together. And can you imagine how he’s going to feel? He’ll want to be involved from the very beginning. You’d be keeping his child away from him.”

      “It’s my child, too,” Tori said. “I want things sorted on my end first.”

      “Yes, but you should allow him to be involved. He’s like his brother that way. Justin went to my checkups. He visited the hospitals with me. He went to my sono-gram appointments and held my hand when I gave blood. He did the grocery shopping when I was too tired. He even organized and helped fix up the nursery.”

      “I can do that on my own,” Tori said stubbornly. “I’ve been taking care of myself for years and I’m sure I’ll be fine doing it pregnant. You and I both know that Jeff is much too busy. He’s out of town as we speak. He’s a nomad. I don’t want that life. I’m not settling for a man who’s never around. He and I talked long ago about our relationship—he wants sex, I want marriage. He’s admitted he’s not ready to settle down and pretty much indicated that if he were, it wouldn’t be with me. He doesn’t see me that way. I’m keeping my baby, but I’m not having it to trap him. The last thing I want is to