“Good for you, sis. You’ve got the Ponzio backbone.”
“So, I’ll get to be a single mom.” She said it with a yippee in her voice.
“I hope you don’t give the baby up for adoption. Isn’t that what most of the Wayward girls are doing?”
“Hayward.” Brooke wasn’t sure why she went to the trouble to correct her sister. It wouldn’t change anything. Harper loved to use substitute names for places and things. “Only about a third are giving up custody. The rest are going to be single mothers. We help them find jobs and childcare and such.”
“I thought it was basically a private adoption agency.”
“They started out that way, forty years ago. But now they provide these women with all the resources they need, so they won’t feel abortion is their only choice. Adoption is one alternative, and they don’t push it.” Brooke shut down her computer and grabbed her tote bag, heading for the door. “Honestly, it’s an awesome place, even if the board is a little on the strict side, as far as religion is concerned.”
“A little?” Harper let out a harsh chuckle. “They won’t even let you wear makeup to work. I’d say that’s pretty strict. Didn’t you say they might fire you if they find out about the divorce?”
“It’s possible. And adding a baby to the picture isn’t going to make it better.” Brooke kept her voice down as she went down the hallway, even though she was probably the last to leave.
“Good grief! I hadn’t even thought about that. Hey!” A horn sounded. “That idiot practically changed lanes right on top of me. Let’s talk about your diet. What have you eaten today?”
“Well, I need to eat better, for sure. No time for lunch today. I’m on my way out, so I’m eating my sandwich.” Juggling her bag and her phone, she found her lunch sack, hoping her nausea would settle with a bit of food.
“You brought a sandwich? What’s on it?” Harper sounded alarmed, as if she’d said she was going to eat lead.
“Just a ham and cheese sandwich. Nothing weird.”
“Don’t eat it! Pregnant women can’t eat deli meat. You could get a listeria infection!”
“Did you learn this at vet school? Are you sure this isn’t something that’s only true for dogs or cats?”
“No, it’s for humans. I promise.”
With a forlorn look at her enticing sandwich, she stuck it back in her bag, before punching the elevator button to open the doors. “Can I eat my grapes?”
“Yes, grapes should be fine.”
As she plucked a grape off the stem and popped it in her mouth, a bone-tiredness swept over her. She wanted nothing more than to slide down to the elevator floor and hide her head in her arms. “Harper, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Brooke, you can do this. I’ll help you.”
“Why did God let this happen? I tried to do everything right.” Her voice croaked with climbing emotions, probably due to the pregnancy. At least she had an excuse for her mood swings now.
“I know the timing is awful, but I believe this baby is going to be a blessing from God. Just wait. When you hold it in your arms, you won’t care who the father is.” Harper cleared her throat. “Speaking of fathers, are you going to tell Nathan?”
“I guess I should, but not right now. I’ll probably end up moving home.”
“To Nowhere, Oklahoma?”
Brooke chuckled at her sister’s joke. “Bellaire’s not that bad.”
“You’ll never find a place to do counseling in Bellaire. You need to come live with me in Baton Rouge.”
Brooke could almost see Harper give a sharp nod, like the matter was settled. A year older than Brooke’s twenty-nine, her sister had always been bossy.
“I appreciate the offer, Harper, but you don’t have time to help me with a baby. Not in your last year of vet school.”
The elevator doors opened on the ground floor, and Brooke stepped out, glancing down the empty hallway. She turned down the long corridor that led through the downstairs of the residence hall toward the employee parking lot.
“We’ll find a way to make it work,” said Harper. “It could be fun.”
As Brooke passed a water cooler, she stopped to gulp down a cup of water. Her stomach clenched in protest and she moaned. “I don’t think this is going to be fun, no matter where I live. I’ve thrown up twice today.”
“I thought you said you hadn’t eaten.”
“I haven’t. Today my stomach doesn’t even like water.” The nausea subsided. “Okay, that’s better. I think I can make it to my car. It’s better when I’m sitting down.”
“You need to find a doctor,” said Harper.
“I’ll have to find an ob-gyn here, at least for now. But if I move home, I’ll have to see Dr. Kennedy.” She shivered. “It would be so weird for him to be my doctor when I would see him at church every Sunday morning.”
“Gross! No way I could do that. You can’t have a baby in Bellaire, anyway,” Harper said. “They don’t even have a hospital.”
“I plan to stay here as long as possible. But I have to make plans for when I lose my job.”
“There must be some way you could stay in Houston. Can’t you find another job? You have a college degree. If you aren’t looking for a counseling gig, surely you could find something.”
“Not too many jobs out there for a psychology major. And I need one with insurance. Even this job doesn’t have paid maternity leave.” Her head spun, and she stopped until she felt steady again. “I don’t know how I can avoid moving home.”
“How about a dating app? You could find another husband, and get married before anybody at Hayward Home finds out about it.”
“Sure. They’re probably tons of guys who want to marry a pregnant woman. Anyway, I’ve sworn off men forever.” Unbidden, Cole Miller’s face passed through her mind. The humiliation of the morning flooded back, sending blood rushing to her face. “I haven’t even told you the worst thing that happened this morning.”
