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“You’re not going to believe the gossip Christy told me.”
I looked up from my half-eaten piece of pie. “You and Christy thrive on the gossip of the pit crew,” I laughed. I may not know the pit crew personally, but it felt like I did. Mom mostly talked about Frankie and Brooks since Brooks was Christy’s son, but every now and then, she would talk about Jay and Remy.
When I slept with Jay, I hadn’t known at the time he was the Jay my mom knew, and when I figured it out, it wasn’t a big deal since I never planned on seeing him again. But now, all that had changed. I would be seeing Jay for the rest of my life.
I may know who Jay was, but Jay and the rest of the pit crew didn’t know I was Susan’s daughter.
“Because those kids lead some interesting lives. Brooks falling for Frankie was primetime news, but this completely trumps that. It’s about Jay, and if you know anything from what I’ve told you about him, then you know it’s juicy.”
My stomach dropped, and my fork froze mid-air.
Oh, shit.
I had been gathering my courage to tell Mom about the baby through dinner and now dessert, but she might already know my big news.
“He got a girl pregnant.” She dropped the news like a bomb and kept talking. “But he has no idea who the girl is. Doesn’t even remember being with her.” Mom babbled like a toddler on a sugar rush. “Christy also told me Frankie likes her and hopes Jay pulled his head out of his ass long enough to realize he’s got a girl.”
I blinked slowly. “Okay.”
“Okay?” she squealed. “That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“Uh, I’m glad Frankie likes her and hope Jay snaps out of it?” I had a ton to say about what she just revealed, but I would probably shock the hell out of her. “I don’t know these people, Mom. I can’t exactly act like I know them.”
She huffed and grabbed her empty bowl. “Gossip, girl. It’s just fun to know what’s going on in these young kids’ lives.”
“I’m a young kid, and you don’t get this excited when I ace a class or land the clinicals I want.”
She leveled her gaze on me. “I’m proud of you for those things and brag to everyone I know about them. This is entertainment.”
Would she be as entertained if she found out I was the chick Jay couldn’t remember?
I think not.
“Well, I’m glad his misfortune is entertaining.”
“Oh posh, Delaney. I didn’t raise you to be a stick in the mud. You totally take after your father when it comes to that. He was always thinking about work even when he wasn’t working.”
“Who says I’m thinking about work right now?” I wasn’t actually. I just didn’t want to laugh about Jay because I was pretty sure that would put bad karma all over me. I needed all of the good karma I could get at that moment.
“Well, you’re thinking about something that isn’t fun. I assume it’s work because just looking at those school books makes me want to fall asleep. Plus, you’ve had that tiny little crease between your eyes all night. Means you’re thinking about something hard and no fun.”
“Hard and no fun?” Thank God she couldn’t read my mind even though she was pretty damn close to what I was thinking about. “I’m just trying to eat my pie and spend time with you before you go off jet-setting with Christy for three weeks.”
“Not like I want to,” she grumbled.
I shoveled the last bite of my pie into my mouth and held out the plate to her. “You’re pie was delicious as always, Mama.”
She patted me on the head. “There’s my little girl.” She grabbed the plate and walked into the kitchen.
I grabbed my empty coffee cup and followed her. I wished like hell I could have an actual cup of coffee right now, but I had started drinking decaf tea since I found out I was pregnant.
Tea sucked when you were craving coffee, which was all of the time for me. Being a med student and doing clinicals was the perfect reason to drink coffee.
But now I was pregnant.
No caffeine for the baby or me.
Blah.
“What are you going to do when you’re gone?” I asked. “You won’t have all of the gossip.”
She flitted her hand toward me. “Frankie has already promised Christy she would call with daily updates.”
Oh, great. Even if my mom wasn’t here, she was going to be updated about Jay. Though this could possibly work in my favor. I could get better insight to what Jay was thinking. “So, what is this guy going to do?” I asked. I grabbed the dish towel and waited for Mom to hand me clean dishes to dry.
“Not sure. Last Frankie said, Jay is acting ornery and not really talking.”
“I’m assuming he’s quite the talker normally.” I had to assume a lot about Jay since I had only spent a few hours with him, and most of that time, we didn’t do a lot of talking.
“From the sounds of it. And a lady’s man to boot, too.” Mom handed me the dishes, and I quickly dried them. “Now I gotta go pack,” she huffed.
“Don’t forget to pack the aloe,” I reminded her. I reached up to put the bowls away, and my t-shirt pulled up slightly. I pulled it down quickly, fearful Mom would see my stomach. I know I had told myself I was going to tell her tonight, but after her talking about it, she didn’t seem very approving of Jay’s situation.
Entertained, but I didn’t think she would be so entertained when she found out I was the woman.
I was going to be pregnant for the next seven months. There would be plenty of time to tell her. More than likely, it was going to have to be when she got back in three weeks since I’m sure my little bump wouldn’t be so little anymore.
She rested her hand on my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Thank you for making a little time for your mom in your hectic schedule.”
“Becoming a doctor isn’t easy,” I laughed. My life had been hectic and go, go, go for the past four years, and I still had at least four more years before things settled down.
“I guess it shouldn’t be since you’ll be saving lives every day. I love you, Delaney.”
“Love you, too, Mama,” I sighed.
She bustled out of the kitchen, and I set the bowl I was drying in the cabinet.
But was she going to love me as much when she found out I was pregnant?
*
