Second Hand Waitress

Kira allowed herself to lean against Lexi for a moment longer, comforted by the fact that her cousin would always support her. She had never felt more grateful for him than in that moment.

Jake was still giving her the cold shoulder when he returned to the apartment later that night, this time without Greg.

"Hey," Kira greeted hesitantly, even though his sulking attitude was starting to get on her nerves.

"Oh. Hey," he replied, acting as if he had just noticed her sitting in the old, oversized chair she had bought from a thrift store.

"So... I’m pregnant," she blurted out.

Jake froze in his tracks on his way to the bathroom. He turned to face her, his mouth hanging open, eyes wide with shock.

"Are you serious? No way!" His voice jumped up in pitch, sounding like an overexcited teenager. It was both amusing and frustrating. "Oh my God! No wonder you’ve been so moody lately."

"Wow, thanks," she said with a smirk. No matter how blunt Jake was, his honesty always made her smile.

"Well, you have been." He completely forgot about going to the bathroom and flopped down onto the pull-out couch across from her. "Are you keeping it?"

"I don’t know yet."

"Are you considering not having the baby?"

"I thought about it," she admitted. "But in the end, it didn’t feel like the right decision for me."

"Fair enough," he said, nodding. "So, adoption is still an option?"

"Yes."

"Have you thought about telling the father… After  all he is the one who pulled down your panties...Oh my God, is Tesah Clover the dad?" His voice shot up again.

"What do you think?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you should keep the baby and make sure he helps you out financially," Jake said, as if it were the most obvious solution.

"Yeah, no. I’m not that kind of person."

"Did you do this on purpose?" Jake asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Of course not. Probably a faulty condom."

"And who was in charge of protection?"

"He was."

"Then why are you the one stressing about it?" Jake demanded. "You didn’t ask for this to happen—it’s just as much his responsibility as it is yours. Actually, it’s more his fault because you trusted him to handle protection. What if it wasn’t just pregnancy? What if you got some kind of infection from that faulty condom?"

Jake would, of course, be the one to bring up the worst-case scenario. But Kira wasn’t too worried—Tesah was a clean and careful person.

"The doctor ran tests today," she said flatly, remembering how the nurse had explained what the bloodwork was for. She wasn’t expecting any bad news.

"So, you’re planning to do what those stubborn women in romance novels do? You know, the whole ‘I don’t need his money, I can do this alone’ act?" Jake crossed his arms. "Meanwhile, the guy is rich, and they’re struggling just to get by because they refuse to take his help? That’s ridiculous."

Kira didn’t bother responding. When Jake got going, it was best to just let him talk until he ran out of steam.

"Seriously, Kira. He was there when this baby was made. He should take responsibility for it."

"I haven’t even decided if I’m keeping the baby yet," she said, her voice tired.

"Hmm. Just don’t make a stupid decision. Being too proud to ask for help never did anyone any good."

"Jake, I only found out about this today," she sighed. "I need time to think things through."

"Yeah, and one of the things you need to consider is that Tesah isn’t exactly broke. If you decide to have the baby, there’s no reason he shouldn’t support his child."

"Enough," she groaned, holding up her hand. She rubbed her forehead with her other hand, feeling a headache forming. "I’m going to bed. Good night."

For the next few weeks, Kira felt like she was floating through life in a daze. Nothing felt real. She kept thinking she would wake up and realize it was all just a crazy dream—but every morning, the truth was still there. She was pregnant with Tesah Clover’s baby.

Her symptoms were relentless—constant nausea, exhaustion, restless nights, bloating, and sore, swollen breasts. Everything she had read about pregnancy, she seemed to be experiencing. It was overwhelming and frustrating.

Every Sunday night, she curled up on the couch with her secondhand copy of a week-by-week pregnancy guide she had picked up from a bargain bookstore. It fascinated her to read how fast the baby was growing. But while the science of it all was incredible, the changes in her body were a lot less exciting.

Jake kept pushing her to tell Tesah, while Becky and Lexi never pressured her about the decision. Their quiet support was supposed to be comforting, but in a way, it just made her feel even more pressure.

She pushed all of that out of her mind and focused on her book, reading about what was happening this week. The most exciting thing? The baby now had tiny fingers, complete with growing fingernails.

Kira placed a hand on her still-flat stomach, imagining those tiny hands. If it was a girl, maybe someday she would beg to have her nails painted. If it was a boy, maybe he’d love fixing things and end up with dirt under those little nails. Or maybe the opposite—who knew?

For the first time in weeks, she felt a small flicker of something other than stress.

Wonder.