Chapter 18
Eva
After separately returning under cover of darkness, I fell asleep with any pillows I could find.
Pregnancy continued to kick my ass. I thought sleep might make me feel less uncomfortable or horny, but neither came true.
I woke up thinking how much I wished I’d be dumb enough to run down to Davey’s room and wake him.
I didn’t know how one person could grind my gears so much.
Davey terrified me because when he signaled his desperation to have me, I folded like a house of cards.
The sexual chemistry remained. Now, coupled with a growing bit of trust, I wanted more.
I considered the angles of standing or sitting as I moved downstairs. I grabbed breakfast and sat at a patio table. As I drank my coffee and ate a beautiful pain au chocolate, I watched two boats sail from the harbor.
I was surprised after spotting Davey running up to the house via the dune that sheltered it.
He trotted upstairs, staring directly at me as he did, stopping to catch his breath by the patio door.
I tried not to look at him. I’d never remarked on Davey’s thighs prior to this moment—for better or worse—but they were impressive.
He dabbed his brow with his t-shirt revealing abs that made me weak.
“You doing okay?” Davey panted. “You look… off.”
“I’m fine,” I answered. “You are… barefoot.”
“I like running barefoot for a couple miles in the morning when I’m up here.”
Weirdo.
“You’re not eating inside with everyone, Eva?” He wiped his brow—more abs.
“I’ve been enjoying the boats on the horizon,” I said. “I’ll go in by the time we start. I’m just enjoying the weather.”
“Oh, okay. We’re good?”
I rolled my eyes. “We’re good. Very good.”
Why did I say it like that?
“Great,” Davey’s sneaky smile crossed his face.
“I should smack you,” I snickered.
“That wouldn’t teach me any lessons, Eva.”
Oof! I could only think about what it felt like to ride his face and how I should have just let him eat me out last night rather than get all self-conscious.
“I gotta go shower,” Davey thumbed his chin. “And shave.”
“You could shave… or nah?” I shrugged. “Be lazy?”
“Ah, you do have a preference about facial hair,” Davey’s voice slowly trailed as his eyes fixed on something.
I turned to the point he stared at. Lady Danna circulated in the living room.
“I should go,” Davey said. “Later, okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed.
As Davey entered the house, Chloe emerged, carrying a massive coffee mug.
“Watch out,” she said, “because the party people have arrived.”
I snickered. “For a bunch of old people, they go hard.”
“I hope I’m that interesting in my seventies.”
I laughed.
“Oh, there is the darling Eva Pavlak!” Norm announced, finding his way out as if on cue.
“Norm. How are you?” I asked.
“Good,” Norm said. “While you all strategize, I’m going on a wine tour with the other less-important people.”
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Norm,” Chloe said.
“You’re the fun Markham,” Norm declared.
“Tell Cal that,” she said. “Although, he will be even less fun soon. Daphne was having contractions last night. Who knows if we’ll have a baby soon.”
“That’s mildly terrifying,” Norm shivered.
I reacted internally, crossing all my fingers and toes that no one looked at my stomach as I stood to fetch my second allowable cup of coffee and thought the Delphines might be doubly blessed in short time.
I held my empty coffee mug over my stomach like a sitcom actress might if hiding a pregnancy.
As I passed through the French doors opening into the living room, our CFO strode out like he was on fire, knocking into me.
My coffee and plate flew, as did I, tripping and falling flat onto my stomach with a thud on the marble floor.
I tried to stop myself with my wrist and failed.
It smarted and pain surged. Nervously, I rolled over, spying his panicked face.
His fear was nothing in comparison to the worry within me.
My wrist ached but that wasn’t the real reason for concern.
If a simple fall had cost me my chance at motherhood, I’d be heartbroken.
Daphne rushed over, ducking down slowly. “Oh my God! Are you okay, Eva?”
“Daph, get up before I have to hoist you,” Lanie pleaded. “Good God, woman, I am sure Eva is fine.”
I sat up awkwardly. I realized my stomach muscles didn’t work like they used to, and I was reliant on my left wrist only as my right was fucked.
“You fell awkwardly,” Daphne said. “We should get you to the doctor.”
“Nonsense, Daphne. She’s not made of glass!” Danna’s stiff-upper-lip-ness showed.
“This is not a ‘rub dirt on it’ situation, mother!” Daphne said. “Come on. Lanie, help me up!”
“Cal! Come hoist your wife!” Lanie shouted. “She’s again decided to get herself stuck down on the ground.”
“For fuck’s sake, Daphne!” Cal grumbled. “Why do you keep getting in these predicaments?”
“Eva fell.” Daphne took Cal’s hand.
Bob Lawrence, our CFO, stared in disbelief. “Oh, Eva, I feel terrible. I was focused on something else. Are you okay?”
“It was an accident,” I said. “My right hand is really screwed up.”
“Oh, God!” Bob panicked, holding his hand to assist me to my feet.
“You should see a doctor,” Daphne said. “I’ll take you.”
“We have a strategy session,” I protested.
“Your wrist is more important than that.” Daphne knew my worries.
“I suppose,” I said.
I needed to go but not by myself. Unfortunately, I’d have to get creative because Davey was off-limits.
“Can someone let David know that I’m going to go to the hospital? So, he doesn’t think I blew this off? I swear I don’t hate strategic planning that much,” I joked.
“No one would think that,” Claire assured.
“I’ll tell him,” Daphne said, already gone.
Davey
“Davey! Davey! David!”
I opened my bedroom door a crack to find my sister, face white as a sheet.
“What? Are you in labor?” I asked.
“No! Eva needs to go to the hospital,” Daphne said.
Now, I panicked. “What!?”
“Bob bumped her, and she fell on the tile floor. She needs to go to the hospital.”
“Shit! The baby!” I immediately wanted to die.
Why did you do that, David?
“You know?”
“About the baby? Yes,” I furrowed my brow. “Yes, of course.”
“Why would she tell you? Did you shame her out of this?”
I couldn’t answer her. I deflected.
“I need to put on pants, Daph. Give me a second.”
I slammed the door, rushing through halfway presentable dress. What did I say? I needed to go to the hospital with her, right? If I volunteered—as CEO—it would be obvious something else was going on. My sister was already suspicious. She didn’t buy Eva confiding in me.
“David, you are not supposed to say anything. Did HR tell you something? Oh my God! I’m going to go get Sandy and—”
I opened the door, buttoning my shirt. “No. HR didn’t tell me anything. Has she left yet? Can I go with her?”
“What?”
“I cannot get into this right now, Daphne,” I sighed. “Handle the strategy session.”
“David, it is your company.”
“Right now, it’s your strategic plan. I’ll explain later,” I finished buttoning my shirt.
I rolled my sleeves, ignoring all as I rushed past Daphne to find Eva speaking with Mum and Lanie about hospitals.
“I would say go to Harbor Country,” Mum said. “It’s a small hospital, but they will fix up your wrist well enough.”
Daphne caught up, still hopping mad, but compassionate as ever.
“No. She should go to Michigan City,” Daphne said. “They have a better hospital—a full-service hospital.”
I had no idea what that meant, but I figured Daphne did.
“Why does that matter?”
“I don’t know. I’m maybe paranoid, but my OB told me that if something happened, I needed to go there if I couldn’t make it to Chicago in time.”
It made sense.
“She’s not delivering a baby, Daphne!”
Not yet.
“It’s better imaging equipment and such,” Daphne said.
“Mum, I agree,” Lanie said. “Makes more sense.”
“I can go with,” Daphne offered.
I shook my head. “No. I’ll take her. You all should stay and map out strategy. I’m… I will make sure she’s okay.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Mum threw her hands up.
“I’m going,” I said, unwilling to argue.
I watched relief wash across Eva’s face.
“Eva, I’ll drive you down there,” I grabbed my keys off the sideboard by the front door. “C’mon. Daphne will manage the strategy session.”
Daphne set her jaw, annoyed. I could just hear her saying, “You better have a good reason for this, David, Jr.”
Eva said little, following me to my car in a trance. She climbed in.
“Top up or down?” I asked.
She glared. I knew the answer was up. What sort of question was that anyway? She probably felt like she was off to sudden doom and here I was worrying about my convertible.
“It’s… I just want to make it easier on you. I am sure it is—”
“No, David. Don’t talk to me right now,” Eva said. “We’re fucked. Everything about this is fucked. And if we lose this baby—”
“We won’t,” I said. “This is going to work out, baby.”
“Davey, what if we just went through hell—what if we just threw ourselves under the bus—for nothing.”
“It’s not. It’s… we’ll be fine.” If I said it enough, it would be true.