Chapter 5
After two weeks of coming to terms with the fact I was going to be someone’s mother soon, life went on bizarrely like normal. As normal as it could be, considering I was knocked up, I was still seeing things that weren’t there, and the whole community had figured out I was pregnant.
It had started with Tammy at work, though I made her keep it quiet from Bob. He was pretty oblivious, and I was going to keep him in the dark as long as I could. Then Val at Rossi’s. Then my mailman. It was awkward as hell, but I settled on a lie and stuck to it. I’d had a secret boyfriend, and when he found out I was pregnant, he had run off. It garnered mostly sympathy, but a few dirty looks too. No one knew it was triplets, though, of course.
What I hadn’t really expected was the huge outpouring of help. Uncle Antonio had his grandson, Christos, start to deliver Mrs. Byrne’s groceries. He put extra vegetables on my hoagies. Zia Maria started knitting baby clothes at an alarming rate.
How she’d managed to knit twelve pairs of booties and a cardigan in two weeks was a marvel. I stood at the counter at Rossi’s and tried not to cry as Val put the knitted items into a paper bag for me, shaking her head. “Nonna has gone wild too. They’re lighting candles for you—because you’re pregnant out of wedlock, of course.” She rolled her eyes, making the sign of the cross sarcastically. “But the baby is going to have enough blankets and outfits to last until they’re five, now that she’s got her church group involved. Do you need anything else? A ride to any appointments?”
I shook my head. “Nate, my neighbor, is driving me to my OB-GYN appointment tomorrow.”
“Is he now? Does he want to roleplay as daddy?” The way she said it made it very clear she didn’t mean to the babies, but something infinitely dirtier.
“No, he’s just being a kind neighbor,” I grumbled, and Val laughed. Literally laughed in my face.
She dropped her voice conspiratorially low. “Girl, you’re so delusional. But hey, pregnant chicks are definitely some people’s kink, so I say if you can lock down that hunk, you should do it. Silver lining and all that,” she said with a wink.
Incorrigible.
Honestly, though, I hadn’t seen much of Nate since my breakdown on his couch. I’d run into him walking up the stairs once, and we’d made polite conversation. Somehow, my appointment had come up, and he’d offered to drive me. I didn’t really have the energy to turn him down. My feet hurt, and I was so goddamn tired all the time. Breathing made me feel exhausted, let alone working ten-hour shifts and walking home. Climbing the stairs some days seemed like divine torture.
So I’d take the help, just like he said.
I smiled as old Mr. Lunetta came up to pay for his groceries. He patted me gently on the back. I looked into his basket. “No tuna today, Mr. Lunetta?”
“Not today, girlie, but I got you this.” It was a wooden rattle that had three moons connecting together at a single point. Each moon was carefully carved with vines and words in… possibly Greek? Or Latin? It was gorgeous.
“Mr. Lunetta, I can’t accept this. It’s beautiful. You have to let me buy it from you,” I gasped. It looked completely hand carved.
He waved a dismissive hand. “Forget it. I make these to keep my fingers nimble. I have dozens lying around my house.” He gave me a shaky smile. “You’re a good girl. Consider it a thank you for your help reaching things on the bottom shelf.”
I felt like I was about to cry, but instead, I hugged him. Did he look a bit brighter today? I was thankful the golden lights were starting to fade slightly. “Thank you, Mr. Lunetta. I appreciate this.”
He mumbled something gruffly under his breath and patted my back three times in a clear dismissal of the hug. Swallowing down the emotion, I stepped back so he could grab his grocery bag.
“See you tomorrow,” he huffed at Val, lifting his chin at Uncle Antonio as he left.
Val and I watched him go. “What a sweet old man,” she sighed, and I nodded my agreement. She turned back to me. “Antonio Jr. says you can have any of the baby stuff you need from his garage. He got the snip, because he said six kids is enough. I say he should have stopped at two, but the man loves chaos. I bet Guilia is ecstatic; the poor woman’s been pregnant for like, a solid eight years.”
I talked with her for a little longer, resting my aching feet before I headed home, armed with Antonio Jr.’s phone number so I could come and collect his crib. I just needed two more now. The thought made me want to cry, again.
I went a couple of blocks out of my way to a baby store at the strip mall. I really needed to start pricing things so I knew how much to save. Hopefully I’d have enough so that the babies didn’t need to sleep in boxes.
Mentally, I began making a list. Cribs. Car seats, though I had no car. Hell, maybe I needed a car? A stroller as long as a bus. Clothes. Diapers. Holy shit, so many diapers. Blankets. Thermometer. Bottles. Formula.
The list kept going on and on and on. I sat down on a bench outside the mall and took out a notebook. Writing a list would make me feel better—there was something about putting things down in black and white that settled me when the world was chaotic.
I could feel people watching me, though maybe it was just my imagination. I was sensitive to the staring of others now. I looked up, but no one was being obvious about it.
Finally, heaving a sigh, I strode into the baby store. It was time to rip off the bandaid and stop being in denial. Pretending it wasn’t happening wasn’t going to unsplit the egg.
I wasa sweaty mess by the end of the following day. I’d missed my lunch break, and I desperately wanted to put my feet up for five minutes while I waited for Nate to come and collect me from the staff parking lot.
But when Bob poked his head out of his office, I knew I probably wasn’t going to get the rest I so sorely needed.
“Wren, can I speak to you in my office?”
His office was just a retrofitted supply cupboard, so it was cramped and awful. I nodded, doing my best not to clutch my aching spine. I slipped past him and sat down on the edge of the hard plastic chair by his desk.
Bob pulled out some papers, shuffling them loudly. “Wren, I have to let you go.”
My whole world screeched to a halt. “What?”
“You’ve been late three times in the last three months, for which you were warned. You’re also taking prolonged bathroom breaks, against company policy. We’re a small team, and if one of us doesn’t pull their weight around here, the job doesn’t get done.”
I gaped. “I was two minutes late this morning. I followed you into the building!”
He scowled at me, clearly not appreciating his hypocrisy being thrown back at him. “It’s a pattern of behavior that I can’t see changing in the next nine months.” He looked pointedly at my stomach, but didn’t say anything else.
Fuck.
He knew I was pregnant. I hadn’t told him, so he couldn’t say it was the reason he’d fired me. Fucking fuck. I’d have no legal leg to stand on.
“You’re a real piece of shit, Bob,” I hissed. “You’re a weak weasel of a human being, and I hope your dick gets the rot from masturbating too much and falls off.” I stood and pushed past him, trying not to cry.
“Where do you think you’re going? We weren’t finished,” he shouted after me.
I glared at him over my shoulder. “Finish this, asshole.” I flipped him the bird, grabbing my stuff from my locker as he came barreling out of his office. I stuffed everything into my backpack and stomped out the door.
Bob really didn’t like his subordinates walking away from him. “You are contractually obligated to stay for a week and train your replacement,” he yelled as he followed me into the parking lot.
“I don’t have to do anything, especially if you fired me for being pregnant, you slimy fuck.”
He smirked. “Oh, you’re pregnant? I didn’t know. I thought you were just getting fat.”
I let out a noise that could only be a suppressed screech of rage. I wanted to hit him so fucking bad. “Screw you.” I stomped away again, but he grabbed my arm.
“Listen, you little bitch—” he hissed low, his hand tight around my wrist.
He didn’t get any further than that, because Nate was suddenly between us. “I suggest you remove your hand, before I remove it for you.” He leaned close, his eyes ominous. “From your fucking arm. Permanently.”
Bob was a coward, and he backpedaled so fast, he almost tripped over the curb. He gave Nate a greasy smile. “Just a misunderstanding. I was informing my employee about her schedule next week.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “He just fired me because I’m pregnant.”
Nate stood to his full height, and I swear, it was like he grew a foot until he was glaring down at Bob. “Is that right?” His Irish accent, which I hardly ever noticed, had gotten thicker.
Bob was shaking his head furiously. “No, of course not. That’s against employment law here in Massachusetts. Uh, she was let go due to multiple policy and procedure violations, as per her contract.” Clearly, Bob thought he was talking to a well-meaning member of the public.
Nate’s jaw flexed. “I find it hard to believe that Wren would break the rules so badly that you’d need to fire her.”
A light went on in Bob’s brain, as he realized this wasn’t just a passerby. This was someone who had a vested interest in me. He was also huge, tattooed, and broader than the side of a barn.
Still, no one had ever accused my former boss of being smart. “The terms of her employment termination are confidential.” He looked at me, but I could see the whites around his eyes. He was playing tough, but was shit-scared. “I’ll find someone else to replace you. Don’t bother coming in tomorrow.”
With that, he escaped back into Java Llama like the very devil was on his heels. Nate grunted, stepping forward to follow him, but I was suddenly too exhausted to care.
“Leave it, Nate. Let the weasel stew in his own self-righteousness. I don’t want to be late for my appointment.”
An appointment that was going to eat through the last of my money.
Nate continued to stare daggers at the building, but when I turned toward his truck, he followed behind me.