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“Not at all!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Freddy, interrupting their girl talk.
We all looked at him.
“Who is your OBGYN?” he asked, a hint of competition in his voice.
I realized I didn’t know the answer to that question. It felt like something I should know.
“Oh, it’s this place on Park Avenue. I’m not sure I’ll be staying there, though. They’re not very friendly. It felt really cold.”
I looked at her in slight surprise. She hadn’t told me anything about going to the doctor or having a bad experience. Then again, I hadn’t asked. I couldn’t help feeling a little jealous she hadn’t confided in me about it.
“Well, that’s bullshit,” said Freddy. “If you’d like, I can recommend a few.”
“Notyou,” I said, shooting him a look.
“I wasn’t suggesting that.” Freddy put his hands up in defense.
The server brought the bottle of wine then and began filling the glasses on the table. Freddy told him to just fill two.
I leaned in and whispered in Heart’s ear.
“Why didn’t you tell me about the doctor?”
She shrugged. “It just never came up.”
“I hate that you had to go through that by yourself…”
“I wasn’t by myself. I had Monica with me.”
I sat back in my seat and grabbed my glass of water, taking a sip. I tried to swallow down my hurt feelings.
For the rest of dinner, Virginia and Heart were deep in conversation about everything baby. They were talking about nursery colors, baby registries, names, and clothes. I tried eavesdropping a little, but Freddy was yapping away and when he wasn’t, he kept shooting me these weird, meaningful looks.
Once we were finished with our steaks, the girls excused themselves to go to the bathroom, leaving Freddy and me alone. He took a sip of wine, giving me another weird look of his.
“What?” I asked pointedly.
“This is just…crazy,” he said.
“I know.”
“Are you really ready for this?” he asked, leaning back in the booth and giving me a curious look.
“Of course, I am. Would I be here with her tonight if I didn’t think I was ready? Ifweweren’t ready.”
“Yeah, but you hardly know each other…”
“We’re getting to know each other now.” I started to feel defensive.
“Okay,” he said, nodding. But I could hear the doubt in his voice.
“I’m ready, Freddy.” I said with a chuckle at my rhyme.
“Well, I’m happy for you, man.”
I watched as Heart and Freddy’s date walked back to the table. Heart laughed, the crease of her eyes fanning out in genuine happiness. I hoped I was ready for this, but doubt was beginning to seep in. Damn you, Freddy.