Page 9 of Daddy to Go

“Thanks,” I replied cheerfully.

I could feel Mary’s confused stare on me all the way from the counter to the table. When we were seated and set up, she continued to stare at me. I took a deep breath and let my eyes line up with hers.

“Mary, you’re staring.”

My friend blinked dramatically. “You didn’t set an alarm, you came out in yoga pants which I can’t even get you to wear during yoga, and you didn’t fight me on paying. What happened to you? Are you actually Abby or did some sort of extraterrestrial take over?” She leaned closer and whispered. “Because if that’s the case, your secret is safe with me. I always knew you were out there.”

I rolled my eyes and sipped my coffee. “Can’t I just feel good?”

“No,” Mary growled. “Don’t bullshit me, woman. Spill it before I torture you.”

Her normal tactic was embarrassment. Something usually along the lines of Mary raising her voice and squealing at the top of her lungs. Then she followed up with something ridiculous, turning everyone’s heads. Feeling more alive or not, I laughed.

“Okay, stop,” I whispered. “Something happened at the appointment. My doctor wasn’t in and I had a substitute. This male doctor named Ryder.”

She snorted, looking down at her coffee. “This sounds like some lame beginning to a porno. He gave you the once over and then dug deep, right?”

As she laughed to herself, I went quiet, just staring over at her. My silence caught her attention and she glanced up with a grin. As soon as she saw the look on my face her grin dropped and her mouth hung open. She sat there frozen in place for several moments, reading every twitch of my lip and flare of my nostrils.

She closed her mouth and pulled herself together. Carefully she set her coffee down and cleared her throat. “Did you just imply that you went to get your hoo-ha checked out and instead, you got laid?”

My lip curled. “You don’t have to say it so crudely. But I guess in essence, yeah.”

Mary stared again, her face straight. “I’m sorry, I think you just shocked me so bad, I’m having an out of body experience. So, let me just recap. You went into the doctor, saw a fill-in, who came in and bent you over the exam table?”

“Something like that,” I replied.

“No, not something like that,” she said in a hushed voice, eyes wide. “You tell me every detail of this so I can decide whether I need to high five you or call the cops. Was he old?”

I gasped. “Oh my God! NO! And he didn’t coerce me either. There was just this heat in the air between the two of us when he walked in and we both lost control as soon as he put his hands on me. I mean, looking back at it, the whole thing is kind of unbelievable.”

“Uh, yeah,” she snorted. “I can’t. I don’t even know what to say to you besides, nice work girlie. Get you some young hunky doctor.”

I smiled for a moment, my cheeks burning again. I glanced down at my coffee, the smile fading and a sigh replacing it. “I just don’t know what to do now. We didn’t exchange information. We were kind of in a hurry after that and I left in a complete daze. I feel like it would be weird to call him at work.”

Mary shrugged her shoulders. She never gave a shit about doing the “right” or “normal” thing. She did whatever she wanted, and I always admired that about her. “I would personally make another appointment with him and clear up the loose ends. If it was a one-time deal, cool, if not cool. But one thing I can tell you from experience, leaving it up in the air will drive you crazy. Call his office and make an appointment.”

I wrinkled my nose. “You think?”

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t think it,” she replied, stealing a bite of my muffin.

Thinking about seeing Ryder again made me feel buzzy and warm. I grabbed my phone from my purse and dialed the doctor’s office. The receptionist picked up and I played it off like I didn’t remember Dr. Rivington’s name, just in case she overheard us last time.

“I can fit you in tomorrow morning at nine fifteen,” she replied.

I smiled. “Great. Perfect. Thanks.”

When I hung up Mary gave me a sly grin and nodded. “I’m proud of you. Who knew all it would take was a good hot man? I would have gotten you laid like, at puberty had I known that. You might have become a completely different girl.”

I shook my head, tossing my phone back in my purse. “No, I would have ended up like all of our friends.”

Mary looked confused. “Drunk, and stuck in a marriage they regret even though they drive the newest BMW SUV with three kids in the back?”

“No, the ones like us. You know, from the wrong side of the tracks,” I replied.

She nodded her head.

“Ohhhh, yeah. Pregnant and angry. Got it. You know, with your luck I would probably have to agree. Good call.”