Tesah Clover, was a man wrestling with a wave of unexpected sadness, he felt the urge to find solace in a beer and the company of a close friend. However, the first person he thought of was probably the last person he should be around. How could he possibly face Lexington after discovering that Kira was pregnant with his child? Kira had somehow tried to protect his friendship with her cousin, and Tesah supposed he should be thankful for that. Still, confronting Lexington on the very day he had received the paternity test results was something Tesah wasn't ready for just yet.
He poured himself a strong drink, indulging in a couple of fingers of twenty-year-old single-malt scotch on ice. He carried his tumbler onto the balcony and settled into one of his comfortable patio chairs, propping his bare feet on the railing. The sky had deepened to a rich, velvety blue, with faint streaks of magenta still fading into the ocean on the horizon.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his messages and emails. After replying to a few of the more important ones, he gave in to temptation and searched online for week-by-week pregnancy guides.
He was intrigued to learn that frequent urination and facial expressions weren't the only developments at week fourteen. The baby had also grown a soft layer of hair all over its body. Tesah couldn't help but imagine a strange, ape-like creature curled up inside Kira. He shuddered and continued reading. He wondered if Kira could feel any changes in her body yet. To him, she still looked the same, and the top she had been wearing had been quite tight-fitting, so he assumed he would have noticed any swelling around her middle. Maybe her breasts had been a little larger? He couldn't be sure; the top had unfortunately flattened them a bit too much for his liking.
And why had he even been looking at her breasts in the first place? Why was he thinking about them now?
His thoughts drifted to her ultrasound, and he wondered what the baby would look like.
He tilted his head back and pictured a little girl with black hair and striking emerald eyes like her mother's. He had no experience with children, and for some reason, he couldn't quite imagine an infant. In his mind, the child was a toddler, two or three years old, wearing a little pink tutu and white leggings. He could see her clumsily twirling until she became dizzy, and when she inevitably lost her balance, he would be there to . . .
He sat up abruptly, his feet hitting the deck and his drink nearly spilling.
Damn it! What was he doing fantasizing about a child who would have no place in his life?
He finished his drink quickly and hurried inside to change into his loose training shorts. He needed a good workout. He needed to clear his head.
He walked barefoot into his private gym and warmed up with an energetic jump-rope session and a few stretches before putting on his boxing gloves and proceeding to punch and kick the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling with force. Less than half an hour later, he was too mentally and physically exhausted to think about anything other than the strain he was putting his body through. After his workout, the only things on his mind were a shower and sleep.
Not Kira and her inconvenient pregnancy.
He was done with that.
"Hey!" A very cheerful voice called loudly into Kira's ear, making her wince slightly. "Guess who's back in Medina?"
"Hi, Cindy," she said quietly, keeping one eye closed as her brain tried to adjust to the energetic tone of Cindy's voice. "When did you get back?"
"Last night! Did you miss me?"
"I did." And she meant it. Cindy had been one of her closest friends during their time in baking school, and even though they had grown apart after Kira's accident, Cindy always made sure to visit when she was in Medina. Cindy was part of a well-known baking group and had even been doing some solo presentations on their international tours. Kira had always been a better baker than Cindy, and they both knew it, so Kira couldn't help feeling a bit jealous of her friend, which made things a little awkward between them. It was probably for the best that they didn't see each other often these days.
"Well, I'm back, and so is Claudia," Cindy said excitedly, while Claudia's equally high-pitched voice called hello in the background. Claudia was another former classmate of theirs, a somewhat spacey girl who who was happy just being part of the main group. She simply wanted to bake and receive a regular paycheck. She was also one of the nicest people Kira knew. "Want to go out for a drink?"
"How long will you guys be in Medina?" Kira asked, glancing at the clock. It was almost eight in the evening, and she had her ultrasound in the morning. It wasn't the best time to go out.
"For a couple of weeks," Cindy replied.
"Great, then can I take a rain check? I really can't tonight. I have an important appointment tomorrow," she said, her voice showing genuine regret.
"What about tomorrow night?" Cindy asked.
"That sounds good. Sure."
"Yay! I'll text you the details! See you then!" Cindy always spoke with a lot of enthusiasm; it could be a bit tiring talking to her sometimes, especially without any warning.
Kira went into the living room, where Jake was lying stretched out on the sofa bed. His glasses, which he was too self-conscious to let anyone but her see him wear, were sitting on his nose as he read one of the intense thrillers that he enjoyed. He looked up at her over the top of his glasses as she went to the kitchen to get some juice.
"Cindy and Claudia are back in Medina," she said after sitting down at the kitchen table and taking a sip of her drink.