The Guy Next Door

Chapter 13

Amy gave another nod and exited the room, already attending to her latest tasks. Tess wiggled from side to side her bulging stomach tilting as she placed her hands on her knees and pushed herself up into a sitting position. The corners of my mouth quirked upwards, feeling a twinge of guilt as I continued watching her struggle, she huffed loudly when she was unable to stand, the bowling ball sized stomach refraining her from standing. Giving up on her first plan she placed her hands on each armrest, with a animal like growl she attempted to stand -the key word here is attempt. Falling back into the sofa with an irritated sigh Tess folded her hands over her chest, which has grown much fuller since the beginning of her pregnancy.

"Those woman who say being pregnant is a wonderful experience are manipulative liars, this sucks." she pouted

Pushing away from my chair I started toward where she sat aggravated by the discomfort she felt due to the baby's nearing due date. Wrapping my arm around her waist I took her hand with mine and with her assistance I had her up on her feet. She sent me a grateful smile, the last month has been torture on her. Sleepless nights, countless false alarms, cravings, mood swings and the worse side effect, uncontrollable bladder.

"I thought new moms are suppose to glow." I teased as I returned to my seat

She waited until she lowered herself into the seat across from mine before shooting me a glare "That's one hundred percent shit on a stick Khloe, being pregnant is like having the most painful cramps and bloating for nine hell filled months."

She placed a hand over her stomach, her hand rubbing circles over the bloated area. Despite her complaints a serene expression replaced the exhausted, worn out look and a smile touched her lips, it's moments like this that confirm my theory that Tess will be a great mother. Her kind heart and bubbly personality are what make her lovable but her loyalty to her loved ones and over protectiveness is what will make such a fantastic mother. Any child would be grateful for such a strong mother.

"Your really pissing mommy off, baby." she cooed placing her free hand beneath her round belly

I smiled at the one-sided conversation that has been occurring since the moment she ran out of the woman's bathroom with a urine stick straight into my office.

"You still don't want to know the sex?" I asked knowing the answer

She shook her head her soft sapphire eyes gleaming as they did when speaking about her bundle of joy "Jake and I don't care about the sex, we just want it to be healthy."

A flutter of joy spread in my chest for my best friend, Tess and Jake have been trying for a baby for three years despite the fact that every doctor they went to said it was near to impossible for Tess to get pregnant. After telling those doctors to shove their educational theories up their asses Tess kept at it -which I'm sure Jake was pleased about- and after many breakdowns, a ridiculously large stock of sex gel and half a dozen pregnancy tests every month it finally happened.

"Its amazing Khlo." she sighed lifting her gleaming eyes, her petal pink lips were spread into a warm smile "To have Jake and this small blessing, its everything I've always wanted." she said, her tone soft with the heart felt confession

Returning her smile with one of my own I tried hiding the strange dark feeling creeping into my heart as I replayed her words. Tess is one of those lucky people with that tight knit family, growing up in one large house in the suburbs, dating her best friend who was also her high school sweetheart than marrying him and now they're having a child. All her life she had this sphere of love surrounding her, I'm not saying her life was peachy perfect but the more important things were perfect and that was enough; she has love all around her and that bothered me. It made me wonder why I couldn't be given a loving family or a high school sweetheart, hell I'd settle for one distant relative if it meant I had part of the happiness that she had.