Chapter 7
Over the next few months, Julie came to fully understand what the book ‘What To Expect When Expecting’ was all about. Everything Dana and
Meg had told her to expect was totally off. It was like two different sides of a coin. She was always waiting for mood swings but as it turned out, she
was always jovial and in the mood for nachos and maybe some pizza every so often. And even though she was almost always excited about work, Dana and Steven had tried as much as they could to get her to slow down but she was like a fire – insatiable and Steven hated the fact that she was working herself this much. But to Julie, she needed to work. It was all she could do to make sure her head actually remained on her shoulders.
On one Tuesday morning while driving back to the office from work, she felt a cramp in her lower abdomen. She took a long deep breath and pulled her car over to the side of the road. She took a series of long deep breaths just as Dr. Solloway had advised. But all the while she could not help but wonder why she was cramping.
“Maybe this is just some kind of sign that I should actually take a break,”
she thought as she felt the pain subsiding. She took another deep breath and looked around. “Maybe I should just call it a day and go home,” she thought as she looked around. She could almost hear Steven’s voice
echoing in her head. She grabbed her water bottle and took a long sip. She was still drinking from her bottle when her phone rang. She reached for it and looked at the screen. It was Dana.
“Perfect timing. I can tell her that I am planning on taking the rest of the day off,” she thought as she answered the phone. “Hey D,” she said when she picked up.
“Hi Julie. Are you done with the Westside open house yet?” Dana asked. “Actually yes. I am on my way back,” Julie said.
“Great. I thought we could do lunch,” Dana said. Julie raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Well, I just want to have lunch with my friend. It’s been a while, remember?” Dana said. “We could eat at Galileo,” Dana said in a
suggestive tone. Julie sighed as a smile played on her lips. She loved the
Teriyaki chicken served at Galileo. It was almost like Dana was desperately trying to get her to go to Galileo at any cost. Maybe that is just what she needed. Some overpriced food that someone else was paying for. “And in a few weeks we will no longer have these impromptu lunch dates and I need to vent about my husband.”
“Fine. Give me ten minutes,” she smiled.
“Great. See you then,” Dana said before she hung up. Julie took a few more deep breaths wondering if she was going to get another cramp. But after a few minutes, she figured that it was a onetime thing. She slowly got her car back on the road and switched on the radio.
“Today is just my lucky day,” she thought as she heard one of her favorite songs playing. “First my boss offers me overpriced food and now…” her
trail of thought got lost in the moment as she let Fun’s Some Nights reel her in.
“This is it boys, this is war…what are waiting for…why don’t you break the rules already…I was *something, something* the hype…Save that for the black and white…” she was feeling on top of the world. The short ten minute ride to Galileo was actually shorter than she hoped for with the radio playing all the hit songs she liked. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hand her keys to the valet.
Counting stars was playing in her head as she walked into the restaurant. She had been feeling a little heavier in the past few weeks and finding what to wear to work was getting harder every single day. She looked around the restaurant and spotted Dana waving at her from one corner of the room. She smiled and walked towards Dana, a tired smile on her face.
“Long day?” Dana asked when Julie got to the table.
“Tell me about it,” Julie said as she took a seat. She put her bag on the seat next to her and sighed. “You know, I was actually about to call you and tell you I was about to take the rest of the day off.”
“Really?” Dana asked as a waiter brought them their menus.
“Yes but someone decided to treat me to Teriyaki chicken,” Julie said as she put her menu down on the table.
“Yeah, I took the liberty of ordering you a ginger ale. I know that’s the only drink you like nowadays,” she said.
Julie looked at her and smiled before she took a long sip of her cold ginger ale.
“You know me too damn well,” Julie said in a low voice before she took another sip.
“So, are you okay? Because you look exhausted,” Dana said.
“Actually, I am and I don’t even understand why. Like at the open house, I actually had to take a nap while the clients looked around,” she said.
Dana stifled a laugh.
“So, who was showing the house?” she asked.
“Andy. That guy takes personal assistant to a whole new level,” she smiled. Dana smiled and nodded. “I am just sorry he is going to have to leave when he gets his realtors license.”
“Well, I must admit, you sure know how to pick ’em,” Dana said as she handed their menus to the waiter. “Teriyaki chicken with a side of fried rice and a beef broccoli stir fry for me,” she took a moment and looked at Julie. “And some rice for me too,” she added before she handed the menus to the waiter.
“So, what’s going on with you? Why do you need to vent about your husband?” Julie asked as she leaned back in the booth seat.
Dana rolled her eyes. “Actually, it is more about me than him.” Julie raised an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you are on about,” Dana took a long deep breath.
“So, you know that he has been taking those long ass trips overseas, right?” she started. Julie nodded. “Well, those trips are becoming a little too much if you ask me,” she said as the waiter brought their orders.
“I don’t hear you complaining about the fat bank account,” Julie said as she looked at Dana.
“Okay the money is great but other parts of me are complaining,” Dana said. Julie smiled as she took her first bite. “Okay, this is the deal. He is always away and it is taking a toll on our marriage. Sex life,” she added quickly.
“How long has it been for you anyway? You sound like it has been forever,” Julie said as she looked at her. She picked up her fork and took a big bite.
“Oh my God…that is so good,” she said a little louder than she intended. She looked up at Dana and smiled guiltily. “Sorry, this is all about you. You were telling me how long it has been,” she said as she looked at Dana.
“Four months,” Dana said without up. Julie pretended to choke on her food as she looked at Dana.
“I’m sorry. It sounded like you said four months.” “I did say four months,” Dana said again.
“It might be the damn pregnancy hormones but I could have sworn he was around two weeks ago,” she said. Dana forked a piece of broccoli and then
a steak before she put it into her mouth. “Please tell me this bump is not also making my calendar obsolete,” Julie said as she looked at her boss.
“Well, you are right. He was around two weeks ago. Matter of fact, he’s been around a lot lately,” she said.
Julie took another bite and looked up at her.
“Then what is so hard about jumping his bones every time he comes into the house?” she asked. Dana shook her head. “And your kids are old
enough to have play dates so you can forget using them as a scape goat,” Julie said as she took another bite.
“Well, I have tried everything. I’ve had the kids over at my sister’s and my mom’s. There was a time I even shipped them off to my mother’s for an
entire weekend and I still haven’t got some in all that time. I think my husband is having an affair,” she added in a low voice.
Julie shook her head and took a long sip of her ginger ale.
“Or maybe you are both too busy to pay any attention to your marriage,” Julie said.
Dana raised an eyebrow over the other.
“Last time he was here I wore the black lace and mesh Victoria’s Secret lingerie with those extra sexy Manolo shoes…I can hardly stand in them let alone walk,” she said. Julie knew exactly which pair of shoes she was referring to. She had wanted them ever since the day she first saw them.
She looked at Dana and gave her a sad smile. The lace and mesh lingerie
was the one thing she was sure no man would be able to resist especially the thigh suspenders that gave a man that hot stripper mindset.
“And how did he react when he saw you?” Julie asked. Dana frowned and shook her head.
“He didn’t even look at me and honestly, I feel silly going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to maintaining this body,” she said. “I mean, I have something every single day, yoga twice a week, kickboxing on the weekends and Pilates every other day. That is a bit too much for a man who doesn’t even brush his shoulder against me. Even by mistake.”
Julie could feel another cramp coming on. She looked at Dana trying hard not to show the pain in her face.
“What am I supposed to do?” Dana asked as she looked at Julie whose pain was now subsiding. Julie straightened herself up and took a long sip of her cold ginger ale. She looked up and sighed. She had no idea what she was
supposed to say to Dana. This could very well be a case of gross miscommunication.
“How about talking to him?” Julie asked. Dana shook her head.
“What good will that do? The longest he has talked to me in the last few months was the day he asked me if I knew where his cellphone charger was,” she said.
“Apart from that, have you noticed anything strange in his behavior lately?” she asked.
“Kind of. Lately, he has been a little too careful with where he has been leaving his phone…sometimes he even takes his phone to the bathroom. That, to me is a bit weird,” Dana said. Julie nodded. It was weird. “But I have been trying to be the bigger person for a long time now. It is kind of taking a toll on me and I hate it,” she said.
Julie put her fork down and looked at her boss. She hated to be the bearer of bad news but in this case, it seemed like there was no way to sugar coat
what she was about to say.
“Listen. You know that most people say that you should always trust your gut feeling and honestly, it sounds like you are in denial of what is really happening here.”
“Which is?” Dana asked.
Julie looked at her and shook her head.
“Which is? You are really asking that?” she asked.
Dana nodded. “You are not exactly being open with what is happening here.”
“I think that there is something going on here. Maybe there is so much more than just the secret phone calls going on but as a person who is trying to be impartial here, I think that he owes you an explanation,” Julie said. She looked at Dana and reached for her hand. “I think there is so much more to the story but I really think that you should try and pry the information out of him.” Dana looked at Julie and frowned, in the same way she usually did
when she had something to say. Julie raised an eyebrow. “What is it now?” Julie asked.
“I think it has been too damn long that I might have cheated a little,” Dana said.
Julie’s eyes grew wide.
“A little? Cheating is like being pregnant. You either are or you’re not. So which one is it? Did you cheat or didn’t you?” she asked. Dana took a small bite of her beef, carefully avoiding eye contact. “Well?” Julie pressed.
“Remember when I told you that my cousin was going to be in town for a few days?” Julie nodded. “Well, we went out clubbing the other night and I might have had an orgasm when I danced with a random guy on the dance floor,” Dana said. Julie’s eyes were now wider than ever. “He also might have been a college guy,” Dana added in a soft voice. Julie looked at her boss in surprise wondering whether she was proud or embarrassed.
“Just how deep was this dance?” she asked.
“Well, let’s just say that his business was on mine and I didn’t resist when he cupped a feel of my ass,” Dana said. She looked at Julie and shrugged. “And the fact that I had an orgasm while dancing says a lot about my sex life,” Dana said.
“Okay, I don’t want to be the one to legitimize infidelity but first make sure you sort out your marriage issues first before you even decide on bedding random college guys you meet in a club,” she said as she looked at her boss.
Dana shrugged and took another bite of her food.
“That depends on whether he will even give me the time of day,” Dana said but Julie didn’t hear her. She was having another tidal wave that was her cramps. She knew that cramps were a normal occurrence in a pregnancy but at this point, she was questioning all the information she had read from mybabybump. com.
“Just don’t do something stu…darn it!” Julie suddenly said as she shut her eyes tightly.
Dana looked at her and raised an eyebrow over the other.
“Okay it’s not that bad,” Dana said as she took another bite of her food.
Julie looked at her and tried forcing a smile as she took a long sip of her ginger ale. She was fine for the next few minutes but it was not long before she felt another wave ripping through her tummy. She was trying as hard as she could not to show Dana that she was feeling anything but Dana had already noticed a few minutes earlier. When Julie took a bite, she suddenly cringed when she felt a pain shoot through her. Dana looked at her and raised an eyebrow in concern.
“You okay? Because you look like you just bit through a salty patch in a blueberry muffin,” she said.
Julie rubbed her tummy and took a long deep breath.
“Nothing, just a cramp,” she said before taking one last sip of her ginger ale. She was just about to order another one when she felt yet another
cramp. This was so much more intense than the last one. When the pain wave finally passed, her cheeks were flushed.
Dana looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
“Aren’t you supposed to give birth next month?” she asked. Julie nodded.
“Juelz, I don’t want to alarm you or anything but I think we have to get you to the hospital,” Dana said as she threw a few bills on the table.
Julie put a hand up and shook her head.
“Oh come on, I am still a few weeks shy of popping this big ol’ bump,” she said trying hard to smile.
“Yeah but still…you are not supposed to be in pain,” Dana said as she stood up. She grabbed her purse and Julie’s purse and helped her up. “Come on, we have to go,” she said as Julie got on her feet. She turned around and looked at Dana.
“So, are you trying to say that I’m in labor or something?” she asked.
Dana sighed. She had no idea what this was all about and she also didn’t want to upset Julie.
“I’m no doctor but this is definitely not good,” she said. Julie took a long deep breath as she felt another cramp coming on. “How far apart are the contractions?” Dana asked.
Julie looked at her, confused and scared at the same time. “Contractions?” she asked in a loud voice.
“Ahem…um…I mean the cramping,” Dana said trying to calm her down.
Julie looked at her and shrugged.
“I don’t know…every half hour maybe,” she said. Dana reached for her phone and handed it to Julie.
“Call your doctor. Tell her we are on the way,” she said as they made their way outside.
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