Glaring at Ava through squinted eyes, Summer clipped out in an irritable tone, “I was snowed in, not held hostage Av.”
Summer was pissed. Why were they tripping so hard? He was the father of her baby after all. Was it so unusual for him to stop by?
Ava sucked her teeth clearly annoyed. “Whatever, Summer.”
The nastiness rising between Summer and Ava quickly simmered Starr. Standing up she got between them because things were about to get ugly.
“Yeah, whatever, Av.” Summer stood up putting her hands on her hips. Who does this chick think she is?
Moving closer to Summer, Starr urged, “Come on sweetie calm down. Don’t get yourself all worked up. You don’t want to start having contractions again.” Gently she eased Summer back in her chair. “We’re sorry for tripping on you. Right Av?”
“Yes.” Ava mumbled dropping the attitude. She felt awful. She’d forgotten all about Summer’s delicate condition. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to go into labor.
“Tell us why Nick stopped by.” Ava’s voice was gentler as an attempt to diffuse the tension in the air.
Tears welled up in Summer’s eyes as she stared at Starr, then Ava. No one understood what she was going through, not even her two best friends. Summer struggled to keep her tears in check. “Never mind, forget I even said anything.”
As she stood to walk away, Summer stopped when she felt Starr’s hand gently squeeze her wrist.
“Summer, I’m sorry. Please, come on, sit back down and tell us what’s on your heart.”
Sliding back into the chair she wasn’t sure what to do. She needed to vent about what she was feeling. Who better than her friends? However, the absolute last thing she wanted was to hear them bad mouth Nick. No one was more aware of what he’d done to her than she was. And what was so pathetic was she still loved him in spite of everything. Hadn’t they ever been in love before? Why couldn’t they understand? At least they could be sympathetic to the fact she was carrying his baby.
Unconsciously Summer rubbed her swollen belly. The gesture did not go unobserved by Starr or Ava. Instantly they felt remorse. They both knew how hard it had been for Summer not having Nick around for the majority of her pregnancy.
This time Ava spoke. “Summer, please tell us what’s going on.” Pausing to squeeze her hand affectionately she begged, “Don’t shut us out.”
“He said he wanted to talk to me about some things.”
“Like what?” Ava asked as she took another slice of pizza.
Summer shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, most likely the baby.”
Starr touched Summer’s hand that were in her lap when she asked, “How did Nick react when he found out about the baby?”
As close as the three friends were, they could not believe Summer hadn’t told them about Nick’s reaction until now.
“He was pretty angry I hadn’t told him about the baby.” Summer purposely left out his threat to file for custody.
Holding up her hand signaling she wanted to talk. “Angry? What was he angry about? Wasn’t he the one who ended things?” Ava fought hard to keep the anger she felt toward Nick out of her voice.
Summer sighed. “Yes Ava. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t want to know. Besides, it was my decision not to tell him about the baby.”
Ava’s fuse blew despite her trying to control it. Summer and Starr both jumped when she slammed her palm on the table, rattling drinking glasses.
“No you don’t, Summer! Don’t you dare go blaming yourself! You did what you thought was best at the time!”
Starr cut Ava off before she could explode any further. “She’s right, Summer. You yourself said he didn’t want children and you didn’t want him to feel like you were trying to trap him with a baby.”
Summer nodded her head. “You guys are right. It’s just that everything is changing.”
“Everything like what?” Ava asked, as she calmed down a tad bit.
“Well, he doesn’t seem so repulsed by the idea of me being pregnant and his becoming a father anymore. And he does want to sit down and talk like I told you.”
“I’m glad to at least hear that,” Starr said smiling at Summer
“Yeah, so am I. I hope you guys work everything out for the sake of the baby.” Ava added with sincerity.
Tenderly patting her belly, Summer agreed. “So do I Av. After all it’s about the baby.”
Removing pizza boxes from the table, attempting to lighten the mood, Ava teased, “I better get going, some folks have to work for a living.”
Summer rolled her eyes. “Ha, ha, you’re real funny Miss Ava.”