Beach Rental(81)

“Bingo. You win the prize.”

“Oh, my.” Maia leaned forward, elbows on knees, hands on cheeks. “How are you? Are you okay with it?”

Juli walked over and sat on the sofa next to her. “I was surprised at first, but, yes, I’m glad.”

Maia picked up her glass. She sipped her iced tea, then added lemon and sipped again. “So you told Luke.”

“Yes.”

“And that’s why….”

Juli shrugged.

“But… I mean, why would he…? So, you’re expecting. He believed you and Ben were just roommates, but I still don’t understand why he’d be so upset about you carrying Ben’s child.”

Juli opened her mouth and shut it again, thinking better of what she’d started to say. “You’ll have to ask him.”

“But—”

Juli insisted, “I’m not a mind reader. Ask him.”

“If I dare ask him, is that right?”

“That’s about it.”

Maia sat up straighter. “Did Ben know? Did he change his…, no, scratch that. Four months pregnant now, so you couldn’t have known at the time he died.” She slouched and put her hands back to her face. “I’m sorry. I’m such a klutz. This must be awful for you. A dreadful strain on you and in your condition and here I am reminding you.” She reached out and grasped both of Juli’s hands in hers. “Tell me what I can do to help. How can I make amends for being so insensitive?”

Juli switched her hands around so that she was now grasping Maia’s. “No, you’re fine. I’ve had a couple of months to get used to the idea, but it wasn’t something I wanted to run out and tell anyone. It felt so complicated. But then, after I told Luke—actually said the words out loud to another human being—it changed. Now, I see it’s very simple.”

“Simple? It’s not simple at all. Do you have a doctor? What will you do about a nursery? What about proper maternity clothing? Can I go with you? I enjoy looking at the baby things and the maternity clothing, but more and more I’m thinking I’ll never have a reason to choose my own. Can I help you?”

Juli was speechless. Maia’s generous spirit overwhelmed her and Juli suddenly burst into tears. She tried to brush them away.

“Oh, my goodness. Oh, my. I’ll get some tissues.” Maia ran to the kitchen, found no tissue, then to the bathroom where she grabbed some toilet paper from the roll. She raced back to Juli with the tissue bunched up in her hand. “Here you go.”

“I don’t know why I’m crying,” Juli said between sobs. Maia looked alarmed at the tears and her reaction struck Juli as funny. She started laughing and crying at the same time.

“Calm down, Juli. It’ll be okay.”

Was she hysterical? Juli tried to rein in her wildly swinging emotions. “I’m fine, really. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“Hormones. Must be hormones. I remember when my older sister was expecting.” She patted Juli’s arm.

“Probably,” but she punctuated it with both a sob and a laugh. “Do you feel like a walk?”

“It’s chilly out there.” Maia shivered and rubbed her arms to emphasize it.

“I’ve missed walking on the beach. I used to walk in the early morning, but now it’s too cold at dawn.” The sobs were revving up again. “I need some fresh air and exercise.”

“At dawn? That’s crazy. You need sunshine. I suppose if it’s too brisk we can come back in.” Maia picked up her jacket from the chair. “Where’s your coat?”

Juli waved her hand. “I’ll get it.”

Maia hovered near Juli as she walked to the closet.

“I’m fine, really. I don’t know what happened. Hormones? You must be right.”

They didn’t walk far, but far enough. Juli felt calmer, even with the onshore wind whipping up the sand. Maia looked miserable, so they turned around and walked back, briskly. Inside the house, with her cheeks bright red from the cold, Maia said, “I want to know exactly what you’ve done and what you need to do to prepare. I insist.”

****

Two weeks later and it was almost Christmas. Some days were mild, some were wintry. Not only did the weather change according to season, it was also true of her life. In the past month Juli had made major changes, from getting an obstetrician to earning her GED. She framed the certificate and hung it in the study next to her drawing of Ben, where she’d see them when she sat at the desk. She’d made almost no changes in the study or in most of the rooms on the main floor.

Maia yelled down from upstairs, “Where’s those paper towels? I’ve got to catch some drips.”