Page 129 of Stay With Me

“Sam said he’ll be here in five,” Luke hollers.

“You should just tell him he doesn’t have to come. We have plenty of help.” Abby huffs.

I look at Pam and Am, who both shrug. We know something is going on between them, but we can’t tell if they like each other and are just acting like they don’t. Or if they don’t like each other, and if that’s the case, what happened.

“I tried a couple of new bread recipes for you all to try,” Abby says as she washes her hands and walks over to the warming station she has set up next to the oven.

She grabs the bread and sets some out on plates for us. We all take a bite, but before anyone can say anything, Abby’s head whips to the side, and her jaw drops.

“I think I’m going to be sick.” She turns and bolts to the bathroom.

We all turn to the picture window at the front of the storefront, and Sam is walking by with his arm slung around Martha’s shoulder. He stares right into the diner.

Off to my side, Pam mutters, “What the fuck?”

“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Luke yells behind us.

I get off my stool and go to the bathroom with Pam and Am close on my heels. When we get to the door, I lightly knock before walking in.

Abby is sitting next to the toilet, wiping her mouth as she flushes.

“I’m going to ask you a question, but you don’t have to answer,” Pam says. “Could you be pregnant?”

My eyes go wide, bouncing between Pam and Abby.

“No way. I have an IUD,” she says.

“They aren’t one hundred percent. They’re known to move on occasion. When was your last period?” Amelia asks as she sits on the ground in front of Abby.

Pam kneels next to Am as Abby shakes her head. “I don’t know. Right before the remodel started?”

“So, at least five or six weeks. You need to take a test. Because while it could be stress, a lot of these symptoms could also mean you’re pregnant and not sick with a bug.” Pam grabs Abby’s hand.

I sit next to her, and she rests her head on my shoulder as tears start to fall down her face. “Regardless of what it is, you aren’t alone. We have your back.”

“I can’t be pregnant,” Abby whispers.

“I’m going to kick the guys out and go buy a test from the next town over. I’ll be back in twenty,” Am says as she stands and walks out of the bathroom.

“I’m going to go get you some water and some of that bomb-ass bread you made and set it up at a booth, so once the guys leave, you can come back out,” Pam says and follows Am.

“What am I going to do?” she whispers.

“If you are, then get ready to be spoiled because you know it’ll happen, but let’s see what the test says first.” I stroke her arm.

“How can I run the diner and have a baby?”

“Well, the beauty of having bomb-ass friends is that we’ll help babysit. You don’t have to answer my next question, okay?.?.?.”

“You don’t have to ask. I know what the question is, and the answer is yes, if I am, it’s his.”

We sit there in silence, her response hanging between us.

“Well, one step at a time, yeah?” I say.

“Yeah. Okay,” she says as we wait to get the all clear that we can come out of the bathroom.