Page 67 of Here You Are

Ben and I look at each other, and both shake our heads no.

“All right, then,” he continues. “We’ll see you back next month, and don’t be afraid to call if something changes or questions come up. Congratulations to you two. This surprise really made my day.”

After the doctor walks out of the office, Ben pulls me into a hug so big that my feet come off the floor. “How are you feeling now?”

I nuzzle into his neck and whisper in his ear, “Relieved. And really, really happy.”

Next step, I need to tell Cora. I call her to see what she is doing, and I find out she has the day off. I let her know I’m stopping by. If she thinks this is unusual, she doesn’t let on. I ask Ben to take me there and act as my bodyguard, which he laughs off as not being a serious request, but he hasn’t met Cora yet.

Ben and I walk up the stairs to Cora’s apartment. He offered to stay in the car or come with, whichever would be easier. I figure he is going to be Cora’s niece or nephew’s dad, so she might as well meet him. Cora knows about Ben. She knows pretty much everything we have done together, and that he has kids. The pregnancy is the only detail I have left out.

When Cora opens the door, I observe a brief moment of surprise cross her face when she sees Ben. She covers it quickly.

“Hey. I didn’t know you were bringing your manfriend with you,” Cora says as she reaches out her hand to shake Ben’s hand. “Good to meet you. Cassie has told me a lot about you,” she says with a perverted eyebrow wiggle.

“I hope she has kept it to mostly good things,” Ben replies.

Not one to ignore a situation to make a man sweat, she responds, “Mostly.”

We head to her living room and sit down. Cora is not much of a hostess, so she just stares at us. Had it been just me, things would have been more natural, but now I’m second-guessing my decision to bring Ben with me.

“So…do you have an announcement? I’m unsure of why else we would be having a formal meeting like this?”

I take a deep breath, and on the exhale, I do the only thing I can think of to do. I blurt out, “I’m pregnant and Ben’s the father.”

Cora’s eyes and mouth gape wide open like a cartoon character. “You…what?”

“Pregnant. Ben’s baby. I’m 12 weeks pregnant. We just came from the doctor.”

She stares at us silently, mouth wide open, looking back and forth between us for what feels like a century. Finally, she says, “I didn’t even think you had been sleeping with him for 12 weeks.”

“Yeah, the doctor math is kind of complicated.”

“I can’t believe this. After everything you have been told. What, do you have some type of superpowers?” she asks, looking at Ben.

“Well, actually...” he chimes in, with a grin on his face.

I cut him off before he started talking because I know exactly where he is headed. “I can fill you in on all of the details, but I just couldn’t keep this from you anymore.”

“Are you okay, and is the baby okay?” Cora asks.

This question causes me to break down in tears. I am sobbing and nodding. “We’re both okay. I just never thought this would happen, you know. I’ve always wanted this and never thought it would happen for me. I feel so lucky. I feel so overwhelmed. Then, I feel guilty for having anything but positive feelings because I should just be grateful. I can’t believe I get to have a chance at being a mom.”

Cora snuggles up to my side and says, “It’s what you’ve always wanted, and maybe this happened exactly how it was supposed to.”

I nod and sniffle back my tears.

“Do you think Mom and Dad are going to be mad at me?” I ask.

“Cass, you're super old. Who cares?”

I laugh and shove her. She’s right. I am super old, and maybe this is exactly how things were supposed to happen. Had I wound up with Ben long term, we got engaged, we got married, and then tried to have kids, it might have been too late.

We spent another hour at her apartment chatting with her, catching her up on all the details. She and Ben basically have the same personality, so they are best buds by the end of the conversation—a far cry from how she has felt about my past significant others.

As we’re leaving, Cora says, “Thanks for sticking it to my sister with such reckless abandon. Even if things don’t work out long term with you guys, she’s the best person I know and will make a great baby mama for you to pay child support to.”

I cringe, and Ben laughs.