The incessant ringing of her cell phone shook Adah from the nap she’d been taking on her couch.  It took her a moment to gain her bearings, but soon enough she spotted the sleek, silver device that was rattling across her coffee table.

“Hello?”  Her voice was thick with sleep and she hoped it wasn’t a client.

“Hey…It’s Justin.”  Those three words were enough to stop Adah’s heart with a solid thud, only to have it re-start again with a flutter.

“Hi.”  She wasn’t sure what was supposed to be said here.  She hadn’t actually spoken to Justin since the fateful night out to dinner with Trace and Gina.  She was angry and confused, but she was also hopeful and it was a strange combination of emotions.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t called in a while.” He cleared his throat, the nerves evident in his shaky tone.  “I’ve just been busy with the tour and everything.”

A moment of red-hot anger flashed across Adah’s cheeks.  “Yeah, well, I’ve been pretty busy too.  You know, giving life to you child and all.”  She wished she could take the words back as soon as she’d spit them out, but it was too late.

Adah didn’t want things to be strained or awkward between the two of them.  Obviously they were going to have to work at getting to know each other and things couldn’t be all sunshine and roses from the get-go, but she also knew that there didn’t have to be animosity.

“I deserved that.”  He responded; a touch more confidence seeping into his voice as he continued.  “I’m sorry that I haven’t been around, Adah.  I have no excuses and I can’t take it back, but I’m hoping that we might be able to….I don’t know…start over?”

“Start over?  What you think that this is some game?  I--”

He cut her off.  “That didn’t come out how I wanted it to.”  He sighed, obviously this wasn’t going how he had planned.  “Can I come over?  Or can we meet up or something?  I really think we have a lot to talk about.”

Adah was stuck dumb for a moment.  Now he wanted to talk?  She was three weeks away from popping out their kid and he picked now to talk? 

The little voice in her head reminded her, better late than never.

“Uh, yeah.  Sure.”  She licked her lips, hoping to bring some moisture back to the dry skin.  “You can come here if you’d like.  Sam and Brett will be home later, though.”

“That’s fine.  That’s cool.”  She could hear the relief in his voice and it calmed her nerves some.  If he could relax, so could she.  “I’ll be there in ten.”

Adah said her goodbyes and folded the phone shut.  She set in on the coffee table, staring at the device and wondering if she’d just dreamed that whole conversation.  Was Justin Timberlake really coming to her apartment right now?  Were they really going to sit down and discuss the impending birth of their baby and what that meant for the two of them? 

Her head spun with all of the questions.

She carefully lifted herself from the couch, using the arm rest to support her unsteady frame.  The weight of the baby had dropped considerably, and most of her belly sat taught between her hip bones.  She hadn’t been able to see her feet for the past month and a half.  Her legs were only shaved because Sam had taken pity on her and did the job for her when she asked.  Lately she hadn’t really cared what she looked like because she felt like a beached whale.  A kick to the ribs broke Adah from her thoughts and she rubbed her side instinctively.

“Yeah, I know.  I need to relax.”  She patted her belly, breathing a little deeper when the fluttering settled and the baby stopped dancing across her abdomen. 

Adah made her way into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.  Thinking on it, she grabbed a second one and headed back out to the living room.  She might as well be comfortable when he got here.  Before sitting back down on the couch, she unlocked the door so he could let himself in.

A moment later a knock sounded, followed by his voice.  “Adah?  It’s me.”

“The door’s open.”  She called, propping a pillow behind her back so she could sit more comfortably.

He entered the apartment, looking out of place against the pale white of the walls.  He had a black jacket on over a dark gray t-shirt, his jeans a deep denim blue as well.  The contrast was slightly startling and Adah felt the nerves return full-force.  She blamed the butterflies on the baby.

“Hey.”  His greeting was soft.  His feet shuffled against the carpet and he wasn’t sure what to do next.

“Come on in, have a seat.”  He started into the room, grateful to have something to do.  “I grabbed you a water,” Adah pointed to the un-opened bottle sitting next to hers on the table.

“Thanks.”  He sat himself in the recliner across the room, facing her.  His stance was rigid, tense with his nerves.

The two sat in a strange silence for what felt like an eternity.

“Listen, I--”

“Justin, we--”

The both stopped and started at the same time, chuckling at their awkwardness.  “You first,”  Adah prompted, taking a long, soothing sip of her water.

“I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting lately.”  He started again, his eyes cast down to the carpet under his feet.  He toed a lint ball, avoiding her penetrating gaze and the ever-present belly that stared at him.  “I know that I really haven’t done the right thing by you, and I can’t apologize enough for not being here.  There’s a lot that I need to do to make it up to you, but I’m willing to try.”  He chanced a look at her, relaxing slightly when he saw the tiny smile on her face.  It was a sad smile, but it was a smile nonetheless.

“You don’t have to ‘make it up to me,’ Justin.  I just want to know if you’re going to be a part of this baby’s life or not.”

“Of course I am!”  He blurted, blushing crimson as soon as it happen.  “Of course I am,” this time he spoke softly.  “I want to help you take care of this…our baby.  You didn’t put yourself in this position alone, I was there too.  This baby is just as much my responsibility as it is yours.”

“How long did you have to practice that one in the mirror?”  Justin’s eyes snapped back up to Adah’s, but he only found laughter there.  “I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t be making fun of you.”  She took another long sip of her water and Justin reached for his, suddenly realizing how parched he really was.

“No, I deserve it.”  He swallowed half the bottle in a gulp.

“It doesn’t matter how long it took you to get here, Justin.  It just matters to me that you’re here.”

If her room mates could hear her, they would be telling her that she was letting him off the hook way too easily.  But Adah had been waiting and hoping for this moment for eight months now.  It didn’t really matter to her how it happened, she was just glad that it was finally here.

“We have a lot to talk about.”  His voice broke her from her reverie and she nodded.

“We do.”  She watched his legs bounce noiselessly, almost too fast to be possible.  She smiled at him.  “It’s going to be OK, Justin.”

He didn’t know if it was the tone of her voice or if it was just because he’d been waiting for someone to say those words to him since the beginning, but Justin finally started to feel like he could take a real, true breath.

He paused for a beat, the words hard to force out of his mouth.  “I’m scared shitless, Adah.”  Lack of confidence was something he rarely admitted, especially to virtual strangers.

“So am I.”  It was stated as a simple fact and that made him feel a little better.  “It’s going to be tough, especially since we hardly know each other.  But I want this to work, Justin.”  He watched as she affectionately rubbed her belly.  “I can’t wait to meet my baby…our baby.  I just…”  She trailed off.

A second later, she reached her hand out to him, beckoning him closer.  “What?”  He was confused.

“Come here, the baby’s kicking.”  She leaned across the table and grabbed for him, catching his hand as he stood and crossed the room toward her.  She took his fingers and pressed them into her belly.  It was harder than he expected, while being strangely watery at the same time.  She moved his fingers and inch or so and suddenly he could feel a strong pressure poking into his hand.

“Wow.”  He squatted, pressing both hands to her stomach, marveling at the things he could feel happening underneath.  “Where is he?”

“He?”  She questioned his choice of gender and he shrugged at her, giving a small grin.

“A guy can hope.”  Adah’s grin grew to match his.

“She is here.”  She moved his hands to the left side of her belly.  “This is her head, here.”  Justin felt a distinct lump as he gently pressed his hands to her stomach.  “Her butt is over here,”  his hands were guided to Adah’s other side.

“I thought babies were supposed to be upside down?  You know, head first and all that?”

Adah was slightly impressed that he knew this.  “They are, but many of them won’t turn until it’s time to give birth.  My doctor assured me that the baby still being sideways was completely normal and that she would be in the right position when it was time.  Either that or they turn the baby there in the hospital.”

Justin stared at the slight rippling movements he could see tracing across Adah’s abdomen.  A thought struck him.  “She?”  He questioned.  “Do you know that?”

Adah shook her head.  “No.  You’re guess is as good as mine.” 

“Well, I have a 50/50 chance then.”  This time the smiles slid easily onto both of their faces.

She wouldn’t admit it aloud to anyone, but this was comfortable.  This felt right.  She was so excited to be sharing this moment with him right now that the rest didn’t really matter.  Of course she had Sam, Brett, Brennan and now Lynn to share these moments with up until now, but none of them were the father.  This was how all of those moments were supposed to go.  She watched the awe cross his face and she couldn’t help the happiness that seeped from her pores.  This was what she had been waiting for.

It was by no means a fix to their complicated situation.  The two of them had a very long way to go before any sort of relationship could form between them.  But it was a start.  One that Adah was more than willing to take.  He was here, and for now that was enough.

The warmth of Justin’s hands left her stomach and he reclaimed his spot in the recliner.  “I’m so sorry, Adah.”  Regret laced his words and their happy moment started to cloud with his emotions.

She shrugged, not sure how to bring him comfort.  “It’ll be OK, Justin.”

Their moment was interrupted by the sound of keys at the door, and a second later Sam stepped through, a whirlwind of blond hair and bags.  She stopped short when she spotted the guest in their apartment.

“Holy shit, there’s a pop star in my living room.”  She gave him a wide eyed look before turned her gaze to Adah and mouthing a what’s going on?

“Justin stopped by to talk.”

“I can see that.”  Sam’s gaze appraised the man in her recliner one more time before she nodded her head, resolving her thought.  “It’s nice to finally meet you, Justin.  I’m glad you’re here.”  With that she walked down the hallway and into her room, knowing the two still needed some time alone.

“Well, that went better than I expected.”  It was Adah who spoke.

“You were thinking they wouldn’t be happy to see me?”  Justin’s nerves started to flare up again and he consciously forced his body to relax.

“Well, Sam is a really forward and open kind of girl.  I just figured she’d give you a piece of her mind as soon as she met you.  You did knock her best friend up.”  The both shared a small, tense chuckle.

“I have to meet my mom in a little while,” Justin started, the plan forming in his head as he spoke.  “Would you like to come along?”  He knew that Lynn and Adah had been getting to know each other and he figured it would be a lot easier to have his mom there as a buffer.  It was probably a little cowardly of him, but this was all so new and overwhelming.  He wanted a little help, and Lynn was the best source for that.

“Yeah, actually, I’d like that.”

“Cool.” He stood, offering her his hand to help her off the couch.  “Do you want to drive, or do you want me to drive?”

Adah laughed and he gave her a quizzical look.  She pointed to her stomach.  “I can’t fit behind the steering wheel anymore.”  She laughed again.

“Oh.”  It came out as a rush of air and Justin laughed too.  “I guess I’ll drive then.”  He waited as she grabbed her purse, marveling over the size of her stomach and what it stood for.  His baby.

Suddenly the nerves were back, full force.

“Are you ready?”  She asked.  It was a simple question, but it had Justin swallowing hard, choking on his response.  He just nodded instead.

Was he ready?

That was the ultimate question, wasn’t it?