“Mommy,” Tessa whines, “Uncle Trace said I have stinky feet.”

“I call it as I smell it.” Trace laughs as he scoops Tessa off the floor and into his arms. He playfully pretends to smell one of her feet and then falls over to the ground.

“Honey come say bye. Mommy’s got to go.” Andrea smiles almost genuinely, holding her arms open wide. Tessa gets up from the floor and stands before her mother defiantly with her arms crossed over her chest.

“No,” Tessa pouts. “Stay here.”

“I can’t sweetie,” Andrea tries to explain. She drops down to her knees so that she’s more to her daughter’s level. “You get to spend the whole week with Daddy.”

“I want you here too.” Tessa pouts with a heavy stomp of her foot. Andrea can’t help but note the similarities between the look Tessa is giving her now and one Justin was once so famous for using on her to get his way. Andrea shakes her head at her daughter, then glances back to her husband, who’s wearing much the same expression of their daughter. The two of them pouting is just asking for trouble.

“Don’t pout.” She says poking at Tessa’s bottom lip before standing up again and turning her attention to Justin again. “I’ll be back to pick her up at the end of the week. I’ll call before I come.”

“Why don’t you stay for lunch?” Justin suggests with a casual shrug, though inside he’s about ready to drop to his knees and beg her to stay. “It would make Tessa happy.”

“Rea,” He croaks reaching out to touch her arm. “We have to talk sometime.”

Andrea simply stares down at his hand that’s curved around her arm. She stares until he finally notices and withdraws his hand from her. When did his touch start to repel her? The thought nearly nauseates him.

“I really can’t,” She answers. “I have…stuff to do.”

“Oh,” he sighs, his disappointment evident. “Well what about dinner then?”

“I really have to go.”

“Right. I guess I’ll see you again when you pick up Tessa at the end of the week.” He says, stuffing his hands deep into the pockets of his low-rise jeans.

Why wasn’t she willing to even try? He was incapable of understanding how she could just give up on them without a fight. He was willing to do anything and everything to win her love back and she wouldn’t so much as talk to him for two minutes.

She nods in agreement and after giving their daughter a tight squeeze hops down the stairs and into her car.

~*~*~*~

“Andrea, hey what are you doing here?” Lilly, one of Andrea’s best friends since she was in diapers, exclaims. She immediately hugs her friend to her and pulls her into her house. “I haven’t seen you in months.”

“I’m so sorry I’ve just been really buys lately.” Andrea smiles sincerely for the fist time in weeks.

“Come in, come in.” Lilly smiles widely as she steps back from the door to allow her long time friend to enter. They hug again briefly before moving to the living room. “Where is the little munchkin? You didn’t bring her with you?”

“She’s with her father.”

“How is Justin?”

“He cheated on me.” Andrea answers her questions awkwardly. She hadn’t meant to say those words, but they just sort of popped out. She wasn’t even planning to tell Lilly about her marital problems. She didn’t want to have to talk about it anymore.

“Oh my gosh,” She gasps. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“Wow,” She breathes, truly shocked by the news. As with Trace, she had looked towards Andrea and Justin and the perfect couple. No one ever thought that they ever fought let alone something like this to put them on the brink of a divorce. “When did this happen?”

“I just found out a few weeks ago.” Andrea answers solemnly. She doesn’t shed a single tear though; she doesn’t think she has any left. “It had been going on for about a month, maybe a month and a half before I found out.”

“I can’t believe this.” Lilly states, still in a state of shock. She reaches out and squeezes one of Andrea’s hands and offers a sympathetic stare. “Andy, I’m so sorry.”

“I wasn’t even going to tell you,” Andrea forces a bitter smile. “I didn’t want to talk it anymore, but it just sort of spilled out.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

“You can change the subject.” She laughs half heartily. When silence takes over Andrea makes another effort to produce some conversation.

“Okay…..ummm….”

“I think I might be pregnant.” Andrea blurts out suddenly.

“Whoa, where did that come from?”

Andrea sighs and lowers her head to her hands. She runs her fingers through her hair as she speaks. “I took three home pregnancy tests and two came up positive and the other I couldn’t read.”

“I’ll get you an appointment with my doctor.” Lilly says right way, reaching to hold her friends’ hand in hers in a supportive gesture.

“I have an appointment this afternoon with my OB.” She answers miserably.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“Yeah.” She whimpers quietly.

“Where you and Justin trying?” Lilly asks curiously, sitting back against the couch again. “You never told me you were trying.”

“Well we weren’t really trying. I just went off the pill and it was just sort of a if it happens it happens type of thing, you know?” Andrea explains while picking at her nails. When she looks back up at her friend tears are glistening in her sad eyes. “This is just such terrible timing. It’s like I’m being punished and I never thought I would ever think of a baby as punishment.”

“Oh honey, this baby—if there even is a baby—” She adds quickly, “is not a punishment. It may just be a blessing in disguise.”

“What do you mean? And please don’t tell me that everything happens for a reason and that it’s all just part of God’s plan.”

“I mean, that maybe this baby is just what you and Justin need to pull you back together or it could be what you need to move past him.”

“How could I move past him if I’m having his baby?” She asks, sighing in annoyance. This conversation was not helping to make her feel any better about the situation. She wanted Lilly tell her…. well she didn’t really know what she wanted to hear, but not this. “Just having Tessa makes it impossible to move past him.”

“Just because you two have a child, possibly children, doesn’t mean you have to be married and madly in love. You have heard of a divorce right?”

“I don’t want to be divorced.” She whines pathetically using her hands to emphasize her words. “It’ll be like part of my identity. Andrea Timberlake—divorced.”

“Now you’re just being silly.” Lilly laughs.

“This is just the last thing I need right now.”

“We don’t even know for sure yet, so don’t stress over it.” Lilly soothes, again reaching over to hold Andrea’s hand in a comforting manor.

“I told my mom and she completely flipped out.”

“Why? It’s not like you’re a teenager.”

“She said she was just surprised. She walked in on me while I was waiting for the results. I tried to hide it. I think that’s what made her freak.”

“Knowing you’re mom that’s probably true.”

~*~*~*~*~

Clutching her purse tightly Andrea follows the nurse back to the exam room. Lilly’s waiting for her back out in the waiting room to give her all the support she needs.

“You can go ahead and change into this gown and the doctor will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you.” Andrea forces a smile and hurriedly undresses. She always feels like the doctor is going to come barging in just as she gets her clothing off. She laughs quietly at her silly behavior and boosts herself onto the examining table.

As soft knock followed by the door slowly opening draws Andrea’s attention away from her thoughts. “Hello there Andrea, it’s nice to see you again.” Dr. Wallace smiles, courteously shaking her hand. “It’s been awhile.”

“Yes it has.” She replies taking his offered hand, noticing how cold they were. “I just want to thank you for taking my appointment on such short notice; I know your schedule is very full.”

“It was no problem.” Dr. Wallace chuckles. “So let’s get down to business, how late are you?”

“Five weeks yesterday.”

He raises his snow-white eyebrows at her. “Four weeks, huh?

“I took three home tests and two came up positive, but I couldn’t read the third.”

“I see.” He nods scribbling some notes in her chart. “Let’s go ahead and get an ultrasound.”

“Okay.”

“Go ahead and lay back for me…”

TBC....