Free Having Nathan's Baby by Fran Louise Page B

point. “Still got the morning sickness?”
    “It comes and goes, ” I said.
    “Adam’s been driving me mad all week with questions!” She shook her head as she got comfortable. “I think Nathan’s been plying him with things to check.” Her voice mimicked her boyfriend’s. “Find out what kind of hours she’s working. Check what she eats during the meal-”
    “Really?” I laughed, but a spark lit inside of me. Did that mean Nathan was worried about me? The spark extinguished; he was probably just worried about the baby.
    “I told him, if Nathan really wants to k now, he needs to get on a plane,” Rosalind said. “But they were recording all last week, I think.” Her expression lifted. “Did you hear he bought a brownstone?”
    My eyes widened. “In New York?”
    “The Upper East Side.”
    “You guys are moving in together?” I asked, delighted at the news. Rosalind was good for Adam. I’d never seen him so calm and settled.
    “Not Adam: Nathan!” Rosalind laughed. “ Nathan bought it. Apparently he thought it would make a good family home...” She winked.
    Overwhelmed, both by the news and the speed at which Rosalind talked, I could only stare. I ordered blindly when the waiter approached. I focused on the most innocuous aspect of the news that I could find. “You mean he bought a brownstone without even seeing it? He never mentioned anything about this when we were in Vermont.”
    “And...” Rosalind picked up her leather clutch bag from the table. Her smile was infectious. After rummaging for a moment, she held up three keys attached to a plain circular keychain. “He asked Adam to ask me to give you these.”
    I stared, nonplussed, at the keychain. My heart felt like it was floating in still water for a moment, the sensation making me lightheaded. I couldn’t even begin to work out what this meant.
    Rosalind put them on the table and nudged them towards me. “No explanation, just hand them over, that’s what I was told,” she said.
    “I already have an apartment, ” I said in return. I frowned down at the keys, feeling unsettled in my stomach. If I had wanted a brownstone, I would have bought one. It was an odd moment for the strange flashback of children’s paraphernalia wrecking the lines of my sleek, modern apartment to occur. As soon as it was finished, I had another flash, only this time of another future. I was in a bright, airy house, joyfully mussed with the marks of a happy, young family.
    I didn’t move to touch the keys.
    “Take them anyway. I’m not sure what the whole thing’s about.” Rosalind sighed and touched my shoulder with distracted affection. “I think he bought it for himself, but you know what these guys are like. They buy real estate like other people buy shoes. He probably thought since you’re here and he’s there that you could go check on it or something...”
    Finally picking up the keys, I shoved them in my bag, out of sight. I’d call Nathan later and get to the bottom of this. Right now, in the middle of lunch, I really didn’t want to give my emotions any other excuse to run riot. 
    Turning back to Rosalind, I clasped my hands on the table and forced a smile. “So, talk to me about something that doesn’t involve pregnancy, men or food,” I said.
     
    That evening, I finished up mercifully early. The two parties involved in my case had agreed to a last-minute deal before it went to court. Though I would never have admitted it, I was elated that it would free up my schedule for the next six months. Of course, there was no telling how many other cases my seniors had waiting to deposit in my inbox, but since I’d be tied up in paperwork finalizing the deal for some time, I was hoping I might have a few less stressful months to look forward to. I at least had a much less hectic weekend to look forward to. So I left the building early and, instead of taking the subway, sauntered in the direction of my apartment to enjoy the lingering