Free Waiting for a Girl Like You by Christa Maurice

about eight months.”
    “That’s great.” Marc hoped the sound of his teeth grinding couldn’t be heard through the phone. The connection could not be that clear. “Tell her I said congratulations.”
    “I will. I’m pretty excited.”
    “Yeah, that’s great. I’m happy for you. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
    “Sure. Have fun.”
    Marc dropped his phone on the table and walked out to his car. Better to leave the phone here so he could focus on Alex. If Jason followed form—and there was no reason to believe he wouldn’t—he’d forgotten to tell anyone else about Cassie’s pregnancy in his obsession with his new ditty. He was likely, right now, on the phone with Brian spreading the good cheer, followed by a call to Bear, and then Ty, who might find time between recovering from last night and getting ready to go out tonight, to make a call. Marc took solace in that Brian would be as excited about the pregnancy as he was. Already saddled with two monsters of his own and divorced, Brian wouldn’t want to see his best pal headed down the same path. Though it wasn’t the same path. Not really. Cassie was nothing like Bonnie. She was a great mom to their little girl, and she was long haul material unlike Dez, who had never earned Tessa’s lawyerly seal of approval. Who knew what Bear would say. Cruising into his third year with Maureen, they seemed happy enough, but in no rush to have kids. Ty would say congratulations and run out to have a vasectomy. Then there was the management company. And the assorted hangers-on. Ugh, SendDown was in the studio so there would be separate calls from each of them as the “happy” news spread. On tour, Savitar would all learn at once so that would only entail one call, plus Suzi, from that camp.
    Fantastic. He was going to come home with Alex to a whole passel of excited messages, texts, and e-mails, and their next album was going to be delayed for at least a year. His entire life was stalled.
    Once upon a time, he and Dez had talked about having children. Then she started cheating on him with her personal trainer the tour before last. At one point, he’d wanted kids, but between Dez and Brian’s less than bucolic experience, maybe he needed to rethink that notion.
    Jason’s song was headed in a very upbeat direction. Nothing he could work with in this mood.
    Ida smirked at him when he pushed through the diner door. “Well, surprise, surprise.” She sounded like Gomer Pyle on The Andy Griffith Show . “Eating inside today? As if I didn’t know.”
    “Yeah. How are you doing? Aren’t you supposed to be home resting?”
    “It was just a panic attack. Believe me, I’m going to be a lot more panicked sitting at home worrying about what’s going on here.”
    Marc folded his arms. “Ida, you have to take care of yourself before your business. You go down and so does it.”
    “That’s not what yesterday’s receipts say. Thanks for stepping in. Alex said you were a big help.”
    “Nothing you wouldn’t have done in my place.”
    Ida laughed. “Can you see me going on stage and playing a guitar in front of those fans of yours? I’d get booed off the stage.”
    “You know how to entertain a crowd.” He grinned at her. When Jason announced he was building a house here, everyone thought he’d lost his mind, but it had a special appeal. “It was nothing.”
    “Plus you got to work with Alex.”
    “There was that.”
    “Thought so. Any special requests you want me to relay to the kitchen?”
    “No.”
    She snickered in a very self-satisfied way, handed him his personal coffee mug, and pointed to a booth along the wall that was empty despite every other seat in the place being filled. Marc still wondered where Ida had managed to lay hands on a Paul McCartney and Wings coffee mug for him.
    Alex was waiting on a couple in the back who were cooing at each other so much Marc wasn’t sure how she got an order out of them. Eventually, she freed herself to come to