Free Close Quarters: A Novel (Zane Presents) by Shamara Ray Page B

champagne to celebrate.”
    We shared a collective giggle. Leave it to Charlee to have us returning to work tipsy. I couldn’t wait to tell them the news, but I wanted to do it in person. It took every ounce of restraint for me to hold it in for almost two days. I had called my mother in Maryland immediately after the dinner party. She put me on the speakerphone, so my father could listen at the same time. They were overjoyed. After extracting the details of the proposal from me, my mother told me to put Ellis on the phone. My parents congratulated him on our engagement and said they’d be thrilled to have him as a son-in-law.
    Giselle reached across the table and grasped my hand. “Congratulations, my sister.”
    The waiter brought over our champagne and three chilled glasses. He poured our nectar and then left us to our celebration.
    Charlee delivered the toast. “Wishing you all the happiness you deserve.”
    I clinked glasses with Charlee and we peered into each other’s eyes for a beat. I averted my gaze to Giselle. She tapped our glasses and then sat her champagne down on the table.
    I stopped short of taking a sip from my glass. “Why aren’t you drinking? You’re not on call today, are you?”
    “Whatever she ain’t drinking, I got covered,” Charlee said.
    Giselle fidgeted with her utensils. “I also have something to share with the two of you.” She inhaled and released a shaky stream of air.
    “Don’t keep us in suspense, damn it.”
    I put my hand on top of Charlee’s to silence her.
    “I’m fourteen weeks pregnant.”
    Charlee and I sat, gaping at Giselle. I could feel my eyes bulging out of their sockets and forced myself to blink a couple of times. “Gigi, when did this happen?”
    Charlee rolled her eyes at me. “If she’s fourteen weeks pregnant, you do the math.”
    “I mean how or with who?”
    “I’ve been wanting to tell you for a few weeks. I found out about a month ago.”
    “You’ve known for a month and didn’t say anything?” I asked.
    “Actually, I’ve known for longer than that, but I was confused about what to do and wanted to make a decision before I told you. I have my career; I’m not married. I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a mother.”
    “What about the father?”
    “A colleague of mine.” Giselle looked down in her lap. “He’s pretty much out of the picture, so it was solely my decision to make.”
    I moved my chair closer to Giselle and gently rubbed her back. “Are you all right?’
    “I will be. I have no choice but to be all right, and I’m going to have this baby. Things will change for me. My life is going to change drastically, it already has, but I’m having this baby.”
    And I thought I had news to share with my friends. Giselle, pregnant. I had so many questions, but I refused to inundate her at the moment.
    Giselle straightened her back a bit and then picked up her menu. “Let’s eat. I know I’m famished.” She glanced at Charlee and myself and then back at the menu. “Girls, I’m pregnant. It’s notthe end of the world,” she said, not raising her eyes from menu.
    “Anything you need, we’re here for you.” I figured I had better speak for both of us since Charlee was still observing Giselle like she was a specimen in a Petri dish.
    “The only thing I ask is that you be the great aunties I know you will be.”
    I hugged Giselle tight. When we separated, she wiped a tear from her face. Charlee hugged her next. “It takes a village and you’ve got one right here. Don’t worry about a thing.”
    • • •
    There was no way I was going back to the office after lunch. I was a bit buzzed from the champagne and extremely numb over Giselle’s news. I tightened the belt on my cream wool coat and walked down Madison Avenue. Rich, golden sunlight streamed across my face. My hair whipped in the breeze, the tips getting stuck on my glossy lips. I kept tucking it behind my ears to no avail. Giselle weighed heavily on my mind.