Happy Birthday: A Novel

They left a little while later, and April came out to say goodbye. Her mother looked better, but still somewhat bothered. And April kissed them both and told them to come back soon. And as she kissed Jack on the cheek, he suddenly looked at her, surprised. Her stomach had bumped into him while she kissed him. He looked down and could see that she was pregnant, and had a good-sized belly hiding under her apron. He looked back into April’s eyes with a question in his gaze.

“Mom will explain it to you,” she said shyly. “Or has she already told you?” It wouldn’t have bothered her if she did. He was family now, by association with her mother.

“No, she hasn’t,” he said quietly. “Is that good news or bad news for you?” he asked, pointing at her belly, and she shrugged.

“A little bit of both. It’s one of those things, a blessing in disguise maybe. I haven’t figured that out yet.” The cab was waiting for them and it was cold outside and April didn’t have a coat on, so she hurried back into the restaurant and they got into the cab, and Jack was quiet after giving the driver Valerie’s address. They were staying at her place that night, and still going back and forth every few days between his apartment and hers.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked Valerie, looking hurt.

“About what?”

“April’s baby. She’s pregnant. Who’s the guy? I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

“She doesn’t.” Valerie sighed. “It was an accident. I met him once. He seems nice enough, he’s a food critic. But he doesn’t want her or the baby. Apparently, they only got together once, and poor April was very unlucky. She says they got drunk, which is unfortunate. And the antibiotic she was taking rendered her birth control pill ineffective.” He felt sorry for her. It was a heavy burden for her to carry alone, with the restaurant. And it was bad luck that the father didn’t want her or the baby.

“How terrible for her. Valerie, why didn’t you tell me?” For the first time, there was reproach in his voice, and he wondered if she’d been too embarrassed, or was protecting April. That at least would explain it. But he thought they’d been totally open with each other, and this was a big piece of information to leave out, which must have been a worry to her. He wanted to be at the hub of her life, and useful to her, not on the sidelines. He was hurt that she hadn’t told him.

There were tears in her eyes when she answered him. “Did you see that girl tonight? The one who said hello to you? How old is she, Jack? Twenty-one? Twenty-two? Twenty-three at most? That makes me thirty-seven years older than she is. That’s who you used to go out with. And I’m ten years older than you are. I’m sixty and single, with a man who used to go out with twenty-year-olds, and on top of it, you expected me to tell you that I’m about to be a grandmother? I could be that model’s grandmother.” She winced as she said it. “Just how bad does it get, and how old do you want me to look?” The tears were bright in her eyes. “I know it’s vain and stupid, but I thought you wouldn’t want me if I told you. I haven’t gotten used to the idea myself, and I sure as hell didn’t want to tell you at first. And besides, it’s a miserable situation for April. But that’s not why I didn’t tell you. I just don’t want to be the grandmother you sleep with.” She looked so pathetic and vulnerable when she said it that he smiled at her, and had to keep himself from laughing. In a way, it was funny, here he had been sleeping with ridiculous young girls, with great bodies and no brains, and now he was sleeping with a woman ten years older than he was, and grandmother or not, he was head over heels in love with her. He put his arms around her and kissed her.

“I don’t give a damn about any of those girls. I never did. And I’m going to love you, even when you’re a great-grandmother. I love you, no matter how old you are, or how old you get, or how many grandchildren you have. Shit, Valerie, I’m no kid either, even though you make me feel like one. Half the time I look and feel older than you do.” She smiled through her tears as he said it. He started to laugh then and couldn’t resist teasing her a little. “And I promise never to call you ‘Granny’!”

“Oh, you!” she said, and playfully swiped at him, and hit his arm. “Don’t you ever call me that! If that child ever calls me that, I’ll refuse to see it.” But she cuddled closer to him and felt better. “I feel terrible for April. It’s an awful situation,” she said seriously. “I don’t know how she’s going to manage.”

“She will,” he said quietly, “and we’ll help her. We can baby-sit for her, if we have to.” He smiled at Valerie again then. “It can call us Jack and Valerie, no Grandma and Grampa, although I kind of like the idea of grandchildren, not right away of course, but one day.”