Happy Birthday: A Novel

“He doesn’t know I’m here. I made the decision by myself last night.” She nodded, and then she looked at him again. She was happy to see him, but didn’t want to be too much so. She knew that if she hadn’t been pregnant, she probably wouldn’t have given him another chance. But she was pregnant, and in spite of her concerns and reservations about Mike, she loved him. The baby was a tremendous bond.

“Why don’t we just see what happens?” she said hesitantly, not wanting to trust this too quickly. It was all she could offer him. She wasn’t sure if she could trust him, or if she even wanted to. But she didn’t want to lose him again either. Neither for the baby, nor herself. She wanted this to work. She had a huge investment in their relationship, in her womb.

“Will you let me take you to dinner? Or visit you at the restaurant?” She nodded, and he looked enormously relieved as she stood up. He knew that her willingness to try again was more than he deserved. She looked as though she were hiding a basketball under her shirt, and he smiled. Without thinking, he reached a hand out and touched her belly from where he sat on the stoop, and was stunned when it kicked him, hard. “Does that mean he likes me or he’s mad at me?” he teased her. It touched his heart now that he had felt the baby kick.

“Maybe both,” she answered, smiling slowly. She was happy he was back, even if she was afraid he’d run away again. “And what makes you so sure it’s a boy?”

“A girl would be okay too. Is that what you want?” She nodded.

“That would be easier if I’m alone.” He nodded too. He understood. He wasn’t making any promises yet, just opening a door for both of them. It was a door he had been terrified to touch before, and now he was finally prying it slowly open. The hinges on it had rusted years before.

They walked slowly back to the restaurant, and he stood in front of it with her. “I’ll call you. Could you do dinner tomorrow night?” She nodded.

“Thank you for coming, Mike. That was brave of you. Very brave.” She knew how hard it must have been for him, and he had come anyway. Whatever happened, he had done the right thing, or was trying to, and so was she, by giving him a chance.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said softly, and then awkwardly, he bent to kiss her cheek, touched her shoulder, and walked away. And as April walked back into the restaurant, she was smiling, and wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks.

As he said he would, Mike called her the next day. He asked her what kind of food she liked to eat these days, and she requested something bland. She had heartburn now most of the time. He suggested an Italian restaurant they both knew and liked. He said he’d pick her up at eight. And he was there promptly. She was waiting in her restaurant, and went outside when she saw him arrive.

The restaurant they were going to was nearby, and they walked there easily. He asked about her restaurant, and she inquired about his work. They had lost the ease they had previously had with each other. But by the end of dinner, with a glass of Chianti for him, they both started to relax. He told her some funny stories about restaurants he’d reviewed, and one where he swore they’d poisoned him. They talked about her family, and she told him about Jack and her mother. And eventually, they strolled back to her place. They were both surprised by how long they had sat and talked. It was almost midnight. But they had a lot of ground to cover in a short time. He invited her to go to a play with him the following weekend. The theater critic at the paper had given him the tickets, and he thought it was something she’d enjoy. It was a musical comedy that was a current smash hit. She hadn’t been to the theater in years.

The week after that, he took her to the movies, and for a hamburger afterward. They met at Central Park one afternoon and took a walk. And she invited him to dinner at the restaurant one Sunday night. He ordered pancakes again, and they both laughed. After three weeks of seeing a lot of each other, they were enjoying each other as they had before, even if only briefly. The stiffness had disappeared, and he had put his hand on her belly several times, and loved to feel the baby kick. She told him that if he spoke to it, it could hear him talk and would recognize his voice when it was born. He found that hard to believe, but lowered his face near her belly, and talked to it and said it better be nice to its mother, and that he was lucky to have her as his mother and that she was a fabulous chef. He was still convinced it was a boy. And one afternoon, they started talking about names. He liked Owen for some reason, and she Zoe. And then they decided they both liked Sam if it was a boy.

“Sam Wyatt has a nice sound to it.” She smiled up at him. They had had another nice evening together, and were coming back to her place late, after they had seen a movie. The restaurant was already closed, and everyone had gone home.