Jake must have gotten my resignation letter by now. My stomach bunches up at the thought. What did he think of it? I had to legally send a physical letter with the return address posted from my new address. It's been four days, but he hasn't shown up yet. Does he no longer care? Is he so caught up with her that he has totally forgotten about me?
What about the promises he made me when we were in Paris, while we were having dinner at the garden, or twirling away in vineyard?
The distant drilling sound is exacerbated by my nauseous stomach. I twist and turn on my bed, but do not find a comfortable position so I pad out to the living room.
Ellie is sitting at her makeshift workstation as she types away on her laptop. She looks up when she sees me come out of the room.
"Did you need anything? You could have just told me," she says, starting to get up from her chair.
I motion for her not to get up while I walk to the freezer for some chilled water. I don't know why but I'm hot all the time. That and the morning sickness are driving me nuts. And on top of that, the constant drilling sounds at the background are giving me a permanent headache.
I wince as the drill goes off again. "Isn't that annoying?" Ellie asks me, observing my face.
"So annoying," I tell her. "I swear I can still hear them at night, and even in my dreams, sometimes."
"I agree," she says. "It's so annoying, and I can imagine it's worse for you."
My stomach lets out a growl. "I need some panini sandwich."
Ellie jumps to her feet. "I'll make it for you."
"You don't have to do that," I say.
"I insist," she says, walking past me to the refrigerator as she starts to pull out all the ingredients.
I sigh. "You really don't have to do this. You've already done a lot for me by staying back in the city."
Ellie was supposed to leave with Tammy after a week, but she has requested to work remotely, and it was granted. She only needs to go down once a week to the Boston office.
"Nonsense," she says. "I'm here to take care of my best friend. And I also like the city."
I frown. "You like Boston? Since when?"
As far as I remember, she was always trying to convince me to move to Los Angeles.
"I mean, Boston has its charms."
I eye her suspiciously. "Wait a minute, Ellie Henderson, have you met someone?"
Her cheeks heat up. "It's really nothing."
"You're blushing like a tomato."
"Fine," she says. "It's this guy. I was bored, so I downloaded Hinge a few months ago. I totally forgot I even had it, but I got a match in the city, and we have been talking since then."
"And?"
"And it's nothing," she says. "I'm not hanging back in the city because I hope to meet him. I like working from home, and I get to spend all the time with my best friend."
"With your nauseous and insomniac best friend who can't stop crying every few minutes?" I say drily.
"Shut up," she says. "All I want to do is focus on you right now."
I take a deep breath. "But that's the thing, though. I've decided that I'm going to move back home."
Ellie's eyes widen. "Wait, are you serious?"
I nod as I slowly sit down on the couch, putting a protective hand on my belly. "I still haven't told my parents that I'm pregnant. They'll find out eventually, but I want to rip the Band Aid while it's still fresh. It makes sense to move back home. I'm sure it will be better for the baby, and far more peaceful than the city."