Page 38 of Blackout: Book Two

“Everything is good,” Jack says. “She took that twelve week blood test and everything came back normal.”

I look at him.

“Is she showing?”

Smiling he nods and reaches into his back pocket for his phone. Tipping his chin towards the table and chairs, he takes a seat. Reluctantly, I pull out a chair and sit across from him. While he scrolls through his phone, I continue to stare at the sonogram photo.

“I think she has your nose,” Reina comments as she takes a seat too. “And Lacey’s lips.”

“She definitely has Lacey’s lips,” I agree.

They’re perfect just like her mother’s.

“Here,” Jack says, pushing the phone towards me. I gently set the sonogram photo on the table and lift the phone. More tears well in my eyes as I take in the photo of Lacey. She’s standing sideways with her hand on her belly. It’s not much of a bump but it’s there. It’s there, and it’s goddamn gorgeous. She’s gorgeous.

“Connie took that one when she took her shopping for maternity clothes,” Jack reveals. “It’s like pulling teeth to get her to take a damn picture,” he complains.

“She looks beautiful,” I rasp, thumbing away a tear. Lifting my head, I glance at Jack. “Does she have everything she needs? Enough maternity clothes? What about one of those pillows?”

“Pillows?” Jack questions, narrowing his eyes as he looks at Reina. “What the fuck is he talking about? She needs pillows? You and Connie never mentioned anything about pillows.”

Reina chuckles and lays a hand over Jack’s as she looks at me.

“Where did you learn about body pillows?”

I shrug my shoulders.

“I’ve got a lot of time on my hands,” I answer, glancing at Sunny who is pretending not to listen. She does a shit job at covering up her smile, though. A week ago, I had a bit of a breakdown. After confessing how I felt like a failing father, she gifted me a book geared to expectant fathers. I read a couple of chapters every night and I recently learned about the magic of body pillows and how they help the mother if she’s used to sleeping on her belly.

Lacey sleeps on her belly.

Or at least she did.

“We’ll get her a body pillow,” Reina assures me, and I nod before glancing back at Jack’s phone.

“Do you have any more?”

“Let me see,” he says taking the phone from me. He searches the camera roll and produces another. She’s wearing a shirt that reads Bump Loading and eating a slice of pizza. “Reina took that one after she sent me out for pizza at ten thirty at night.”

“It was the first time she craved anything,” Reina explains.

“Does she have a lot of those?”

“Cravings? Not really. Just pizza. She ate the whole pie that night.”

I try to picture Lacey eating an entire pizza by herself and a chuckle escapes my lips. It quickly fades as I realize it’s just another thing to add to the list of things I’m missing. Sighing, I hand Jack back his phone.

“She was sixteen weeks yesterday,” I say as I glance between them. “Sunny helps me keep track on a calendar in my room. That means she’s hit the second trimester.”

“Yes,” Reina confirms.

“Is she still off her meds?”

Reina looks at Jack who in turn glances down at his hands.

“Yes,” Reina answers. “Dr. Spiegel is keeping a close eye on her, though, and so are we.”

Keeping my eyes on Jack, I watch as he lifts his hand and scratches the scruff lining his jaw. He makes no attempt to look me in the eye and I know instantly that something is eating at him.

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