Back in the Game

by Lisa Scott

  But not with the man she'd picked up at a bar and dragged home like a horny tramp. Hopefully, she'd never run into Jeff again. He'd certainly have the wrong idea about her now.

  After her shower, she thought about texting Marly and Kyra, but decided she was going to keep this a secret. She'd never hear the end of it otherwise.

  The girls dropped by after lunch. "Please tell me you had a good reason for leaving," Kyra said.

  Marly waggled her eyebrows. "A hot hunky reason?"

  Georgia felt her cheeks warm. "No. I was just overwhelmed. It was so crowded, I panicked and took a cab home."

  Their smiles fell.

  "It wasn't a total bust. I did talk to this one guy."

  Kyra nodded encouragingly. "That's good. Did you give him your number?"

  "He gave me his card," she said.

  Marly held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. "Let me see."

  "Let me go get it." She dashed to her bedroom and snatched the card off her dresser. "Jeffrey James Brown," she read as she walked back into the room. "He's a financial planner." His card featured a handsome photo. She handed it to Marly.

  Marly looked at the card, her brow furrowed. "Jeffrey James Brown." She clapped her hand over her mouth. "That's JJ Brown!"

  Kyra sucked in a breath.

  "Who's that?" Georgia asked.

  "'Who's that,'" Marly laughed. "He's a former field goal kicker for the Warriors."

  Georgia gulped. "A football player?"

  "Yes!" Marly shrieked. "You have to call him."

  Georgia's stomach dropped. "I don't think so. You know how I feel about guys like that. I just want a nice, normal guy." Although Jeff had been very, very nice. Hardly normal, not with that amazing body and those magic hands.

  "Just take a chance?" Kyra begged.

  "We'll see." No way would she be calling him now. He was a football player. Weren't they all players? "But hey, I got out there, right?"

  Marly set the card on the coffee table. "Exactly. So will you go out with us this weekend? Maybe next time you won't pull a Cinderella and disappear before midnight."

  "Yeah, maybe."

  "I'm proud of you for coming," Kyra said, patting Georgia's knee. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"

  Georgia pressed her lips together and shook her head.

  "Want to come out tonight?" Marly asked.

  Georgia shook her head again. She felt charged up. Something inside her hummed, like an old familiar tune. "I think I'm going to work on a few new pieces in my workshop."

  "Really?" Kyra asked. "That's great."

  Marly was wide-eyed. "You haven't worked on anything since ..."

  "Since Matt got sick."

  Kyra grabbed Georgia's hand. "I can't wait to see what you make."

  Georgia felt almost giddy. "Neither can I."

  After Kyra and Marly left, Georgia made herself a cup of tea and went down to her workshop in the basement. She set down her tea and clicked on the light hanging over the workbench. She grabbed a nearby feather duster to tidy her tools and supplies.

  She sat down and opened a box of tiny polished gems, grabbing a bunch and pouring them from hand to hand. She smiled. She felt energized. Alive. She felt like she was ready to start living again.

  "Thank you, Jeff," she whispered.

  * * *

  When she opened her shop on Monday, she brought a dozen new pieces: matching rose quartz earrings and bracelets, agate rings, and a gorgeous opal necklace. She hung the pieces on her countertop displays and admired her work. It was different from what she used to make. More whimsical. More daring - just like she'd been the other night.

  She thought about Jeff again. He'd been wonderful. So funny, so kind. But she'd be too embarrassed to see him again, especially after all that stuff she'd said about football players. He'd been the right man on the right night. But certainly not her next Mr. Right.

  Her new pieces sold quickly, and she spent the next weekend making more, ignoring Marly and Kyra's pleas to come out. But after a few weeks of burying herself in her work, Marly and Kyra ambushed her again on a Saturday afternoon. "You are coming out if we have to kidnap you," Marly announced.

  "And we want to wear some of your new jewelry," Kyra said.

  Georgia sighed. She had been working hard. "Fine."

  "We're sticking by your side this time so you can't sneak off," Marly said.

  Georgia got ready without agonizing over her outfit and hair. If she met someone, that'd be fine. If not, at least she knew she had it in her to go out again.

  While she got dressed, they drank a batch of appletinis Marly whipped up. Then the three of them hopped in a cab headed for downtown.

  They went to a smaller club that wasn't as crowded and sat down at a table while a cocktail waitress got them drinks. Georgia tapped her foot to the beat of the music. The earrings Kyra wore swung as she bobbed her head. Georgia glanced up at the bar - and froze. Jeff was seated there, talking to Marly.

  "Shit!" Georgia hissed.

  Kyra sat up straight; Georgia wasn't one to swear.

  Georgia tried sinking down in her seat as Marly tugged Jeff over to their table.

  "Look who I found," Marly said. "I just had to introduce myself to Jeff and tell him we knew the pretty lady he met at a bar a few weeks ago."

  Georgia looked up at him. "Hi, Jeff."

  His smile was dazzling. "Georgia, it's nice to see you again."

  Marly squeezed Georgia's shoulder. "We know our girl here is shy. Sounds like she ran out early on you that night."

  Jeff's eyebrows raised.

  "I'm sure you remember how we met and I ran off home alone?" Georgia said, eyeing him significantly.

  He scrunched his eyebrows together and nodded. "Right. I remember everything about that night. I remember it very well."

  "You two should go out," Kyra said.

  Marly smiled. "We're not usually this pushy ..."

  "Yes, you are," Georgia said, dropping her head in her hands.

  "Well, possibly we are. But Georgia hasn't called you, has she?" Krya asked. "We saw your business card."

  Georgia looked up at him. "And they told me you used to be a football player, so, sorry for some of the things I said that night."

  He smirked. "Quite all right. In fact, I think you were spot-on with some of your comments."

  "But she also said you were very nice and not at all like a football player, so you're still in the game," Kyra said.

  Georgia glared at Kyra. "But as I explained to my soon-to-be former friends, I'm entering the dating scene slowly."

  Jeff was staring at her with one corner of his mouth curled up. She looked away quickly.

  "That's what I tried to tell Marly here when she dragged me from the bar. I know where you stand. And you've got my number if that changes." His eyes looked soft and kind in the dim lighting of the bar.

  "Sorry about these two," Georgia said.

  "Hey, it's important to have friends to look out for you. Take care, Georgia. And remember, you can call me anytime." He raised his drink and headed back to the bar.

  "He was so into you," Kyra said.

  "There was definite sexual tension between you two. That must've been quite a conversation you had that night," Marly said. "A girl couldn't do much better than JJ Brown. He's the one who started the Athletes for Kids foundation. That was his party the other night." She sighed.

  "Perfect, I insulted that, too," Georgia said.

  "Yet still he left you an open invitation to call," Kyra pointed out.

  "So why don't one of you two go out with him?" Georgia asked.

  "The question is, why don't you?" Kyra asked.

  Georgia snapped her mouth shut. _Of course he wants me to call him anytime.

  I've probably been added to his "fling" list. ._

  At least what they'd shared that night had reignited her other passions in life - her jewelry making, her grandbaby on the way. She'd even started running again. She wanted to live. And t
hat's why when a handsome blond guy asked her to dance, she said yes and hit the dance floor, ending the night with a kiss and numbers exchanged.

  His name was Greg, and he called the next day to invite her to dinner.

  "What does that mean?" Georgia asked the girls at lunch. "Is he being too eager?"

  "It means he likes you. But why go out with him and not Jeff?" Marly asked.

  "I don't know." Georgia put her hand over her stomach. "I don't feel well."

  "That's not an answer, and you hardly drank anything last night," Kyra said.

  "Let's focus on one guy at a time," Georgia said.

  "Clearly, he likes you. I think guys in their forties are easier to figure out. They're not playing games like some of the younger ones," Marly said.

  "Go out, have fun, see where things go," Kyra said, shrugging.

  He wasn't as hot and hunky as Jeff, but Greg seemed nice enough. And maybe not being hot and hunky was a good thing - she wouldn't end up in bed with him right away. "Sure, I'll go out with him."

  "Jeff or Greg?"

  "Greg," Georgia said.

  "Then Jeff in a few weeks," Marly suggested.

  Georgia rolled her eyes and felt queasy, knowing her friends would never let up.

  * * *

  Greg took her out to dinner two nights later. He was divorced with twin five-year old boys and had a good sense of humor. "It takes me a few days to recover when I have them for the weekend," he told her, laughing. "Do you have kids?"

  "I have a nineteen-year-old daughter who is expecting a baby in a few months." Let's see if he passes the grandma test, she thought.

  His eyes widened. "You're going to be a grandma. Cool!"

  "Scary," she admitted. "I didn't think it would happen so soon." Her stomach churned and she stood up. "I need to use the restroom." She dashed to the ladies room just in time to throw up the lovely meal she'd just eaten. Damn, she was coming down with the flu.

  She walked back to the table feeling weak and clammy. "Greg, I'm afraid I'm sick. I need to go home."

  He stood up and grabbed her arm to steady her. "No problem. Let me pay the bill and I'll get you right home."

  Greg helped her into her house and up to her room. He kissed her forehead before leaving her. "Call me when you feel better," he said.

  "I will. And I'm sorry for ruining a lovely night."

  "No worries. Just get well soon."

  She fell asleep and vomited again in the middle of the night. Still not feeling better in the morning, she called one of her workers in to cover her shift at the store.

  A few days later when she was still sick, she started looking up her symptoms online. Gallstones? she wondered. A peptic ulcer? Social anxiety disorder? Maybe that was it. Maybe dating was too much for her. But to be sure, she made an appointment with her doctor. And when Greg called to check on her, she agreed to dinner on Friday night. Surely she'd be better by then - hopefully not in the hospital having her appendix removed.

  When Marly and Kyra heard she was sick, they stopped by with flowers and chicken soup. "Don't tell Ashleigh I'm ill. I don't want her worrying about anything but her baby."

  "I'm sure it's nothing serious," Kyra said.

  "It could be stress. You should come to yoga class with me," Marly said.

  "Sorry, I gave up yoga pants when I hit forty."

  * * *

  While she tried to appear confident, she was nervous as she headed to the doctor's office. Her hand shook as she peed in the cup, and she crumpled the hem of her paper gown as she waited for the doctor to come in. What if something really serious was wrong with her? Ashleigh couldn't lose both her parents. Not with a baby coming. She'd need Georgia's help. She was crying by the time the doctor walked in, and she swiped at her face with her hand.

  Dr. Walker looked up from her charts. "Hey, everything's going to be fine," she said.

  Georgia sucked in a breath, trying to calm herself. "I'm just worried something's horribly wrong."

  The doctor smiled. "Nothing that doesn't happen to millions of women around the world every year. You're pregnant."

  Georgia blinked at her through her tears. "No, I'm not."

  "We ran a test. Standard procedure. It came back positive."

  Georgia shook her head. "I can't be."

  "Are you sexually active?" the doctor asked.

  "I only had sex once ..."

  "That's all it takes."

  Georgia blinked a few times. "We used a condom."

  "Nothing's one hundred percent effective. Except no sex."

  Georgia reached for the garbage can and threw up again.

  "Clearly this is a surprise," said Dr. Walker, handing her a tissue. "Do you want to talk about your options?"

  Georgia stared at the doctor, hardly able to take it in. "I'm pregnant." From a one-night stand with a man I was hoping to never see again.

  The doctor studied her. "Yes. Do you want to do a quick checkup, then make an appointment with your OB/GYN?"

  Georgia nodded. She didn't want a baby. Not now. There were so many reasons. But already, her maternal instincts had her rubbing a hand over her belly. It wasn't what she had planned, but she would make things right for this child.

  She left the office and went home to soak in the tub. Who should she tell first? Her daughter? Her friends? As much as she hated the thought, it seemed only fair to tell the father first.

  She got out of the tub and dried off. Sitting on her bed with Jeff's card next to her, she dialed his number and hung up three times. Finally, she closed her eyes and let it ring.

  "Hello?"

  "Hi, Jeff, it's Georgia."

  "Georgia! Great to hear from you."

  She bit her bottom lip. "I really need to talk to you."

  "Sure, want to catch dinner this weekend?"

  "Sooner than that. Can you come over today?"

  He paused. "Yes. What time is good for you?"

  "Now?"

  "I can be there in half an hour."

  "Thanks, Jeff." She changed into jeans and a T-shirt. Her hair went up in a ponytail, and she didn't bother with makeup. This wasn't a date. This was the day that would change his life forever.

  * * *

  Jeff rang Georgia's bell half an hour later, excited that she'd called him, yet worried about the urgency. His grin fell when Georgia opened the door. Her mouth was a straight, tight line, and she looked pale. "Is everything all right?"

  "Please come in and sit down. We need to talk." She took the couch and he settled in the chair across from her.

  He set his elbows on his thighs, leaning forward. "What's going on?"

  She looked up at the ceiling and started laughing nervously. "I cannot believe I'm telling you this. I still think it's just a dream, but I'm pregnant."

  He blinked at her and his stomach dropped. Was she joking?

  "It's yours. I haven't been with anyone else."

  His mouth opened and closed a few times. "We're having a baby?"

  She nodded.

  He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes, holding back the tears he felt forming. A baby? This was better than his two Super Bowl wins combined. Better than anything that had ever happened to him. He was speechless.

  "I'm keeping the baby, and if you don't want to be involved, that's fine, I just thought you should know."

  "Don't want to be involved? My biggest regret in life is not having children. And here you're telling me I'm going to be a father?" He moved to sit next to her. "Georgia, this is amazing."

  "Maybe for you, but not for me. I'm too old. And we don't even know each other."

  "We're going to get to know each other now. I'll provide whatever you need. I'll go to all the appointments." He reached for her hand and she twined her fingers between his.

  "It's nice to know you're okay with this," she said softly.

  "Don't you hear me? I'm better than okay, I'm thrilled."

  She nodded. "We shouldn't tell too many people. It's early. Things
can happen ..."

  "You're going to be fine. Let's go out to dinner to celebrate." He didn't want to leave her side. He wanted to spend every moment with her until their baby was born, protecting her, keeping her happy, getting her whatever she needed.

  She shook her head. "I've been throwing up nonstop."

  "Well, you need to eat. Let me bring you something instead. Soup? Sandwiches? Anything you want, I'll go get it."

  She twisted her lips, thinking. Then quietly she said, "There is one thing I really want, but it's a little crazy."

  "Anything. You name it."

  "I have a craving for Tony Pepperoni's balsamic mushroom wood-fired pizza. That's two towns away. But it's the only thing I can think of that doesn't make me want to hurl."

  He laughed. "I know where it is. No problem. I'll call it in right now. Be back in an hour or so." He stood up and squeezed her shoulder.

  After placing the order, he hopped in his car and cranked up the music, singing along. Sure, this wasn't the ideal way to have a child, but damn! He was going to have a baby. And if he was lucky, he could have Georgia, too. A family, like he'd always wanted.

  When Jeff returned with the pizza, Georgia scarfed down three slices. "This is so good," she managed to say between mouthfuls.

  "I had them make two extras that you can heat up. Anytime you need another one, tell me, and I'll either pick it up or have someone deliver it. Whatever you want from me, it's yours."

  Would she ever say she wanted him?

  Georgia smiled, then stretched and yawned. "Right now, I want to take a nap. I'm exhausted all the time."

  He stood to leave. "No problem. Call me if you need me, any time."

  * * *

  After her nap, Georgia gathered up the courage to tell her friends. They came over after dinner, looking concerned.

  "I hate to say it, but you don't look great," Marly said. "Is everything okay?"

  "I lied to you guys. I did go out with Jeff. Well, we didn't actually go out, I brought him back to my place that night and ..."

  Kyra gasped. "You hooked up?"

  Georgia nodded. "And now I'm pregnant."

  Marly and Kyra stared at her, saying nothing.

  "Did you hear me? I'm having a baby."

  "I'm sorry, my brain is rewiring itself with this news," Marly said, shaking her head.