Always Us (The Jade Series #8) Read Online Free PDF Page A

you’re a nurse,”   I say to Karen as we sit down.
    “Yes, I work in obstetrics. Delivered two babies today.” She smiles. “Well, the doctor did, but I assisted her.”
    “Do you like being a nurse?”
    “I love it. And I love working with new moms, especially first time moms. Some of them are convinced they’ll never make it through labor, but they always do. And once they see their babies, they forget all about the labor.”
    That’s another reason I’m scared to have kids. Being pregnant and going through labor. It sounds horrible. And I’m sure these moms Karen’s referring to don’t forget about the labor part. How could they? You’re in excruciating pain for hours. That’s not something you’d forget.
    “Do they scream a lot?” I ask her.
    “Newborns sleep for most of the day, so no, not really.”
    “Not the babies. The moms.”
    Garret starts laughing. I don’t know why that’s funny. I really want to know the answer. On TV, women are always screaming during labor.
    Karen smiles. “They don’t usually scream. We have ways to deal with the pain.”
    “I would scream. I can’t handle that kind of pain.”
    Garret puts his arm around me. “You’d be fine. You’re tough.”
    “Are you two planning on having children soon?” Karen asks.
    I feel like there’s a giant spotlight on me as Karen, Garret, and Frank all await my answer. I decide to keep it vague. “No, not anytime soon.”
    “The steaks have arrived.” Ryan walks in with the platter and sets it on the table next to the side dishes.
    Frank starts passing the food around while Ryan sits down and says something about the weather. I’m not really listening. I’m just glad he showed up when he did. We needed to get off that childbirth and kid topic. One, because thinking about labor and delivery while people are trying to eat is gross. And two, I didn’t want Karen asking more questions about Garret and me having kids.
    When Garret and I were in the bedroom earlier, I hinted that I want kids. And although I usually joke about it, this time I was serious. A few weeks ago, I started talking to Jennifer about my mom and my childhood and my fear of having kids. And we’ve continued to talk about those things at every session.
    What I’ve realized is that I do want kids someday. I proved that to myself when I thought I was pregnant. I was scared and I wasn’t prepared for it, but part of me was happy about it. And ever since that happened, I’ve felt this strong desire to have kids someday. I love being around Sara’s baby and being around Lilly, and even that little girl I helped at the swim lesson.
    I’ve thought about this a lot, and I know it’s what I want. But I don’t want to tell Garret until I’m absolutely, 100% sure, and I’m not quite there yet.
    Dinner continues and Garret and I tell everyone about our classes and the town we live in. Karen keeps asking us questions, which makes Frank smile. He really wants me to like her. And I do. I think she’s really nice. She seems smart, too. And she’s pretty. Most of all, she seems to really like Frank. She keeps smiling at him and touching his hand—in a loving way, not an I-want-to-have-sex-with-you way. Although if she was touching him that way I wouldn’t notice because I’m blocking those thoughts from my head.
    Karen brought over a pie for dessert. We all have a slice, except for Garret. He rarely eats dessert so that’s not unusual, but what is unusual is that he didn’t eat much of his dinner. He hasn’t eaten much at all the past few days. Maybe he’s coming down with something. There was some kind of respiratory virus spreading around campus before we left. Maybe Garret caught it. He never gets sick, but his lack of sleep the past week could’ve lowered his immune system.
    “Well, I should be going,” Karen says when we’re done with dessert. “I need to get some sleep. I have to be up early for the race and I have to work tomorrow