Cool Mom

72: Pizza Hut

"Bye Hazel!" I say as she hops out of her car seat that Daniel and I are now letting her unbuckle as a treat for turning four.

"When are you going to tell her?" Tess asks as I pull out of the drop-off lane.

"I'm regretting telling you." I sigh.

She shifts in the passenger seat so that she's facing me, "I'm serious! Hazel will be so excited!"

I don't say anything as I stare at the road ahead, thoughts from my childhood weighing heavily on my mind.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Tess breaks my stance.

I sigh and look at her as we stop at a traffic signal, "You were born when I was six and I may love you now but I hated the idea of sharing mom and dad with you back then."

Realization dawns on her face as she takes in my words, "You're scared that Hazel won't like the baby."

"If there is a baby." I sigh, beginning to drive as the signal turns green.

"Okay. I'm not mom but you need to be reminded of some things." She says, her voice more stern that usual. "Stop thinking of all the 'what-ifs'! You are through two months already! Just take care of yourself, like your doctor said that you should. And as far as Hazel and the baby's relationship are concerned, there really isn't much you can do. You'll just have to wait and see. So stop torturing yourself about it!"

"When did you get so wise?" I take my eyes off the road to smile at her.

"See. It's that simple when put in words." She tells me.

"Thank you." I tell her, "I needed someone to put things into perspective."

"When are you going to tell everyone else?"

I groan, "And we're back to square one."

"Tell me!"

"Fine! In another month or so, probably when my second trimester begins." I reply, thinking of the rest of the discussion with Daniel from the night at the hospital.

"I can't wait!" She squeals, making me laugh.

Another twenty minutes later, I park the car in the airport drop-off lane and stand to one side as Tess takes out her suitcase from the boot before turning to me.

"It was great seeing you." She says, hugging me.

"You too." I say into her shoulder.

When we pull away, she slings her laptop bag onto her shoulder and takes hold of her suitcase.

"Say hi to Phil from us when you see him in New York!" I say as she gives me one last hug and then says goodbye before walking towards the security gate.

I watch her disappear into the crowd before getting back into the car. I'm almost home when Daniel calls.

"What are you up to?" He asks.

"Almost home from the airport. I thought I'd rest a few hours and then get Hazel from school." I tell him.

He's silent for a second during which I ask, "Daniel?"

"Well, I was craving pizza. But if you're tired." He trails off, making me smile. He remembers. I craved pizza all through my pregnancy with Hazel.

"I am supposed to keep up a good diet." I drawl.

"Good old Pizza Hut?" He suggests.

"Good old Pizza Hut." I agree.

Twenty minutes later, I'm at the agreed Pizza Hut branch, seated at a table in the middle of the restaurant which is bustling with lunch eaters.

"Good afternoon." Daniel says, walking up behind me and sitting down at a seat next to me since it's a table of four.

"How has your day been?" I ask him.

"Tiring. Which is why I thought from here, we could get Hazel and then head home." He says.

"Good boy." I smile at him and ruffle his hair.

We order a pizza to share and have a plain cheese pizza packed for Hazel. He tells me about office and recent drops in staff morale when they realized that Daniel is missing from office at night when he frequently pulled all-nighters with them in recent time.

"It's for your health. Which is much more important than a handful of demotivated staff." I say, taking his hand in mine.

Suddenly, I feel him tense under my touch.

"Is everything okay?" I ask him.

He glares at something behind me before turning his gaze back to me, "It's a high ranking official from Alan and co. and I think he overheard the end of our conversation."

"How?" I ask confused.

"He was standing with his back to us, talking on the phone. I didn't realize who he was." Daniel sighs and leans back in his chair.

"It's alright." I tell him, rubbing his hand.

I'm so sorry for the lag in updates but there has been a lot going on in my life and for now I think that things are back under control but I can't promise anything. However, I do promise that updates will never come to a halt. I hope you all understand :)

And THANK YOU FOR 17K+ READS!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! <3

-T

P.S. Things in the story will start moving again! The next update will be exciting :)