Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 132464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“Good to see you smiling about it.”
I pause, surprised. “It’s actually kind of amazing how fast a guy can adjust to a new reality when there’s no other option,” I say.
“Happiness depends upon ourselves,’” Jonas says.
“Gosh, thanks, Plato.”
“Aristotle. You want Plato?”
“No,” I say.
“‘There are two things a person should never be angry at: what they can help, and what they cannot.’”
“Incredibly profound,” I say. “I feel magically better now. Hey, you wanna see something wild?” I pull out my phone and show Jonas the sonogram video Kat sent me the other day.
“Sarah was there?” Jonas asks at the sound of Sarah’s voice asking the doctor to explain the image on the sonogram screen.
“Yeah. Kat blabbed to her at lunch right before her doctor’s appointment. I guess Sarah didn’t wanna steal my thunder by telling you—she thought I should break the news to you.” I put my hands out like ta-da! “‘Hey, Jonas—you’re gonna be an uncle!’” I say with faux excitement. “There, I told you.”
Jonas shakes his head. “I’m impressed Sarah was able to keep such a big secret.”
“Kat couldn’t keep a secret to save her life,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Actually, I wouldn’t have minded Sarah telling you. I wish I could crawl under a rock and not have to tell anyone, to be honest.”
“You’re not jumping for joy about your impending fatherhood, I take it?”
“Pretty much shitting a brick.”
“So when’s the baby due?” Jonas asks. He calls another shot and sinks it with ease, yet again, and I place my stick on a rack in the corner in utter resignation.
“December second,” I reply. “Sagittarius.”
“Sagittarius?”
“Just like Henn.”
Jonas laughs. “Oh, shit. That’d be funny if you had a kid just like Henn.”
I can’t help but join Jonas laughing. That really would be funny.
“So do you believe all that astrology stuff?” Jonas asks.
I shrug. “Sort of. Kat’s kind of made a believer out of me, actually.”
Jonas surveys the table, lining up his next shot. “I can’t believe you’re gonna be a father, Josh.”
“So I’m told.”
Jonas stands upright from the table and assesses me for a long beat. “You’re gonna be a fantastic father.”
My cheeks feel hot all of a sudden. “You really think so?”
“I know so. You were born to be a father, Josh—more than anyone I know. It’s in your DNA—you got it from Mom. You take care of people—it’s who you are—who you’ve always been.”
“Wow. Thank you.”
“It’s the God’s truth. That’s one lucky kid.”
I bite my lip. “Thanks, Jonas.”
Jonas leans over the pool table again, assessing his next shot. “Can you even imagine what Dad would be saying right now? ‘I’ll disown you faster than that gold-digger can demand a paternity test!’”
“Dude, stop, please. I don’t have to imagine it—I’ve been hearing Dad’s voice screaming in my ear since Kat dropped the baby-bomb on me.”
Jonas calls his next shot and sinks it with ease.
“Mr. Faraday?”
I look toward the door. It’s the violinist Theresa hired for me, a petite Asian woman in a black dress.
“The cellist and I are all set up in the dining room,” the woman says. “Do you want us to stay hidden in the kitchen until your signal, or... how do you wanna play this?”
I look at my watch. Kat should be here in just under thirty minutes. “I think you should start playing the minute my girlfriend walks through the front door—you know, set the mood right away that this is gonna be a magical night for her.”
“Okay, great,” the violinist says. “We’ll just stand in position and wait for your signal, then.”
“Why don’t you start playing the minute the doorbell rings? That can be your signal.”
“Perfect. Oh, and the chef wanted me to tell you he’s all ready, too. He has a few questions.”
“Great. Will you tell him I’ll be right out? I’m about to get my ass whooped. Shouldn’t take too long.”
She chuckles and leaves.
“Wow, you’re really going balls to the wall here,” Jonas says. “Flowers. Candles. Chef. Violin. Cello. I gotta get everyone’s contact info from you—Sarah would go nuts for something like this.”
“Email T-Rod and ask her for the info—she set everything up for me.”
Jonas leans down and lines up his next shot. “Well, yeah, I figured.”
“She just gouged me for a forty percent raise, by the way. The woman’s a shark.”
“She deserves every penny.”
I laugh. “True.”
“Oh, which reminds me—thanks for the bottle of champagne and fruit basket you sent to Sarah and me in Mykonos to congratulate us on our engagement. So thoughtful of you.”
We both burst out laughing.
“You’re so welcome,” I say. “It was the least I could do.”
“I ought to chip in for half of Theresa’s raise. Half the shit you do for me is probably her.”
“I’m not gonna dignify that with a response,” I say, though he’s one hundred percent right.
“One-ball in the side pocket,” Jonas says, just before sinking the shot. “So did Theresa help you pick out Kat’s ring, too? Something that’ll ‘sear her corneas’—I believe was the phrase you used when you nagged me about it?”