"It's a girl!"

My mother screamed as the guest from the gender reveal watched the pink balloons fly out from the black box. She ran over to me, rubbing my growing belly.

"You look so good to be six months pregnant! That little girl has you glowing!"

I forced a smile as I surveyed the backyard. I locked eyes with Chris. He smirked at me. He was hoping it was girl. Being that we didn't know if this pregnancy would go to term, we didn't want to get our hopes up. This was a big step for us.

"You are all belly girl!"

I turned around to see Paula, my favorite co-worker, still attractive as ever with a pink dress that flowed behind her. I missed her.

"How did you know?" I asked as I looked her up and down.

"I just knew! I cannot wait to see her angelic face!"

That's when it hit me. I was having a girl. I would say we, but technically this was just my child. I tried to tell myself that this was Chris' child too, but I'd only be fooling myself. Especially since my own father walked out on me as a child. I was constantly at war with myself with letting Fred know that he was about to be a father. It would literally destroy my world as I knew it.

"Thanks for coming!"

I squeezed Paula. She gestured for me to come close to her so that she could whisper in my ear.

"Who's that guy with your fine husband?" she asked looking in Chris' direction.

That's when I saw Will. He's been around a lot lately and something in my spirit did not feel right about it.

"That's one of his friends from the shop." I said dryly.

"Well, is he single? I need to know. I'm ready to settle down!"

We both doubled over in laughter. The truth is, I knew very little about Will and that troubled me. He came around the house unannounced, called Chris all times of the night, and now he was at our gender reveal where we hand-selected who would come. I was sure to bring this up later tonight.

As Paula walked away, I noticed Tiffany in the corner alone. I wobbled my way to her.

"Hey Tiff." I said as I reached out for a hug.

She embraced me for longer than I thought she would.

"Mom did a great job putting this together. I am really happy for you."

She smiled at me, yet I could see the sadness in her eyes. I couldn't tell if she was being genuine or not. The pregnancy has made her more tolerant of me than ever before.

"Is everything OK with you? Is Jas OK?" I asked.

"Oh yeah she's fine. She really wanted to come, but you know she's on that college tour."

"I know, but is everything OK with you?"

Before she could reply, a few of my distant cousins that my mom managed to drag from under a rock, came over to congratulate me. After all the hugs and fake laughs, I looked around for Tiffany but couldn't find her. I knew something was wrong.

I went inside the house to use the bathroom and I heard Tiffany's voice in the distance. She was sitting in the living room on her cell phone. As soon as she saw me, she ended the call abruptly.

"What's going on Tiff?", I asked, getting more impatient by the second.

"Listen, I don't want to ruin your day. Or shake up things for you. Stress and worry are the last thing you need."

Caring for my heath has never been a thing for her. This had to be serious. I could see the tears in her eyes. I was afraid to know now.

"It's OK. Maybe I can help." I said as I walked towards her.

She stood up from the couch and stared me square in the eyes.

"I found dad."