LANA MASON
"Ah!" My mom squeaks and claps for my arrival as I meet her and my dad outside of Pig & Butter, my chosen birthday breakfast spot. It's near my old apartment and I miss it.
"Hi," I laugh at her sweet reaction to seeing me, hugging her and trying not to sob while doing so. This will be the first time I'm seeing her since I found out the news two weeks ago, and she has no idea yet. No one but Maya and Jackie knows as of right now.
"How is our favorite 26-year-old?" She beams and touches my hair as I stand on my toes to hug my dad.
I make a lighthearted sound of disgust. "Don't remind me."
"Oh, shush," she hugs me from the side again before we venture inside the restaurant where the air is so cool and forgiving in comparison to the June heat.
"Hi!" The blonde girl at the podium smiles at the three of us. "Did you have a reservation?"
"For Lana," I nod. "Three of us."
"Lana," she echoes and searches her list. "Yeah! Right this way."
We follow her to the middle of the restaurant where she tries to sit us at a four-person table, but all the booths are open and the restaurant isn't even half-full. I ask her if we can sit against the wall instead, and she's happy to oblige, placing our menus at the booth table for us. We all thank her before sliding into the red cushioned seats with my parents sitting across from me.
"Well?" My dad smirks. "How does it feel to be another year older?"
It feels pretty fucking wild now that I'm growing a human inside of me.
"Not that different," I lie straight through my teeth. "Another year, another...whatever people say."
"Do you have any fun plans with your friends?"
"Well, Harry had to work late last night so Jackie spent the night with me and Maya and we went all out with a girls' night. We did face masks, painted our nails, watched romantic comedies, and ate a bunch of junk food."
"Oh, that sounds so nice," my mom tilts her head. "Do you think you'll be living at Maya's for much longer? I mean, I would if I were you."
We pause as our waitress comes to take our beverage order. My mom and I choose orange juice, but my dad sticks with water and a black coffee before we study our menus. It's been a while since I've been here, but I could easily eat one of everything right now. I swear, my baby is starving simply because its father is a chef. He or she just knows.
"But yeah, I don't know how much longer I'll be living at Maya's," I continue. "I could afford to get my own place now, but...I don't know, I guess I have high hopes that Harry will ask me to move in with him soon, so I don't want to be stuck with a lease if that's the case."
"Have you two talked about living together before?" My dad asks.
I wrinkle my nose as I try to think back. "I think our issue is that he pays me to watch Jane, so it gets a little confusing and weird if I live there but he's paying me to watch his daughter still...you know what I mean? Like, if I officially move in with him, it seems like I should just be responsible for her without expecting payment."
"But you're still her nanny," my mom argues. "Did he say he wouldn't pay you if you lived with him or something?"
"No, no, no," I quickly dismiss that idea. "He's the one who insisted on paying me again once Allison wanted me back and everything. He's always been really fair about that, but I guess I would feel strange taking his money if we were living together. It's a conversation we still need to have."
