You realize we've known each other our whole lives right?

It was Saturday and usually my favorite day of the week.

Normally I get to sleep in for as much as I wanted to. But that day was different. I didn't even feel like sleeping at all. I was exhausted. It was like I had absolutely no ounce of strength left in me. I guess it was due to how much I threw up that morning. My body felt entirely week, I was extremely nauseous and my stomach had been grumbling probably in need of food, but that wasn't a risk I felt like taking because I ended up throwing up whatever entered my mouth. All in all, it was a terrible start to my long awaited Saturday. A complete contrast to how I pictured it.

It was already evening when I managed to wake up from the sleep I somehow managed to get. Not that I've had enough of the sleep. I totally didn't, because Don had the worst timing ever. He just had to call when I finally found some sleep. That was what woke me up as well as what had me staring blankly at the ceiling of my room.

The thing was, he hardly called me. You might think it's weird since we've known each other for long but it's the truth. Don and I had been friends for like forever. Since childhood. Way longer than Ray and I had been. And if there was one thing to note about our friendship, it's that he has never been one to reach out to me. At least not on a regular, since his once in a million times call counts. It was therefore surprising to see that he had been doing the opposite since the last time we had met. That was when I gave him the news.

His calls had turned regular for about a week. But what was funny was how weird he always sounded, trying hard to know how I was doing, but never out rightly asking about the baby's wellbeing and I didn't try to tell either. It was like we both had a silent agreement not to touch the topic and it was very okay with me.

Don had called four times in thirty minutes and I wondered if he had something different to say. You might be wondering why I didn't know, since he called. You probably guessed right. Because, yeah! I did not pick up. After the first one disrupted my sleep, I watched all the other calls ring till the end. For some inexplicable reason, I couldn't bring myself to pick up. I still can't give you a reason for that. Let's just blame it on my mood that day.

The doorbell ringing disrupted my thoughts. I hated that I had to get down from the bed to go get the door. But it wasn't like I had a choice then. It was at such times that I missed Ray a lot, but that went out the window when I saw who was at the door.

I kept staring at the nervous looking Don through the intercom monitor. It was a rare sight since Don usually screamed confidence at all times and though I knew I shouldn't be getting any pleasure out of the situation, I still did. It wasn't a sight I'd let pass me.

After a few minutes of staring, I finally opened the door to a completely calm looking Don. Nothing like how he had been looking a few minutes ago. In the few minutes he had been standing outside, he has managed to pull himself together. His expression now clear of any nervousness, but that lasted only as long as it took him to look at my face because his calm demeanor dropped, suddenly replaced by a worried look.

"Are you okay, Jess?" He asked looking me up and down then reaching out a hand to my shoulders before quickly dropping it back as if he got burned. I guess he thought it better not to. I just nodded without saying anything else.

"Are you sure?" He asked "because you look ...., ........................ terrible Jess" he added and I gave him a weak smile in return. I guess it did come out weak then, since his reaction to that said it all.

"Never pegged you for a worrier, Don" I said in a very hoarse voice. I guess that's what not talking since morning does to your voice. His eyes went wide before he gave me a faint smile in return.

"I enjoy seeing this worried version of you, Don" I added. I suddenly wanted to get a different reaction from him but he just shrugged, his other hand which was empty moved to his pocket as he strode past me to get into the apartment. That was when I noticed the paper bag he was holding on the other hand.

"What's that you've got?" I asked pointing to the bag."Oooh, this?" He said raising the bag." I picked it from Didi’s. Thought you'll like it since it's your favourite place." He added in a very casual tone as if it wasn't a big deal but it was. He handed me the bag and turned back to head into the kitchen while I remained dumbstruck looking at his back and then down at the bag in my hands.

"Since when do you know my favourite place, Don?" I asked as I followed him into the kitchen. I had no idea he knew how much I loved Didi’s pastries. That got me thinking. ( or had he always known? Because if yes, then that was surprising).

He suddenly stopped, making me crash into him from behind since I was busy rummaging through the paper bag which was filled with different pastries. He gripped my shoulders to steady me while staring at me. It seemed he said something because he was looking at me as if waiting for an answer. I quirked an eyebrow in question since I missed what he said.

"You realize we've known each other our whole lives right?" He asked. That got me dumbfounded for a while. His gaze on me was another thing making me nervous. He kept looking at me obviously waiting for an answer.

"I asked a question, Jess" he said raising an eyebrow."Oh, I thought it was rhetorical" I said playing dumb while he gave me a 'you are not serious' kind of look, before he shrugged and turned back to continue walking.

I wondered why he asked that question. You never know what's going through his head. He was so unreadable and that bothered me sometimes. But one thing I knew was that he always had a reason for asking things. He wasn't the curious type, so whatever that question meant couldn't have been simple since he was probably the most calculating person I knew. That's if you count my mum out, anyway.

(What was he thinking?)