Em shakes her head. “Apparently it’s too boring going down the slide. You should see him on the seesaw.”

As if he’s heard, Freddie runs to the seesaw, squeezes his two feet onto the narrow seat at one end, grips the handle, and bounces up and down with such force I’m sure he’s going to fly into the air and land on his head like some animated cartoon character.

“How can you watch?” I ask, picturing Freddie’s skull cracking open.

Emma sighs. “It’s a mother’s prerogative to stand by and watch helplessly as their child tries to find new and improved ways to injure themselves.”

“Great.”

She pats my knee, smiling. “It’s not all bad, Trish.”

I try to block the fact I’m nearly five months pregnant from my mind. Again. Denial has worked well so far and I’m determined to cling to it as long as I can.

“So, why is your boss suspicious?” Emma asks.

Damn. Now I have to face facts.

“She saw me undo the button of my trousers when we were in a meeting. I was trying to be discreet about it, but they were digging into me and I couldn’t get comfortable.”

“You could have just gained a few pounds.”

I lift an eyebrow. “As if she’d believe that.”

“True.”

I go to the gym five days a week and check calories on food labels the way others check Instagram. Emma would be horrified to learn I’ve already weighed myself three times today and each time I stepped off the scales, I had a ridiculous urge to burst into tears.

“It’s a good thing, Trish.” Emma eyes me with concern. “You’re supposed to gain weight when you’re pregnant. I was worried when you were throwing up all the time.”

“Thank God that’s over.” I quickly put a hand on the seat beside me. “Touch wood.” All this pregnancy talk is not what I need right now. “Have you heard from Mags since she got back?”

“Nope. She’s coming tonight, though. We can grill her then.”

“Excellent. I thought she might be too jet-lagged.”

Emma grins. “Mags says she’s too high on life to be jet-lagged.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Reading between the lines, would you say that means she’s been getting some action?”

“Definitely.”

“Wow.” I consider what this means for a moment. “Just between you and me, it’s going to feel a little weird talking about… well… her sex life.”