Chapter 15

"Nothing. Just trying to chat."

"Look, maybe you shouldn't do this in the car tonight."

"Got nowhere else to be." She picked up her wine took a long drink from the bottle.

"Christ, Carpool. At least put the keys somewhere safe and get in the back seat. I don't want to see you at the wheel like this."

She hiccuped. "Don't you trust me?"

Drake paused. "No. Back seat or I'm leaving."

She threw the phone in the back and left her bottle on the passenger seat then began to climb through. She kicked the horn a couple of times.

"Be careful." He said.

She wiggled through a little bit and flopped face down between the crack leading to the back and panted a little.

"You doing ok? I can't see you."

She burped. "Little stuck, but I'll get there."

She pushed herself back up and crawling squeezed ger way through to the back and rolled onto the seats, sitting on her phone.

She fumbled to pick it up and jammed it into the back of the front seat headrest to point the camera and screen at her face. "Happy now?"

"Yes, but please stay in the back seat tonight and sleep it off here if you don't sober up."

She nodded and smiled. "okay okay."

Drake sighed. "Good. Just relax a little you seem a bit flustered."

"Sorry. It was hard work getting back here."

"You could have walked around?"

She shook her head but did not say anything more.

"Perhaps the little aisle there is getting a bit too tight to keep doing it that way?" He suggested.

She shrugged. "No. It's fine. Why?"

"Look like a new chin appeared since last time we spoke."

She looked at her face in the camera and rubbed the little chubbiness around her neck and cheeks. "I didn't see that. i guess i only really look at myself from a different angle."

"It's pretty obvious, I'm not going to lie."

She reached to the front to pick up her bottle and took a drink. "Is it bad?"

"What? no. I'm just a little surprised. Three months ago you looked a fair bit different. Looks like you've been eating well."

She unhooked the phone and showed him the pile of empty wrappers filling up the passenger legroom and seat.

"Holy shit." He blurted with a cough.

She secured the phone back to face her. "Yeah. I have nothing else to do, really."

Drake said nothing for a moment before answering. "Did you eat all that?"

She nodded.

"Don't mean to be rude, but doesn't that pile smell a bit?"

She shrugged. "I don't really notice."

"And that's from this month?"

"Fortnight maybe. Haven't cleaned up in a while."

Drake went silent again.

She drank from the bottle and hiccuped again. "Hello?"

"Sorry, just don't really know what to say about that."

Now Evie went quiet and a little bit red in the face. "I guess this is a bit obvious too? She said rolling up her t-shirt and pointing her phone down at her body.

Drake made a confused noise.

Evie sat awkwardly, still holding her t shirt up. Her round belly just sitting comfortably on her lap, three angry looking red stripes ran from somewhere underneath up towards her belly button.

"That can't be real." He said, eventually.

Evie didn't know what to say. She just poked it dramatically to prove it wasn't a costume. "Is it too big?"

"No. It's not. But it is bigger than i thought it was going to be."

Evie felt a strange flutter and bit her lip. "What did you expect?"

"Maybe an extra five... ten pounds at most."

She stared a little blankly. "I don't actually know."

"It looks good. But maybe you're overdoing it a bit?"

She took another drink of wine and burped. "No. No I'm not." She found herself suddenly feeling defensive.

Drake stammered. "No, I don't mean anything bad."

She hiccuped. "I can eat what I want and as much as I want."

Drake tried to interrupt but struggled to find words.

She relaxed and smiled. "Don't you worry about me."

He sighed. "I'll try."

She ran her hand along the underside of her belly. "Good. Because i am starving. I've been waiting all evening to have dinner with you."

"Do you want me to call a takeaway to come to you?"

She shook her head. "No. I got enough earlier, I hope."

"Well, how much do I owe you?"

"You don't."

Drake tried to reply, but Evie was reaching into the car boot and pulling out a swiss roll.