Chapter 138 You Have to Choose
With her best friend now on her eighth month of pregnancy, Emily didn’t get to see her as much as she liked. Pam had been working pretty much nonstop in the last few months until the doctor told her she was too stressed out and needed to go on bed rest.
“What have you got for me there?” Pam asked, lying back in her bed on a big pile of pillows.
“Who says it’s for you?” Emily teased. She was holding a shopping bag with a paper-wrapped present sticking out of the top.
“You didn’t just bring this present over here to torment me when it’s meant for someone else?” Pam said, looking fake horrified.
“Okay, it’s for you.” Emily handed over the bag and watched eagerly as Pam unwrapped the shiny gift paper.
A long-sleeved dress with cute ruffles emerged from the package.
“Maternity dress! Thank you, this is just what I need!” Pam said. “None of my clothes fit me anymore. I swear I go up a size every single day.”
“I’m glad this helps.” Emily sat down on the bed and gave her friend a hug.
“I can’t wait to get this baby out of my *ss,” Pam complained.
Emily burst out laughing. “I don’t think they come out of your *ss. Sounding very maternal there.”
“I want to go out and do stuff!” Pam exclaimed. “This whole bed rest thing is boring. Although Mike brings me ice cream sundaes whenever I like, so it’s not a bad trade-off.”
“You’ve got to take it easy,” Emily cautioned.
“I know. The stupid company wouldn’t give me any time off, which is how I got overworked.”
“What?! I didn’t know that,” Emily said, “I thought you wanted to keep working.”
It was true that Pam wanted to keep working at least in some capacity. But then, she knew it shouldn’t have been a surprise that the same company that unfairly fired her would have no understanding for a pregnant woman.
Emily bit her lip in disgust. “That’s really not cool. You should quit and come work for me instead.”
“Oh, you don’t really mean that. You’re just feeling sorry for me.”
“No, I mean it. I need the help. With the men’s line I’m way busier than I thought I’d be. Katie is helping me run it, but with her classes and everything she can’t afford to work full time.”
“So you’re going to put a teenager in charge of me?” Pam pouted.
“Don’t be silly, no one could be in charge of you,” Emily said.
Pam took on a brighter expression. “You mean it?”
“Yes, you could work in sales. I’ll definitely need more sales people for to promote the new line.”
“When do I start?” Pam asked.
“Right after your baby comes out of your *ss. Just kidding, whenever you’re ready. You’ll probably need time to rest and hang out with your baby in the first few months.”
“I’m going to take a month maximum to get to know the baby, and then I want to be back in the working world,” Pam said.
Emily knew she was serious because Pam needed an outlet for all her energy, and being a stay-at-home mother was not going to satisfy her for very long.
“It would be a huge help.” Emily was not just being nice. She really needed someone to take some responsibility off her hands as she was extremely busy planning her wedding. She still taught some classes at her art studio, though she was always cutting back how many classes she could teach and hiring more and more teachers. “I might have to quit teaching art,” she said sadly. “I just don’t have time to do everything.”
“Sometimes in life you have to choose,” Pam said, “And you should always go for your biggest passion.”
“You’re right.” Emily sighed deeply. “I might only have time to teach art once a month."
"You should do that. You could be a special ‘guest star’ in your art studio, like the founder who has faded into legend."
"Haha that makes me sound pretty cool. Maybe I should because I’m much more excited about the fashion line… and my wedding!”
Now that Sylvia was on board, they could finally get down to planning the wedding instead of fighting.
