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“How do I look?” she says. Her belly is still flat, and I can’t wait until it starts curving. I’ve never thought of myself as the kind of man who would be attracted to a pregnant woman, but I have a feeling that with Cora, my zeal will increase with her pregnancy. Already she’s glowing.
“You look beautiful.”
“Okay, let’s do this,” she says, and we walk to the front door hand in hand.
I’m getting used to holding Cora’s hand whenever we are walking together. It’s to help her keep her balance. Everyone knows that pregnant women can easily fall and injure themselves and the baby. It’s my job to ensure that doesn’t happen.
The door is usually unlocked on the days we are all expected for dinner, and I don’t bother knocking. I hold it open, and Cora walks in, her feminine scent teasing my nostrils as she goes by. I shut the door and lead her to the living room, where I know everyone is gathered for pre-dinner drinks.
“About time you got here,” Fran says and stands up to hug me.
I take her into my arms while raising an eyebrow at Martin.
“I never told her,” he says.
“Told me what?” Fran demands.
“Never mind,” I tell her as I hug my mom and then my dad.
Cora stands to one side until I pull her into the circle we’ve made and introduce her to everybody. My mom takes Cora’s hands into hers.
“I can’t tell you how nice it is to meet you,” she says.
“What Mom means is that we’d sort of lost hope of Thomas ever falling in love again.”
“Fran!”
My sister must be suffering from pregnancy hormone syndrome. She’s normally a little more reserved.
“It’s nice to meet you all,” Cora says.
Mom grabs a bottle of wine from the table. “Drink?”
“No thanks. I’ll have water please,” Cora says.
While my mom fetches a glass of water for Cora, I pour a glass of wine for myself.
“How long have you two known each other?” Mom asks when she returns with the water.
Cora turns to me.
“Three years on and off.” I keep it vague.
“You really are a dark horse,” Fran says. “All this time, we’ve been giving you a hard time about dating, and you were hiding Cora.”
Cora fidgets in her chair. I know that I’m making us out to be more than we are, but it’s for Cora’s benefit. My parents are good, decent people, but they have traditional values. It won’t come off well to say that we’re having a baby and we only got back together less than a month ago.
I’d planned to tell them about the baby during dinner but seeing as we are already on the topic of my relationship with Cora, I decide to plunge ahead. “Actually, there is something we wanted to talk to you about.”
Everyone goes quiet to look at me. I take Cora’s hand. Even though we’re in front of people, sparks leap from her hand to mine. Her hand trembles slightly, and I squeeze it.
“We’re waiting,” my father says, speaking for maybe the second time that evening. He’s a quiet man, always has been. When he has something he wants to talk about with us, he does it through my mother. When he does talk to you directly, you know that it’s serious.
“Well, Cora and I are expecting a baby in about eight months from now.” A heavy silence follows my announcement.
I knew it would take them by surprise, but I hope that they’ll also respect the fact that I’m a grown man, and I know what I’m doing.
My sister is the first to respond. “Congratulations, you guys! I’m so excited.” She turns to Martin. “Our baby will have a cousin to play with.” Then to Cora. “I was complaining to Martin that our baby won’t have a playmate from my side.” She grins at Cora and me as if we’ve just given her an early Christmas present.
“This is a surprise,” my mom says and then adds quickly, “And a good one at that. Welcome to the family,” she says to Cora warmly.
Martin inserts his own good wishes, and we all turn to my father. He’s the only one who hasn’t voiced his opinion.
“As your mother said, congratulations,” he says gruffly and then meets my gaze. “I hope you plan on doing the right thing by Cora.”
“Of course, I do, Father.” I can feel Cora’s eyes bearing into me, but what am I supposed to say? No, we had sex for old times’ sake and found ourselves pregnant, and now we just want to co-parent. My parents would be horrified and absolutely disgusted with me.
Dad nods, satisfied with my answer. He and my mother love each other completely. They set the bar for marriage high, and I thought I’d found it with Tessa.
To my surprise, pain does not follow that thought as it usually does. My life with Tessa seems so far off as if it happened thousands of years ago. I realize something else. That change happened fairly recently, and after some more thought, I know that it’s because of Cora. She’s given me something else to focus on, and in doing so, I’ve turned attention from myself and my grief to someone else. Though I didn’t want a baby, the thought is exciting, and I often find myself thinking about a tiny red-haired girl.
