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Having a baby is not a decision I can change my mind about later, and I’m not sure where I stand.
I wish I could get some fresh air, but, apparently, it’s unthinkable for the best man to abandon the groom. As second-in-command, it is my sacred duty to stay put for the next two hours with nothing to do but stare at the walls. Of my two cellmates, the groom seems the most relaxed. Logan is lounging in an armchair, reading a book—he had the sense to bring some entertainment—and looking as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. Tucker, on the other end, is sitting straight-backed on the couch, hands resting on his legs, knees bouncing up and down in a nervous rhythm.
What doeshehave to be nervous about?
I can’t stand the cabin fever any longer, so I open a window to at least let in some air. Then I sit on one of the revolving chairs in front of the mirrors lining the back wall and spin around a few times. Neither gesture helps to clear my head. Maybe talking would be a better approach.
“Hey, Logie Bear,” I say, distracting the groom from his reading.
“Yeah?” My best friend lifts his gaze from his book.
“You think you and Winter will have kids soon?”
Logan shifts a bookmark to the right page, closes the book, and puts it to rest on his lap. “We decided it’d be better to wait until the work in Thailand is over. I wouldn’t want to travel so much when they were little.”
“But that shouldn’t take too long to wrap,” I say.
“No, exactly. And now that she’s cut back on wild photography expeditions and has her teaching job at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, we’re in a good place to have kids.”
“Kids, plural?”
Logan puts the most annoying, dreamy smile on his face. “Yes, we want at least two.”
“And was she okay sacrificing her professional life to have a family?”
“She was tired of all the traveling and wanted to put down roots. And we both agreed it’d be better to raise our kids in a smaller town so that’s why she’s moved to Berkley and I didn’t go to LA. But if a great opportunity came along, she could always take the job and leave the kids with me. Her assignments are usually one or two weeks tops.” He frowns now. “Well, not leave them as newborns, I suppose, when she was still breastfeeding and stuff, but later, why not?”
“You sound like a wet nurse.”
“Hey, you asked. Anyway, both our lives will have to change. I’ve already asked for more teaching hours. And starting next year, I’ll teach both semesters. The dean at Berkley has been thrilled; I’m their Indiana Jones right now. We both want a more stabilized lifestyle.”
“So, no more expeditions? No more adventures?”
Logan sighs. “Finding the lost city of gold has been my life’s achievement. I can be contented with that.”
“And when were you planning on telling me this?”
“I’m starting a family; I thought it was obvious I won’t be spending half the year traveling around the globe anymore.”
Nu-uh, dude, it wasn’tobvious,I want to scream.
“Maybe not half the year, but I thought you’d still take trips and have Winter tag along as official photographer.”
“Not for the foreseeable future. Not unless something really big came along and Winter wanted to follow.”
So, no more trips around the world with my best friend. My life is already changing, whether I want it to or not.
I turn to Tucker. “And what about you?”
“Yeah, a more stabilized life would be good.”
“No, I was talking about the kids thing. You want them?”
Tucker shrugs. “Oh, that. Yeah, sure.”
“Just like that. You don’t have to think about it for even a second.”
“No, I’ve always wanted to be a father.”
