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“Because it’s the truth. You don’t want to date a man with a child and you’re blowing this out of proportion to use it as an excuse to end things.”
She rolls her eyes and walks over to where she left her purse and pulls it off the table. “The fact that you would even say that to my face is so insulting.”
“Then prove me wrong. Stay. Let’s talk about this.”
She stares me down for a few seconds, then says, “You want me to stay? Okay, I’ll stay. Let’s talk. By the way, you should know I’m pregnant.”
My vision blurs momentarily. “What?”
“I am pregnant. I’ve known for a while now, and I’ve been trying to tell you, but never found the right moment.”
“How long—” my voice catches. I clear my throat and try again. “How long have you known?”
“I found out before we left for Paris.”
“Paris? You’ve known for a month and didn’t tell me?”
“Well, I wanted to wait and see where we stood before I told you. Judging by everything that has happened tonight, I think that was wise.”
“Paige, that’s not fair.”
“Whether it’s fair or not, it is.”
“And are you sure? You’ve gone to the doctor and got tested?” I ask as I collapse onto the couch.
“Yes, I am sure. I’m pregnant.”
“How did this even happen? We’ve always been so careful.”
“Well, contraception isn’t 100%. These things happen.”
“Didyou plan this?”
Her jaw flexes. “I know you’re in shock right now, so I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask if I’m trying trap you.”
“I’m not implying—” I lose the will to converse mid-sentence so I stop talking altogether.
I stare off into space for what feels like an eternity to me, and also to Paige it would seem, because she says, “I can tell this is a lot of information for you to process right now. I’ll give you some time to think about it and then we can talk.”
She turns around and begins to walk out of my apartment. I want to stop her, but I can’t bring my body to stand up from where I’m sitting or even call out to her.
Then she is gone and I am alone.
Paige is pregnant.
I have a son with Felicity.
Two children.
This time last month I had no children. Now I have two.
I had always wanted a family. In fact, that’s one of the reasons marrying Felicity sounded like a good idea. However, at my age, I figured the possibility of any of that happening was slim to none. I had made my peace with that, but here I am having to rejig the image I had of the rest of my life.
Things are changing so fast. Paige is right. This is way too much information coming at me all at once. I need time to process. I need time to think about what all this means, because it’s definitely going to affect my life in a huge way.
I loved my father, but he was the definition of an absentee parent. My dad was the best dad when he was around, but those instances were few and far between. It’s why I am so close to my mother. She was the only one ever there. I swore to myself that if I ever had children I would make myself available in a way I could only have dreamed of as a child.
How am I going to be able to do that now for both of these children? How am I going to split my attention between TJ and the baby Paige is carrying? Especially considering that both children’s mothers want nothing to do with me?
