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She started crying again and said, “So you think I’m…stupid?”
Oh, fuck.
Richard was so much better at talking or listening to crying women. He said consoling those who were hurting, suffering, was a part of his job. The fact that he wasn’t here now, to help with his own sister who was in pain, pissed me off. I couldn’t slip out and make a call to him, explaining what was going on. Right now, I’m all she had, and hopefully it was going to be enough.
“Katherine, what I meant was I’d have made a horrible father and you know it. But you’re going to be an amazing mother. You’re everything I’m not.”
“I’m…single,” she sniffed.
Nothing wrong with being single. I love it.
“And you’re caring, loving, thoughtful, and able to give and receive love. Your baby will be spoiled rotten,” I said.
She got back up and started packing. “You don’t get it, Robert. I’m thirty-nine.”
She was right, I didn’t get what had her so upset. What did her age have to do with it? “Mom was the same age when she had you,” I reminded her.
“But I wasn’t her first.”
“A twenty-year gap between us and you, I’m sure she felt like you were her first. Besides, she was used to raising two hellion boys, not a…sweet girl,” I said trying to joke with her, because she gave my parents more stress than me and my brother. Katherine didn’t even crack a grin.
“You really don’t get it do you. Mom got lucky, but age makes pregnancy…high-risk.”
I hadn’t thought about that. Then again, since I’ve never been a father, there was no reason for me to understand all the health risks around pregnancy, I just knew there were some. I didn’t have time to read up on them now, and hopefully Katherine didn’t mind providing me what information I was lacking. “What does high-risk mean exactly? That you could…die?”
“There’s always a chance of that when you have a baby, but that’s not what it means. It means they will need to watch my blood pressure more closely and other things too because of my age. But I’m not worried about myself,” she said.
Well, I sure as hell am.
She choked back a sob. “If any little thing goes wrong with me, I could…lose the baby. And even if I don’t, having a child at my age has a risk for the baby too. There could be birth defects which are out of my control.”
Reaching over, I grabbed hold of her hand and said, “I won’t pretend to know much about pregnancy, but I can tell you one thing Mom and Dad always said.”
“What is that?” she asked.
“Think positive for positive results. I’m sure that applies to pregnancy as well,” I said.
She chuckled. “That’s the advice you got?”
I shrugged. “Just know that you’re not alone in this. Whatever you need, I’m here for you.” I had a vision of her asking me to be in the delivery room with her and quickly added, “Well, almost anything. If you need someone to go in there with you, you’d better ask one of your friends, or the father of that baby.” She hadn’t mentioned him yet, but it needed to be discussed, so I was opening that door.
“He’s…not in the picture.”
“Because?” I prodded.
“Are you really going to make me say it?” she snapped. I waited and she said, “Okay. Fine. He’s a piece of shit who didn’t care about anything but having sex with me. Said if he wanted kids, he’d have had them a long time ago and that I should get rid of it.”
I couldn’t fault the guy for knowing what he wanted and didn’t want, but telling my sister that she should have an abortion was too far. My protective nature kicked in. “What the fuck is his name? I’ll set his ass straight.”
“No, you won’t! If that’s the way he feels, I don’t want him in my child’s life. We are better off without him,” she stated firmly.
“You’re right. You don’t need him. For that matter, you don’t need anyone. You’re one of the strongest women I know. That doesn’t mean I’m backing out on my offer to be there for you. So, what can I do to help?” I asked.
“I’m…not feeling good. I get lightheaded, tired, and nauseous so much right now. Never mind moody.”
I grinned, and she raised her hand, adding, “Don’t even say it, Robert.”
I heeded her warning. “Never crossed my mind.”
