I nod, and Dad takes the lead. “Hey there, champ. This is your Gramps. Can’t wait to meet you. We’re gonna be champ and Gramps—the deadly duo. Us against the world. You’ve got the best mommy. I hope you know that, kid.” Dad sends me a soft smile, and never-ending tears stream down my cheeks. “You be safe in there, and I’ll be waiting to meet you. We’ll be fishin’ together in no time.”
“I love you, Dad,” I tell him, wrapping my arms around his neck as he stands.
“Love you too, Tenley Belle. We’ve missed you. But it seems you had some company.” Dad raises his brows, insinuating what I’m assuming to be the male company that got me knocked up.
“I did,” I answer bluntly. There’s no use in trying to mask it. Can’t get pregnant without some decent sperm. “Wild, huh?”
Well, technically, I almost tried that.
“Keith. Leave her alone,” Mom sneers, and Dad aborts his probing. “Tenley, sweetie, why don’t we have some tea on the porch swing together? Catch up a bit.”
“Sure.” I smile, grabbing the mug Mom hands me and following her to the back porch.
“Here, let me help you.” Mom steadies the swing so I don’t fall, and I take a seat next to her as she slides the side table in front of me to prop my feet on. “Thanks,” I stutter, rubbing circles across my chest.
Heartburn should be criminal.
“So, how you doing, sweet pea? It’s been a while, and I want to make sure my baby girl is doing okay. I’d say you’ve had some major life changes since we left.”
I send Mom a soft smile, and without warning, a sob escapes me, leaving me a blubbering mess. I’ve kept so many feelings bottled up inside; it only takes one question from my mom to release them all. “Oh, honey,” Mom sighs. “Talk to me.”
“I feel crazy, Mom,” I cry. “Nothing like myself. Everything either makes me emotional or sets me off. There’s no in between.”
“I remember that feeling.” Mom chuckles.
“Please tell me it goes away.”
“I’m afraid not. Well, not until the baby is here, I should say. It’s par for the course, I’m afraid.”
“I just…feel crazy. I’m acting like a possessive girlfriend with August when I have no right to be. It’s ridiculous and I know it. But for whatever reason, I can’t help it.”
“August?” Mom questions. “That’s the father, right? Correct me if I’m wrong.”
I nod. I called Mom and Dad when they first left for their worldwide trip and told them I was pregnant. Last they heard, I was about to pay an arm and a leg for insemination, but didn’t make it that far. Calling them after my appointment with the news that I was, in fact, pregnant, was a strange conversation to navigate.
Thankfully, I have the greatest parents who extended their support, even from the other side of the world.
I’ve talked with them off and on, but they have yet to formally meet him.
I know my parents will love August. But the idea of introducing him assolelymy child’s father doesn’t sit right with me. Not when he feels like so much more.
“I’m assuming you and August were friends before this, right?” Mom asks.
“I don’t know if I’d call it that. More like…frenemies.”
Mom eyes me skeptically. “Okay…then I’d like to think he sees the best in you, honey. Men may be clueless when it comes to women, but I’m a firm believer that when you have a child with someone, you’re given a sudden intuition about each other. One that can’t always be explained.”
That’s exactly how I feel.
August gets me, and I’m learning quickly how well I get him.
“That’s how I feel,” I admit. “But I hate it.”
Mom laughs. “You always have been stubborn. But let me ask you something, sweetie.”
I wait patiently for her question. “Okay.”
“Do you love this man? Does August make you happy? Does your heart race when he’s near? Is he at the center of your thoughts? Do you miss him while he’s away?”
