Evan chuckled. “Go for it.”
“Let’s call him Fred.” It was close enough he probably wouldn’t fuck up. “Asshole turned up at Fred’s house to talk the same night Fred and I…you know. Had our little thing.”
“I see.”
“They had a few drinks and…hooked up.”
“You feel betrayed?”
Gage blinked. “What? No. I mean, we’re not boyfriends. We weren’t even reallyfriendsfriends back then.”
“So the issue?”
“Right. Ah.” Gage swallowed heavily. “He got pregnant from it. He’s been on T for years, but it’s not, like, birth control, so he wasn’t expecting it, but shit does happen.”
“I’m aware. That’s how my first niece came into the world,” Evan said.
Gage’s jaw snapped shut. Then he took a deep breath in through his nose. “Oh. Did your brother—sorry,” he said quickly. “That’s none of my business.”
Evan stood up and moved to the couch, sitting one space away from Gage. “You can ask. Adrian is really open about his journey to becoming a dad, and he’s shared a lot with me. He won’t mind if I give some details.”
Gage bowed his head. “He was married?”
“He and his partner are not married, but they were together.”
“Did he think about, you know, not having the baby?”
“He did.” Evan was quiet for a beat. “Their original family plan was for surrogacy, but they decided to go forward this one time.”
“But other times…”
“They had children by other means,” Evan said.
Gage knew not to push for more details about someone he didn’t know personally. “Fa—Fred,” he corrected quickly, “isn’t sure what he wants other than he doesn’t want his ex to know.” He hesitated. “I’m not sure if that’s fair, but if a guy hit me, I wouldn’t want to share a kid with him either.”
“That will also work in his favor if the guy does find out since he’s been convicted of a violent crime,” Evan said. “This is not legal advice, by the way. I amsonot a custody lawyer.”
Gage managed a small smile as he twisted his fingers into the glob he was holding. “Yeah, no. I know. But I just…it’s kind of getting to the point of no return with the whole—whole, um.” He fumbled with the word. “Pregnancy thing. And I don’t know how to navigate that either.”
Evan tilted his head to the side. “Meaning what?”
“I don’t know how to talk about it or address it or anything. I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to tell me to ask him what’s comfortable for him.”
Evan grinned. “I am.”
“I think I’m just terrified of accidentally hurting him, you know? I don’t want to make him feel dysphoric or anything. And it feels like everything I read online is so…woman-centric.” Gage bowed his head. “He hasn’t been to see a doctor either. And I think he might be scared of going to a women’s clinic.”
“That’s understandable.” Evan stood up and walked over to his desk, holding up a finger before picking up his phone. “I’m going to ask my brother about the clinic he went to. It was queer focused.”
Gage brightened. “Oh. Yeah?”
“Adrian dealt with a lot during his pregnancy. I mean a lot. There were days he was happy, and days he was not. But he had a support system, so I think the best thing you can do for Fred is be there. Even when it’s hard. And maybe encourage him to talk to other people in his life who care about him.”
That was easier said than done, but at least it gave Gage a starting point.
“Thank you.”
Evan smiled. “Of course. And I’m texting you the clinic information now.”
