"Alex." I held up my hand to prevent him from saying more on the subject. "You don’t owe me an explanation. Actually, I’d rather not get in the middle of whatever is going on between you and Julia. I have enough going on, if you haven’t noticed."
He fidgeted with his hands. I'd never seen him so uptight before.
"Jocelyn." He sighed. "We have so much to discuss, but right now, I want you to tell me about our baby."
I smiled and looked down at my stomach.
Our baby. I like the way that sounds.
"Are you both healthy?"
"Yes." My voice bubbled with excitement. Finally, I could tell him all about the pregnancy. "The baby is perfect, just where he should be. I’m due on Valentine’s Day."
"He?" he asked. "Do you know that for certain?"
"No." I shook my head. "Some days, I say he, and other days he’s a she; I don’t like referring to him as anit. It drives Max wild because he never knows what the sex will be on any given day."
"You’re far along enough to know, though?" he said. "The baby is developed enough to determine the sex."
"Yes, I had an ultrasound at seventeen weeks, but I wasn’t sure if you would want to know, so I asked them not to tell me."
"You got to see it, I mean, the baby on the monitor?"
"Yes." I smiled at the memory. "It was fantastic. The heartbeat was strong, and the technician said everything was perfect."
Except you weren't there.
"I wish I could’ve been there," he said regretfully. "Who went with you?"
"No one." I frowned. "I don’t have anyone who can go with me."
"You’ve been doing this all by yourself?" he asked. "Who did you tell when you found out?"
"No one," I said. "I had to tell Max once I started showing, and now a few people at work know."
"And some of my family."
"I didn’t mean for that to happen," I said. "But Evan figured it out as soon as he saw me."
"How did your father take the news? I bet he wants to kill me."
"He did at first." I smiled. "But he realized I was a willing participant, and we made a mistake."
"This was my mistake, Jocelyn," he said. "I knew better, and I’m sorry for being so careless with you."
"It wasn’t just you." I really meant that. We both should've known the dangers of unprotected sex. "We did this together."
"I was irresponsible," he said. "I was more experienced, and I should never have let things go so far that night."
"It’s done," I said. "We can’t change any of this, and to be honest, I don’t regret that night with you."
"I don’t deserve your kindness," he said. "I screwed up."
"We both did."
"Joce," he said, "I know I don’t have any right to ask this of you, but since Brenna and Evan know, I have to tell my parents. I want them to hear it from me."
"Of course you should tell them." I agreed. "They have a right to know."
