“I won’t be in Chicago.”
“Won’t be in Chicago?” Said slowly like the words made no sense.
“I’ll be in Boston for the Winter semester. I have a guest lectureship at Harvard.”
Dr. Bilious had finally signed off on it after making me explain, in writing, how exactly my absence would benefit Lakeshore. My open access funding requests were still under consideration.
His mouth fell open. “But you’re pregnant!”
“Jason,” I said in my calmest, soothe-the-beast voice, though I suspected it would come out a touch patronizing. “This has been planned for some time. There’s no reason why the pregnancy should interfere with that.”
“No reason? How about healthcare?”
“A recent study ranked Boston as having the best medical infrastructure in the world.”
His frown deepened. “What does that have to do with having a baby?”
I took another bite of my eggs. However, I’d lost my appetite in the face of Jason’s expression of betrayal.
“I’m doing my due diligence now and making sure I have an obstetrician I can trust while I’m there. People travel for work all the time.”
“Not the same. You won’t know anyone.” I saw the moment the light bulb went off. “Except Sean.”
“I’m sure I’ll be seeing your brother occasionally, and it’s great to know someone in a strange city. But I also have colleagues in Boston who can advise on all sorts of things. This will be a five-month appointment.”
He was doing the math in his head, his mouth clamped so tight he would need a dentist. “Starting in January? So you’ll be traveling back to Chicago close to the due date?”
“About a month before. People have been pregnant before, you know.”
“But you haven’t been.” After an unsuccessful stab at his fluffy scramble, he pointed an egg-free fork my way. “I don’t like this plot twist. At all.”
I was rather touched, though I suspected it had more to do with one of his sexual gratification options drying up or concern that I wouldn’t look after his precious Super Kid. Well, I was perfectly capable of looking after both of us. This baby business had been my idea in the first place.
He remained quiet for a moment, likely planning his next salvo. I braced myself.
“Doc, if you don’t want to have sex with me, just say so. Leaving the city is kind of drastic.”
“This was planned before I even knew I’d be pregnant?—”
“And maybe you should unplan it, because I sure as hell don’t think you should be gallivanting around the country when you’re about to have a baby.”
“Says the man who lives, breathes, and dreams hockey. While gallivanting around the country.”
“Don’t make this a feminist thing. I’m all for you working until the day Super Kid starts getting antsy about making a break for it. I would just rather you were doing this close to home. To your family and the people who care about you.” He pointed. “And being near Sean isn’t the same.”
I was starting to piss him off. Time for the kill shot.
“You’re overreacting.”
A dark flush appeared across his cheeks, his fury peaking. “I am not.”
“My plans aren’t changing. You’re not the travel police and I will be in Boston for the majority of this pregnancy, whether you like it or not.” I stood, no longer in the mood to mollycoddle him. “Thank you for breakfast and a lovely evening. I need to get home and make sure Bunsen and Beaker are okay.”
“And who’s going to look after the cats while you’re away?”
“I’ll probably take them with me. Or ask Rosie.”
He stood and folded his arms. “Don’t think of tapping me.”
