“The Victoria?” Jude’s eyes widen.
“Your ex?” Chloe echoes, staring.
I give them an overview of what happened, ending with driving her home and the little boy who ran to greet her.
They’re quiet for a beat too long.
“You think he’s yours?” Jude asks finally.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “I mean, our kid would be three now. The kid I saw could be a big two-year-old or a small four-year-old…”
“You think she would do that?” Chloe asks, wrinkling her nose. “Even if she was the worst human being on the planet, wouldn’t she want child support?”
“Her parents hate me,” I say drolly. “They probably paid her not to tell me just so I wouldn’t be in the kid’s life.”
“That’s cold,” Jude says, shaking his head. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know. I’m confused and a little pissed off. I mean, I’ll be pissed off if it turns out he’s mine.”
“So, you’ve already decided what to do next,” Chloe says softly, a faint smile on her lips.
“Well, I mean, wouldn’t you want to know?” I demand.
“Absolutely.” She nods. “But you have to think about how you want to go about finding out. I don’t think showing up at her house and demanding answers is prudent.”
“Especially with the way her parents feel about you,” Jude adds. “You don’t need any more of that kind of trouble.”
“I don’t,” I agree. “I’m just not sure what the answer is. If I go through a lawyer, demand a paternity test, I feel like that just starts unnecessary drama. Especially if he’s not mine.”
“Maybe talk to her?” Chloe suggests softly. “Can you call her?”
“She changed her number, and I don’t have the new one.”
“Do you know where she works or goes to school?”
I shake my head. “The only way I can get to her is to go knock on her door.”
Jude grimaces. “I don’t think that’s the right move.”
“I don’t either.”
“Well, as much as I don’t condone stalking,” Chloe says carefully, “it might be worthwhile to go wait for her to leave and follow her somewhere. But don’t approach her unless it’s in a safe, public place, so she doesn’t feel threatened.”
I grimace because I hate the idea of doing that, but at the same time, the only other option is to get lawyers involved and that’s not optimal either.
“You’re probably right,” I say after a moment. “I don’t want to blow up either of our lives but if she had my kid…”
“You deserve to know,” Jude says quietly.
“But you also have to be prepared,” Chloe adds. “If he is yours, it’s going to change everything about your life. Your finances, your free time, even how much time you have to spend seeing Victoria and her family.”
“I know. I just…I can’t live with the idea of having a kid out there who grows up thinking his dad didn’t want him. I can’t do it.”
Chloe smiles. “Of course not.”
“And you know, this might be cathartic for you,” Jude says. “You and Victoria never had closure. Never said goodbye. And you can deny it all you want, but we both know, somewhere in your subconscious, that’s part of the reason why you can’t seem to get into another serious relationship.
I open my mouth to protest but there’s enough truth to what he said to make me hesitate.
