“Oh, God,” he mocks. “You’re one of those”
“One of those?” I mock back.
“Who doesn’t believe it unless she sees it.” His smile softens. “I’m ready for it, Hildy. I’m ready to prove why I am the one man on this planet who will care for your heart and our children’s in such a way that causes you to fall so deeply in love with me that it doesn’t matter that you can’t see it in a book, or hanging in a museum, you’ll simply know.” He smiles smugly now. “And any other fool who thinks they can change that will be in for the fight of their life.”
“I have an appointment at four on Friday afternoon. I think you should rein it in until we know that everything is okay with the baby.”
He leans forward and shakes his head, “You’ve nothing to worry about. The baby is fine.”
“But if it’s not, then all of the things you just said, they mean?—”
“The minute you walked in here, with Lucy, before I even knew you were carrying a child, before I knew it was mine, all of those things I said were inevitable. You’re going to adopt her, yes?”
“Of course I am,” I state firmly.
“Then I will be as well,” I swear my heart stops, the world stops. “She will be our first child.”
Tears come by the dozens, because the little girl in me always wanted a father and it hurt me that one day, she’d feel the exact same way and that was nothing I could promise or give to her alone.
He pulls me into a hug, “Now I’m asking you to consider what all of that means. My life here will one day look different. I hope it’s more than a decade from now, but Lucy and our other children may not want to cross the Atlantic, and trust me when I say, I will not force them to be held to what I am.”
I lean back and wipe my eyes, “My career is going to be important to me.”
“And I will be your biggest supporter.”
“And your family, how will they feel about you having children before marriage, and to someone they didn’t choose?”
He chuckles, eyes smiling, “Who knows? Who cares?”
“They may, and what if they disown you? Strip the?—”
“I would not shed one tear.”
“How can you say that?” I ask, shaking my head.
He doesn’t say anything for a few moments, breaks eye contact with me, and his own narrow. “Our children will be allowed to follow their dreams and not be concerned with upholding a history that is stained.”
“Stained by?” I ask.
“There are times when people forget that the war ended in 1945. My parents weren’t even born yet, for fucks sake, yet still.”
I more gently take his chin hair and turn him to face me, “Not your cross to carry.”
“Yet, I’ve had to defend myself more than once.” He forces a laugh. “Never until I lived in the States.”
“That’s because people are dicks.”
“Aw, see, now you’ve brought upon a smile, we’re now in my wheelhouse.” I roll my eyes. “Fine, pretend you didn’t relive that moment over and over again in your mind. I, however, will not pretend. Although…” He chuckles silently as he looks me over.
“Spill it.”
“Thanksgiving, I knew it was you, but when you didn’t even flinch, I wondered if I was wrong.”
“In an attempt to soothe the bruised ego, I will admit that unless it’s scheduled, I don’t have the energy or time to ogle men.”
“Perfect,” he leans in. “Then we’ll schedule meetings and see what we can do about clearing some of your schedule, to make time for these meetings.”
I lean back, “I’m a disaster.”
