my now empty plate. “I’m taking things day by
day.”
“And are you and Patrick getting married?”
“God, no, Dad!” I say, confused and shaken up
by his question. We just started getting serious;
even if he said he wants to be there for the baby
and me, I really don’t think Patrick is the marrying
type.
“And how do you both intend to manage the
situation? Will you live together, will you continue
to study?”
There are too many questions that I don’t have
the answers to. I still haven’t thought of any
solutions, I’m just trying to face each difficulty as
and when it crops up.
“You won’t want to give up your studies.”
“I don’t think so. Maybe I’ll take a break.”
“Erin,” he tells me in a calm voice. “I was
thinking of coming back.”
“What? You can’t, you’ve got that good job—”
“I’ve only got three months left and in any case
I would have had to apply for a new assignment. I
was thinking of taking these three months as a
leave of absence to come back a bit early in order
to be closer to you.”
“You can’t, Dad. It’s not your responsibility.”
“Then whose is it? Patrick’s?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m only saying
that the time has come where I need to face life on
my own without your help or anyone else’s.”
