“It was a one-night stand, Mom.” Callie takes over the talking, which is probably a good thing.
Mr. Carlisle continues to look only at me. This is uncomfortable. I should say something, but I’m not sure what.
“I take full responsibility,” I say, not meeting his eyes.
“Oh my god, Dad, stop the whole protective father act. He didn’t take advantage of me. I was a very willing participant.”
“Callie,” I whisper out of the side of my mouth.
“Sorry.” She massages the bridge of her nose for a second. “I get that’s not what you wanna hear, but it’s the truth. We… well, you know.”
“Yes, we understand what happened. We don’t need a play-by-play,” Mrs. Carlisle says, voice neutral. She’s usually overly sweet. I’ve never seen this side of her, and I have no idea if she wants to throw her hands up and be done with us or what.
“I wasn’t going to give you a play-by-play. I was just saying that… anyway. We were together once, and now we’re having a baby. Figuring out the co-parent thing.”
“A baby?” Mrs. Carlisle glances at Callie’s stomach.
Callie nods and tears fill her eyes. “Yeah. I’m twelve weeks along.”
Mrs. Carlisle’s eyes widen. “Three months?”
Callie nods again.
Mr. Carlisle’s gaze still hasn’t left me, and my guess is he’s counting my neck tattoos and wondering why his precious daughter would pick a guy like me. I can only imagine he’s second-guessing all those times he was nice to me. I snuck behind his back and made a mess of this situation.
“Everything is good? Baby is healthy?” Mrs. Carlisle steps closer to Callie.
“Yes, we were at the doctor yesterday. Everything is good. We were waiting to tell Hayes until I was out of the first trimester, and now… well, a picture got leaked, and he didn’t find out from us.” Callie glances at me.
I exhale a deep breath because I think we’re both in agreement that we’re idiots.
“Hmm.” Mrs. Carlisle glances at me. “So the roommate situation?”
I want to look away, but I stand firm. “The landlord was a sleaze, but we already knew she was pregnant at that point.”
Her eyes widen, but she nods, absorbing all the information.
“Mom, I’m sure you’re disappointed, and I’m sorry. It just…”
Mrs. Carlisle laughs and turns to her husband. “What do you think, Dave?”
He finally takes his eyes off me. “I think I’m gonna be a grandpa… for the fourth time.” His face lights up as he smacks me on the back. “Congratulations.”
“Come again?” Callie asks, forehead creased.
Mrs. Carlisle tugs her in for a hug. “Congratulations, you two. This is great news.”
“It is?” Callie looks at me over her mom’s shoulder. “You’re happy?”
Mrs. Carlisle pulls away, holding her daughter’s upper arms. “Of course we’re happy. A baby—what’s to be upset about that?”
“But I’m… I mean…”
Mrs. Carlisle waves her hand. “You’re thirty years old, Callie. I’m not sure about your dad, but I’m aware you’ve had sex before.”
Mr. Carlisle smacks me on the back and puts his hand out in front of me. “We’ll just agree to call it an immaculate conception, all right?” I nod, and he slaps me on the back again. “Welcome to the family, Foster.”
“Oh, Dad,” Callie is quick to interject, “we’re not getting married or anything.”
