This isn’t about perfect timing or polished delivery. It’s about honesty. About not dodging anymore.
“I need to tell you something,” I say.
He straightens slightly, attentive, open in that quiet way that makes it impossible to hide behind jokes.
“Okay,” he says.
“I’m pregnant.”
7
Overly Dramatic Dick
Christa
There’s a beat afterI say it. Not silence exactly. More like the air has stopped circulating.
Geoff stares at me with these chocolate brown eyes, then smiles. A warm one. Earnest.
“Well,” he says. “Congratulations.”
I blink.
Once. Twice.
Right.
“Thank you,” I say carefully. “But that response suggests you think I’m sharing nice news.”
He nods. “You are.”
“Geoff.”
“Yes.”
“You’re congratulating yourself.”
The smile slips.
“Why would I be—”
“You’re the father.”
The sentence lands.
Hefreezes.
Like his brain has blue-screened.
Then he laughs.
Not a gentle laugh. A sharp, startled burst that tips straight into something a bit hysterical. He bends forward, hands on his knees, laughing like the universe has just pulled a chair out from under him.
I stare. “Are you okay?”
Geoff lets out a breath that sounds like a laugh but isn’t quite.
“This is the strangest week I’ve had in years,” he says. “First I find out I’ve got an issue with Downstairs Geoff, and then you tell me I’ve fathered a child.”
