“Mum,” he says gently, “we’ve been through this.”
Longer pause.
“No, nothing’s wrong. Why would something be wrong?”
He closes his eyes briefly, the way he does when he knows what’s coming next.
I know too.
There was drama. With my mum. A whole thing. Raised eyebrows. Disappointed sighs. Questions that were not questions. Apparently two adults sharing a home and a baby without immediately planning a wedding is deeply unsettling to a certain generation.
Geoff had taken it quietly. Politely. Like a man filing away information he would deal with later.
Now, watching him shift his weight and lower his voice, I realise exactly why he hasn’t told his mum yet.
He exhales slowly. “What did Jasper tell you?”
At the same time, he lifts his free hand and draws a very clear line across his throat with his thumb, eyes narrowing at an imaginary target. I give him a look that says, ‘if you bury a body in my kitchen, you’re cleaning it up yourself’.
There’s a pause. His shoulders sag.
“Yes,” he says. “That Jasper.”
Another pause. Longer this time.
“No, Mum. I’m not angry,” he adds. “I’m just reassessing my relationship with my brother.”
He exhales, then steps closer to me, lifting the phone and switching to video. He angles it so we’re both in frame, shoulder to shoulder. On the screen, his mum appears instead, filling it entirely with enthusiasm.
“Oh!” she says brightly. “There you are!”
Geoff smiles, the careful one he uses when he’s bracing himself. “Hi, Mum.”
“And who’s this?” she asks, peering closer.
“This is Christa,” he says. “Christa, this is my mum.”
I give a small wave. “Hello.”
She beams. “Well. You’re lovely.”
“Strong start,” I say.
She laughs immediately, delighted, and I can see why Geoff hadn’t wanted to unleash this energy unprepared.
“Right,” Geoff says, inhaling. “There’s something we need to tell you.”
Her eyes light up. “I knew it.”
“Mum,” he says patiently. “Please don’t narrate. We’re having a baby,” he adds.
There’s a beat of silence.
Then his mum makes a sound like someone’s just switched her joy settings to maximum.
“A baby,” she says. “Geoffrey.”
“Yes.”
