He knew I could do his astronomy homework for him but insisted on struggling through it himself.
“Hey, babe, I don’t suppose you have anything of Rawlins’s, like a hairbrush.”
That stopped his typing. He frowned, and that little eleven appeared between his brows.
“Why?”
I had to come clean, and it was only a possibility. I definitely couldn’t go ahead without his permission. But perhaps the photo could convey my thoughts better than I could.
“What do you see other than the obvious?”
He took the photo from me, and like he’d before, he brushed his fingers over it, almost reverently.
“They cared about me.”
“Ummm.” I didn’t say anything else, hoping he’d elaborate.
“They loved me, and I appear to be very comfortable with them, so they must have been in my life.” He gulped.
“Do you think there’s any chance they could have been your parents?”
He opened his mouth and closed it, his gaze still on the photo. He got up and unzipped a small pocket in his backpack. “This is my mother.”
“Okay, but just hear me out. If we had something with Rawlins’s DNA and yours, we’d find out if Charlie was your mom.” This was crunch time, because if he said no, I couldn’t go behind his back.
Rawling looked at the photo of him with Charlie and Arnie and the one of his mother.
“I don’t suppose there’s any harm in doing DNA, though I’ve read so many social media posts where those tests reveal huge secrets and sometimes tear families apart.”
I refused to take part in anything he wasn’t sure about. He and the baby were my priority.
“I have my godfather’s scarf.”
He retreated into the bedroom and brought out the scarf and hairs from his own brush that he put into separate zippered bags.
“Hope we’re not making a mistake.”
I hoped not either, because I didn’t want to lie about the results.
TWELVE
RAWLING
I was late meeting Phelan for lunch. I’d made the mistake of lying down just to close my eyes for a few seconds. The next thing I knew, it was already time to leave, and I still had to change into my out-of-the-house clothes. I was pretty sure too-big boxers and a tank top weren’t going to cut it.
I raced to get ready and ran to meet him, not wanting to call in case he was still talking to one of his professors. We already stood out as “the pregnant couple.” I didn’t need to add “rude” as well, simply because I couldn’t wait to talk to him.
It was interesting that I was the one who was pregnant, and yet Phelan was swept into it too. People were constantly referring to us as “the pregnant couple.” They sometimes replaced couple with mates but I’d also heard “pregnant losers” thrown around. At least they rarely did it when they knew we could hear, so that was something.
Stepping outside, one drop, then two hit my face.
“Great.” It was only drizzling out, and I decided to go for it instead of heading back to the room and grabbing an umbrella. Only the drizzling didn’t stay drizzling for long, and I was getting drenched
Running while pregnant wasn’t ideal. Running while pregnant in the rain was even worse. Running while pregnant in the rain while focusing on the ground in front of you and not the people ahead of you? That was asking for trouble.
And did I ever find it, by slamming into Professor Shaw, his satchel falling to the ground with a thud.
“I’m so sorry.” I went to pick it up but started losing my balance thanks to my growing belly.
