“And I’m guessing this is big news on account of her not being married? I mean, I know it’s the twenty-first century, and all, but still.”
She shook her head. “Nope. Not married, not even seeing anyone.”
“She hadn’t been seeing anyone? I swear, what’s with this terrible trend of beautiful, brilliant women being single?”
“You serious? No time for dating, Da!”
“Sure, sure. Anyway, so she’s about to have a child with some random man she spent the night with?” It was so damn strange and near impossible to think of Sadie in that way.
“I haven’t even gotten to the most insane part. You wanna guess where she met the guy she hooked up with? The father of the baby?”
“Haven’t the foggiest.”
Her eyes lit up and she leaned in even more.
“At the bloody masquerade ball – the one for Pitt Medical! I wasn’t able to go on account of this case. So, I gave her the ticket and she went instead of me. Little did I know she was going to come home with a parting gift.”
I didn’t even know what to say.
“That’s…wow. And she’s got no idea who the father is?”
She shook her head. “Not as far as I know. I mean, it was a masquerade, after all. She told me it was some doctor, but—”
“But the place was full of doctors. She might as well have said it was a man with hair.”
Camilla laughed. “Right.”
I shifted in my seat, my memory going to whatI’ddone that night. There was no way…
“So, what’s she going to do?”
“She’s keeping it. You know Sadie – determined as hell, never afraid to do the hard thing. She’s giving up her apartment and moving into the little living area above her parents’ garage.”
“That’s damn admirable, willing to give up her independence like that. She’s always been the headstrong type, always eager to go it alone.” I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around it all. “Being a single parent’s no small thing.”
“You’d know,” she said with a wink.
I took her hand on the table once more. “But it’s the best damn thing I’ve ever done. She ever questions herself, tell her I can assure her how much it’s worth it.”
“Da! What did I say about making me cry in public?”
I let out a small chuckle. “Sorry, sorry. But it’s true.” I sighed, thinking it over as I ran my hand through my hair and sat back. “Well, she’s going to need all the help she can get that’s for sure.”
“Right. I told her I’m willing to babysit whenever I can.”
“There you go. And make her some homemade food while she’s pregnant – your mother loved that.”
“Noted. I’ll have to pick your brain a bit more for tips.”
“Any time.”
Camilla pursed her lips, looking away. “She’s six weeks in already. Tomorrow she’s going to her first ultrasound, to make sure the baby is in good shape. God, it’s so surreal. She and I had talked about kids and family and all that, you know?”
“Really?”
“Really. And we both had the same plan – work now, the family later – when we’re ready. But babies and husbands seemed like something off in the far, hazy future.”
“I know the feeling. Then you look at that first pregnancy test and realize that the future doesn’t wait untilyou’reready – it comes on its own damn time.”