I tilted my head in question. "How do you know so much about pregnant women?"
"We've had a few at work. They always come to me to talk about their leave or possible telecommuting options instead of Dad. Go figure."
I smiled, and it was nice to have a little levity in my life which felt heavy like a lead balloon.
"I'm making eggs and bacon."
I went to the cupboard to get a mug to make my tea. "You sure are being nice to me."
"Consider it making up for all the times I picked on you when we were little."
Thinking of our childhood was bittersweet. Tears came to my eyes, and I set the mug down to give James a hug.
"Hey. It's going to be okay." He wrapped me up, hugging me back. The truth was, James was very rarely mean to me growing up. Not when it became clear that when it came to emotional support, we only had each other.
I released him and heated the water for my tea. Once that was done, I put in the teabag and took my cup to the table to sit.
A few moments later, James brought over two plates with eggs, bacon, and toast. "Eat up. You need your strength to grow my niece or nephew."
I smiled up at him. My life was in shambles, but I wasn't alone. I wondered how I'd ever be able to express my gratitude toward James.
"Do you have plans for today?" he asked as he shoveled up a large forkful of eggs.
"I need to figure out how to Dad-proof my business. In fact, I have to figure out how to Dad-proof my life. I have to figure out what to do when he finds out that I'm not married to Max anymore, and neither am I asking Max for money."
My brother took a sip of coffee. His eyes were intent as he stared at me while he set his cup back down. "Max has a responsibility to this baby. And while Dad may have gotten you guys married, he didn’t get you pregnant. You and Max did that all on your own, so Max needs to step up."
I knew he was right, but I didn't want Max involved if it would mean a lifetime of him looking at me with the same disgust that he had yesterday. And I certainly didn't want to live always wondering whether he was going to take the child away from me.
"I can't live my life waiting for whatever Max or Dad or anyone else is going to do. I need to set my own path and follow it. If Max wants to be involved and help out financially, I won’t stop him. But I'm not going to go after him if he's not interested."
"If he's not interested in his own child, then he's not the man for you."
I stared at my brother. "Is that your way of saying Dad's heinous actions helped me dodge a bullet?"
James shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far. But as you figured out, attraction and sex are easy. Caring for and respecting someone is a whole other ball of wax."
He wasn't wrong about that. I'd seen a side of Max yesterday that I wouldn't have thought possible.
"What are your plans for today?" I scooped eggs onto my toast and took a bite.
"Not much. I have an errand I want to do this morning, but other than that, I'll probably just be hanging out. You're welcome to hang out here with me."
I shook my head. "Like I said, I need to get all my ducks in a row." With my fork, I toyed with my eggs, hesitating on what I wanted to ask next. "Do you happen to know a good realtor?"
James's gaze lifted to mine. He didn't say anything for a minute, but then he finally nodded. "Yeah, I do." He reached his hand across the table, taking mine. "I hate to see you go, but I understand why you have to. Do you still plan to go to New York?"
I let out a long sigh. I'd only been up for a half hour, but already, I was exhausted again. "I don't know. Max is the only reason to go there, and he was clear that he wasn't interested in me or the baby."
"He threatened to take the child from you. That sounds like he's interested."
I shook my head. "I think he just said that because he was angry and wanted to hurt me." Not that I wasn't fearful that he would follow through. But there was no doubt in my mind that he was speaking from anger and wanting to lash out at the pain he believed I’d caused him.
I finished my breakfast and then gathered up my purse to go home. James gave me another hug. "You can come here and work if you want to. I won't be gone long this morning."
I shook my head. "I need some time alone to sort my head out. If you do happen to think of anything that Dad might do, let me know. I need to come up with a defense strategy. At this point, I think he's capable of anything."
James nodded. "I’ll look into hiring a P.I. or something to help us gather leverage against Dad."