Jason grunted. “Not quite that bad.”
Carl looked unconvinced. He sat in the chair opposite and leaned forwards, his eyes piercing Jason’s. “Is Elena okay? I heard about how she was taken out of here in an ambulance. You were with her, and yet you’re back here.”
“Elena’s fine. She just fainted, that’s all.”
“She sick or something? She has been looking a bit…out of sorts lately.”
“You could say that.”
How was he going to say this to Carl? He couldn’t exactly confess that he had been having a sexual relationship with a member of staff. He didn’t want everyone gossiping about it. But Elena was going to find it difficult to hide the pregnancy in the coming months.
He chose his words carefully.
“Elena’s pregnant.”
Carl blinked. “Say what?”
“The doctor confirmed it. I’ve just dropped her home and given her some time off to recover.”
Carl’s mouth opened and closed. Then he shook himself. “Shit. There were many things I was expecting you to say, but I didn’t think it would be that. How are you holding up?”
Jason frowned. “What are you talking about? I’m stunned about it, but that’s it.”
“Come on, Jason. She’s pregnant with your kid. Don’t you have a bigger reaction than that?”
“Kids,” Jason corrected. “There’s six… Wait a minute, how did you—”
“How did I guess that you’re the father? It’s obvious to me.” Carl shrugged. “After all, I’ve heard…things coming from the therapy room when you think nobody’s around, and I did catch you driving Elena out of the parking lot a couple of times. Not to mention I saw you sneaking a kiss off her under the bleachers during a game, almost like teenagers sneaking away to do some necking.”
Jason groaned and hid his face in his hands. God, Carl had noticed all of that? They had not been very good at keeping it a secret.
“We were trying to keep it quiet,” he mumbled.
“I don’t think anyone else noticed, but I sensed a change in Elena’s demeanor. I wanted to make sure she was okay, and then I just happened to see you two together. It doesn’t take much to connect the dots.”
That didn’t make Jason feel any better. So much for keeping their relationship private.
“Anyway, did I hear you correctly?” Carl frowned. “Did you say six?”
“Six babies, yeah. Sextuplets. Apparently, the odds of conceiving that many naturally is something like one in four billion.”
Carl whistled. “Shit. You’re going to have your hands full with all of that. How did Elena take it?”
“I…she was just as shocked as I was.” Jason slumped back and closed his eyes. “We didn’t talk about it. I think we were too stunned to say anything.”
“I can imagine. It’s not every day that you get told that you’re carrying that many babies at once.” Carl was silent for a moment. “So, does this mean that you’re going to take a step back?”
“What?” Jason opened his eyes and stared at him. “What do you mean by that?”
“Your girlfriend is pregnant, and she’s going to have a tough pregnancy. I can’t imagine carrying sextuplets is going to be plain sailing. You’ve got someone to focus on now.”
“What about the team?”
“Don’t worry about us. We’re doing well right now, and we can carry on without you looking over our shoulders.”
Carl was right, but Jason found himself shaking his head.
“No, no, I can’t do that. The team needs me. I have to focus on them.”