important thing to focus on is Opal’s wellbeing and our new baby.
“Yes, let’s talk,” I say, and her face relaxes into relief as she leads me to a small dining table.
Sitting at the table apart from one another makes things more cold and distant than I would like, but I do understand, of course, especially since I just kissed her. I fold my hands on top of the wood and try to clear my expression into something resembling calm.
“What do you want to do?” I ask her.
Opal starts at the question, blinking wildly.
“What do I want to do?” she parrots.
“You’re the one carrying this child,” I remind her. “It’s your body. Tell me what you want.”
She stares at me, her eyes searching mine for something, though I’m not quite sure what. Then her shoulders drop.
“I’m not sure what to do,” she admits. “I wasn’t expecting to get pregnant. Now there’s all these worries about the apartment and my job and money…”
“Money isn’t an issue,” I interrupt. She opens her mouth, likely to argue, but I give her a severe look. “This isn’t a time for pride. Both of us can provide for this baby.”
She subsides with a sigh.
“Right, okay, not to worry about that then,” she says distractedly. “Then there’s my apartment. It’s not really set up for a baby…”
I clamp my mouth down before I blurt out the automatic response. I don’t think Opal will like it very much if I tell her to just come and live with me.
“We can find something more suitable,” I say instead.
“And my job?” she challenges. “What do I do about that?”
I’m not sure why she’s expecting this to be tricky.
“Your job is there for as long as you want it,” I say simply, and she stares in shock. “You’re welcome to work right up until the time you go on maternity leave and your job will still be there for you when you return.”
“But what about after the birth?” she demands. “Do we hire nannies to raise our child for us because we’re too busy working?”
From the way her lip curls, I can tell that she doesn’t like that idea.
“We can set something up at the office,” I propose. “But that particular problem is nine months away.”
Right… Nine months. We now have a very strict time limit for when our lives will change forever.
“Yeah.” Opal breathes out, looking as shell-shocked as I feel. “Fuck… This is real, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I say. I want to reach out and touch her hand in comfort, but I don’t think she’ll take that well. So I grip my hands together and lean forward. “It’s real. But now isn’t the time to stress about all these things. We just have to take each day as it comes.”
Opal looks down at the table. She’s silent for so long that I begin to worry what she’s thinking about. Finally, she looks up.
“I don’t want my life to change with this,” she says. “But it’s going to, isn’t it?”
“Both of our lives are going to change,” I tell her. “I’ll be there every step of the way.”
“In what way?” she asks.
It’s a loaded question. But I already have my answer. I return her gaze calmly.
“In whatever way you’ll have me,” I say.
It opens the field and puts the ball in her court. I’m completely at Opal’s mercy and, from the widening of her eyes, she knows it, too. If Opal just wants us to remain workmates, just friendly enough to deal with raising a baby together…then so be it.
“Everything else can come later,” I tell her. “For now, I’m here. I’ll attend the appointments with you, I’ll read all the same books and websites, we’ll look at furniture, clothes, and living situations… I have no intention of leaving you alone in this, okay? You’re carrying my child, so it’s only fair that I help as much as I can, both before and after the birth.”
There’s silence for a long moment. And then, unexpectedly, Opal’s eyes fill with tears. Panic seizes me. Shit, I made her cry. What did I say? It takes me a moment to realize that a small smile is playing on her lips.
“Sorry, stupid hormones,” she chokes out. “I… Thank you, Jason. That really means a lot to me.”
This time I don’t fight the urge. I reach across the table and gently take her hand in mine in comfort. My heart soars when she doesn’t pull away from me.
“We’re going to have a very lucky son or