and not just because I’m carrying his child.
And me? I’m not sure. But I know I’ve started to like being around him. I like seeing his smile and hearing his witty retorts. I want to help him make his company magnificent, and I want to see the world with him.
“Let’s give it a try,” I say.
“What?” Jason asks, confused.
“Us,” I say. “A relationship. Let’s try it.”
Jason blinks, shocked.
“Are you sure?” he asks. “We really shouldn’t rush into anything. Yes, we’re having a baby, but we have enough time to discuss this before…”
“No, I’ve already thought this through,” I interrupt, smiling as he snaps his mouth closed. “I’ve had more than enough time to think while I've been cooped up here. I don’t know what’s going on, but I know that I want to be near you. It’s impossible to resist you. And now, finally, I can admit that I do want to try exploring what this is with you.”
I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Maybe Jason and I won’t last, and we’ll end up having to negotiate custody regardless of our attempts. But…
Maybe, just for now, it’s okay to have something that I want in the moment and to take it as far as I can. Maybe a relationship between us is doomed to fail, but that’s okay. If that happens, I can deal with it then.
“I want that,” Jason says. He closes his eyes briefly. “I just don’t want you jumping into anything.”
“I’m not,” I promise, touched by his concern. “I want to try this, Jason.”
Jason reaches across the table and slides his fingers across mine. I welcome the gentle grip, carefully lacing our fingers together. I hope that I will never stop feeling the bliss I feel when we touch one another.
“Okay,” he says. “Let’s give it a go. And we’re going to do the best we can to raise this child together, too.”
“Even if we don’t work out, we’ll do everything we can,” I say in agreement.
“Exactly,” Jason says, pleased.
He leans in. I lean forward too and touch my lips softly to his. The kiss is nothing like the fierce, hungry kisses we’ve shared until now. This one is just a pleasant press of lips together, but the gesture feels loving and intimate. It lasts for several moments before we pull back.
“That was nice,” I breathe.
Jason laughs and tightens his grip on my hand slightly.
“There’s plenty more where that comes from,” he jokes.
I smile. The future is full of uncertainty right now. But, for some reason, Jason has become a rock for me to rely on.
I don’t know what’s going to happen. But, despite all the confusion, I find that I can’t wait to watch it unfold.
Epilogue
Opal
Nine Months Later…
Soft music plays throughout the room, and I creep across the carpeted floor, unable to help smiling. The white crib in the corner is completely silent other than the slowly spinning mobile playing the quiet songs. I peer over the bars.
In her crib, Sophie sleeps soundly.
Barely two weeks after I brought her from the hospital, I can still hardly believe that she’s here. It’s been a very long nine months, full of several ups and downs, as well as some difficult decisions and many arguments between Jason and I as we struggled to come to a decent compromise. But, with Sophie here, sleeping in her crib and looking so content and peaceful, everything feels worth it.
Sophie might have been an accident. But, from the moment she was placed in my arms, I knew that there was nothing I wouldn’t do for this girl.
I feel a presence come up behind me, but I don’t react, knowing who it is even before Jason puts a hand on my shoulder.
“She’s so beautiful,” he says, the same quiet awe that I always feel in his voice.
“She is,” I agree. “She’s here, she’s healthy, and now she’s home.”
“You’re both home,” Jason says.
I smile up at him. One of the biggest decisions that we had to make was living arrangements. My apartment wasn’t suitable for raising a baby in. Jason and I went through several options before one evening, completely exasperated with the futile search, he suggested that I just move in with him.
“It’s big enough,” he’d said. “You can have your own room, and Sophie can have her room, and we’ll both be there for her.”
The original plan was that I would rent a room from Jason. Somewhere along the way, however, as time went on and I started spending