Page 84 of Arranged Silverfox
I sighed and grabbed my keys. “Fine,” I grumbled.
“Don’t be so obstinate about this! You’re about to be someone’s dad,” Olivia quipped.
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “Shit, I guess you’re right. Do you think mom has any open slots in her babysitting business?” I joked.
Olivia laughed. “My guess is that she’s about to be over the moon that her only delinquent son finally settled down, so yes, I think she can help you out. Me too. Don’t think I’m not already plotting to become aunt of the year.”
“Thanks, Liv. I’ll see you there.” I said, hanging up.
I poked my head into Jonathan’s office. “Hey, Jonathan. I’m heading out for the day. I forgot that Rebecca and I scheduled a meeting with a caterer today,” I lied. It seemed better than, “There’s a slight possibility that I knocked my fiancé up while we were joining the mile-high club.”
Jonathan nodded. “Sounds good, sir. Do you want me to email you the updated food court dimensions for the Dover Mall project? The construction company sent them to me. It looks like even if we include The Cookie Cove. We’ll still have room for another vendor.”
“Excellent! Yes, please email me the new layout.”
While I walked to my car, my thoughts started to race. I felt a lump building in my throat as I remembered the crumpled condom back on the jet, combined with Becca’s recent sensitivities. If she wasn’t pregnant, she could be seriously sick! What if she had a parasite or an ulcer? What if she had stomach cancer? I unlocked my car and sat in the driver’s seat, paralyzed with fear. I couldn’t lose Becca. I was in love with her.
On the other hand, if she was pregnant, would that really be a bad thing? Over the past few weeks, we had more and more conversations about starting our family. I knew Becca would make an excellent mother. She was kind and caring. As for me, it was about time I got my act together. As the CEO of Steele Realty, I could technically take off as much time as I wanted, but I started an email with HR to be thorough. could stay home with our baby and work from home for a change of pace. I didn’t exactly need to be in the office to get my work done. Becca could work at Cookie Cove. Our kids would automatically have the best birthday cakes. This would be good. I could hire a nanny if all else fails. It would be okay.
I called Becca as I pulled out of the parking lot.
“Okay, don’t go to a CVS in Boston. Come here first,” Becca blurted. I could feel the panic radiating through the phone.
“Of course. The last thing I need is one of my father’s friends running into me while I’m picking up a pregnancy test!” I exclaimed as I merged onto the highway.
“Can you imagine the papers?” Becca joked.
“Some joke about sperm of Steele?” I volleyed back.
Thankfully, Becca laughed. “Don’t give yourself too much credit. That condom was practically crumbling.”
“It was not!”
“Sebastian, a cobweb would have been a more effective prophylactic,” Becca said. I snorted.
“It was from … Spring Break 2010,” I admitted.
To my relief, Becca laughed. “Sebastian! That condom was old enough to be in middle school! And now we’re about to have a middle-schooler,” Becca guffawed.
“How do you feel about everything? You know, it’s your choice. I support whatever you want to do,” I said sincerely. I may be a player, but I wasn’t the kind of man to deny a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body. Becca was young. We could always have more kids if she didn’t feel ready right now.
“Thank you. I appreciate you saying that. Truthfully, I feel good about everything. I mean, we’ve been talking about starting a family. I talked to Olivia a bunch. It’s weird, I never pictured myself having kids or wanting to be a mom, but with you … it’s different.”
“Yeah, I never pictured myself having kids either,” I admitted. “But I like the idea of a little Sebastian running around,” I said. Oddly enough, part of me was excited. Granted, the timing was less than ideal, but when did life ever work out as planned? I didn’t expect to meet the love of my life when I was forty.
“Again, with your insistence on a boy! What makes you so sure?” Becca retorted.
“I have a feeling!” I said.
“Well, I feel like it’s going to be a girl. And I’m starving. Call me when you’re close to Liv’s, okay?”
“I will. I just pulled into CVS,” I said.
I hung up and parked. When I walked into CVS, I was comforted by the familiar layout of the store and the industrial grey carpeting. As far as everyone knew, I was in the middle of a typical errand that would not impact the rest of my life. I grabbed a basket, and a bottle of water for Becca, figuring that now was as good of a time as any for her to stay hydrated. How much pee did a pregnancy test require, after all? I wandered along the aisles until I stumbled upon the shelves of pregnancy tests located across from the condoms. I studied the boxes in varying shades of serious navy and dusty pink. For once, I was irritated at the number of choices before me. I loved living in modern times with an endless array of choices at my fingertips, but right now, it was giving me the precursors to a panic attack. Again, I felt the lump in my throat building as I contemplated the choices before me. Eventually, I made a sweeping gesture with my arm along the shelf and let the universe pick for me, deciding whatever landed in my basket would suffice. I looked around quickly, hoping no one saw, and then speed-walked to the checkout.
Thankfully, the cashier rang up my purchases without batting an eye. I threw some peanut butter cups in there for good measure for myself and Becca.
By the time I pulled into Olivia’s driveway, my heart pounded out of my chest. Olivia lived in a cozy cottage-style house with a bright red door. Wildflowers lined the walkway to the front entrance. She recently planted an herb garden in the front yard. I could see a small sprig of basil starting to sprout.