chapter Twelve
Jake
She had a kid? She actually had a kid and hadn’t even brought him up yet? That changed everything. Or did it? I had no idea what to think. By the time the news sank in, I went outside to find her but she was already gone. Shit.
I pulled out my phone to call her, but stopped. What would I say? There was no way I could just sit around and wait for Molly and Ben. I needed to walk.
I didn’t know Wilmington too well, but I headed further toward the downtown and just kept walking. When I got tired, I found a bench and just sat there. I had to think it through. Emily was amazing, nearly perfect. But could I really handle dating a mom? And what about the kid? What was I going to do around him? I thought she’d been really interested, but maybe she just wanted to mess around. Why would a mom want me around her son?
Finally, Ben called and I told him where to find me. I was ready to get home, but I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the two of them. There’s nothing like being with a happy couple to remind you of how much it sucks to be alone.
Ten minutes later, he pulled up. I got in the backseat without saying anything.
“How was your date?” Molly turned around as soon as I closed the door.
“She has a kid.”
“What?” Ben looked at me in the rearview mirror after he pulled away from the curb.
“She has a kid.”
“Wow, she looked so young.” Molly still hadn’t turned back around.
“She is young. She’s twenty-one.”
“How old is her—is it a boy or girl?”
“Boy. And I didn’t get a chance to ask. He looked young in the picture she showed me, but not like a baby or anything.”
“Real helpful.” Molly rolled her eyes.
“How would I know how old he is?”
“So what did you do? Are you still going to see her?”
“I don’t know.” I buried my head in my hands. It was too much to think about.
“What does that mean?”
“She left before I could even process it.”
Molly put a hand to her chest. “Oh my god. What did you say, Jake?”
“I think I just said, ‘you’ve got a kid?’”
“That’s it?” Molly asked incredulously.
“Maybe I also said, ‘when were you going to tell me?’”
Molly gritted her teeth. “You two haven’t been dating long. She didn’t have to tell you yet.”
“So what does it mean? If I keep dating her, does that mean I have to be the kid’s dad or something?”
Ben picked that moment to jump in. “I’d assume he already has a dad…”
“Oh yeah.” Great. So now I’d have to compete with the kid’s father.
“Maybe she’s a widow?” Ben suggested. “Have you thought of that?”
“At twenty-one?” I asked.
“Stranger things have happened.”
“I wonder how old he is. Do you think she had a baby in high school…” Molly thought out loud.
“No, I don’t think he’s that old. But who knows?” I leaned back and closed my eyes.
“What’s his name?” Molly said it softly. She was really fixated on the kid. It was probably because she was pregnant.
“Noah.”
“That’s a nice name.”
Ben laughed. “Are we adding it to our list?”
“It depends on whether Jake keeps seeing her. If so, we can’t use it.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because what if you married her? You don’t want cousins with the same name.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that.” Ben put a hand on her leg. “Do you even think she’s going to speak to him again after his reaction? She probably thinks he hates kids.”
Molly fiddled with the AC. “She dated him in the first place. She’s obviously weird.”
I sat forward. “Thanks, Molly.”
“You’re welcome. I’m just keeping it real.” She turned around and stuck her tongue out at me.
“Reverting to childhood, are you?”
“You’re one to talk. A girl tells you she has a son and all you can do is mimic like a parrot?”
“It surprised me. Sue me.”
“All I know is that if you actually want to see this girl again, you need to apologize fast.”
“She’s going home to pick him up this weekend. He was staying with her parents so she could work more or something.” I stretched out my legs as much as humanly possible in the back of Molly’s Civic. At least she tried to give me leg room.
Ben turned onto the interstate. “See. I might be right. If there was a dad around, he’d have him right now.”
Molly added another fantastic suggestion. “He could be a deadbeat.”
“I don’t know which is worse…a dead husband she can’t get over, or a deadbeat that could pop back up at any time.”
“It’s only an issue if you see her again…” Ben started.
“I have to see her. She’s almost perfect.”
“Almost?”
“She likes country music.”
Molly groaned. “I’m not even going to respond to that one. When you get home, call her. Prepare to beg for forgiveness. Blame it on the pain meds.” It sounded like Molly was reading off a list.
“I’m not taking them anymore.”
“Then find something else. No woman will want a man who freaks out when she mentions her kid.”
“I can’t handle this right now.”
“So what? Are you going to just give up?”
I let out a deep breath. “No. I just need time to figure it out.”
“You don’t always get time.”
I looked out the window. “All right, let’s change the subject.”
“Fine, but don’t wait too long.”
I tried to tune Molly out for the rest of the ride. Why is it that nothing in life was ever simple?