Page 37 of The Handy Men
"Why didn't she tell you she was pregnant before she left?"
"Pride. She thought when I proposed to Jack, I’d made a choice that didn't include her. She was afraid if the baby was one of ours, we'd feel obligated to have her in our lives, and she didn't want that. And she was afraid if it turned out not to be ours, we'd be mad at her and reject her all over again."
Paige rubbed his arm in sympathy. "She didn't trust you guys."
Dean closed his eyes. "It was all so fucked up. We were angry and hurt and we all made bad choices. If I could do things over again, knowing what I know now, maybe it would have gone down differently. If Brendon is Jack's or mine, she kept him from us for two years. I don't know if I can forgive her for that."
"She said she's moving back here. If one of you guys is the father, you can see him every day and make up for lost time." Paige folded her hands in front of her so they didn't shake.
"Would that be a problem for you?" He cocked his head at her.
"Of course not. If he's your son, you deserve a chance to be his father. That's so much more important than my feelings."
"But that doesn't mean your feelings aren't important," Dean said.
"Why is Jack the only one having lunch with her today? Why aren't you there?”
"I wanted to hang around in case you needed me. And Stephanie isn’t my favorite person.”
That made Paige feel slightly better.
Dean sighed. "Seeing Brendon knocked Jack for a loop. He always wanted to have kids. We talked about adopting, but…" He shrugged. "It's a lot of time and expense and heartache even when you're not a gay couple. I’m pissed at Stephanie for keeping this secret from us, but Jack is overjoyed. He really hopes Brendon is our son."
"So where does this leave me?"
"Nothing has changed, Paige."
"Not yet. Aside from you lying to me."
"Can you honestly blame us for wanting to wait until after your parents left, or at least until after all of your guests arrived, to dump this on you?"
Paige shook her head. It hurt. A lot. But she sort of understood. "I guess not. So I guess we'll wait and see what the paternity tests say."
"Is this a deal breaker for you?"
Tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back. "I don't want to break up a family. She wants you back. If one of you is Brendon's father, he'll need his father around. Jack seems already on board with it." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I can't be the other woman. And I can't be a foursome with the three of you."
“It’s not going to be like that. The most Stephanie would ever be to us is the mother of our child. And there’s a good chance, Jack and I are not Brendon’s father.” Dean pulled her in for a hug. "Let’s talk about this together with Jack. We can wait until after your first week and maybe after your parents go home?"
"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'm going to go upstairs and rest until my parents get here."
She turned her face, though, when Dean went to kiss her goodbye. Rubbing the warm mark on her cheek, she numbly climbed up the stairs to her room before letting her tears fall.
* * *
Paige sat at her large dining room table and ate the chicken parmesan she'd made because it was her father's favorite. She didn't taste the homemade sauce or the freshly grated cheese. But that was all right. Her father didn't, either. He was on his laptop doing some Excel gymnastics to do projections of her first year in business.
It reminded her of the dismal homework nights when he'd check her math during dinner.
"More wine?" she asked her mother, who was on her second glass.
"No, dear, and you shouldn't have any more, either."
Paige poured herself a bigger glass than she normally would and leaned back in her chair.
Her mother frowned at her.
"So, are you and Daddy going to help me check in people tomorrow?"
