34. Thoughts Run Loose
THOUGHTS RUN LOOSE
“Ihave to know,” Kate said the following Monday. “Are you dating Dr. Brewer?”
Gabriela grinned. It’d taken long enough for people to ask about this.
Way longer than she thought.
But Kate had been hinting around to a rumor she’d been hearing, just not coming out with any other details.
“I am,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s taken you so long to ask.”
Kate was all but jumping around the break room. She should have known with the way the nurse’s aide grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the rest of the staff this morning before the patients arrived.
“I heard about it almost two weeks ago but haven’t had a chance to see you. I can’t tell you how hard it was for me not to bring it up to Luca, but you know, I don’t know him as well.”
“What do you think of him?” she asked. Might as well put Kate on the spot. “Why did you think you couldn’t ask?”
“Because, though he’s funny and friendly, no one really knows much about him. I assumed he was single, as he’s not talked about a wife and has no ring on. Though I noticed a ring mark when he first started.”
She and Luca had talked this over. She’d told him people were going to ask more specifics about his situation and he’d told her it was fine to give the information.
It’s not like it was a secret by any means.
“He’s a widower,” she said.
“Oh, that’s so sad. And he’s so young. I’ve seen a hint of gray on the sides but not much. I don’t know his age.”
“You didn’t look into him?” she asked, grinning.
“Seeing when he went to school doesn’t always give his age, but I guessed late thirties.”
“Thirty-eight. Five years older than me. Though I’ll be thirty-four soon. Ugh.”
And her clock was ticking down and she knew it.
It was really hard for her not to get excited over the possibility of Luca adopting a baby.
Or for her to think of it as hers too.
She couldn’t be that way.
She couldn’t let any of those thoughts run loose.
He’d spent the past five days they’d had together thinking it through and how he’d approach it with Taylor.
She knew all along he was going to go for it. There wasn’t much thinking to do on his part. Unless it crossed his mind that the two of them could have a child at some point.
Might be what was crossing hers.
But like she’d said, there was no guarantee they would last. She knew those things. She’d had enough rotten luck with relationships in the past that she wasn’t about to get ahead of herself here.
Even if she wanted to.
And if the adoption went through and she and Luca went the distance, she’d love this baby as if it were hers anyway! As if it were theirs.
“That’s not old,” Kate said. “Wait until you hit forty. I almost cried that day.”
“I’ve got time for that. I’m sure I’ll be crying, but for now, you got the information you wanted.”
“Not all,” Kate said. “Can I tell other people?”
“Sure. It’s never been a secret.”
“How long have you been dating?”
“We’ve been in a relationship over two months. Dating a few weeks prior to that.”
“Wait,” Kate said, grabbing her arm, her jaw almost on the floor. “That is almost as long as he’s been here. So you mean when you brought him to the Bond Fundraiser that was an actual date?”
She winked. “It was in my mind. Maybe in his too, but we hadn’t really gotten that far. Now we have. And we’ve got patients to see.”
“Yep,” Kate said. “I checked the schedule. Got a newborn coming in. Your cousin’s son, I believe.”
“I saw,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “Can’t wait to get my hands on him.”
Gabriela left the break room and went to her office. There was a squeal and laughter beyond the door, which meant Kate was having fun spreading the news.
Ten minutes later, her computer dinged that Wesley Harrington was screened and ready for his appointment.
She wheeled out with her computer and went into her cousin Grace Stone Harrington’s room, stopped and said, “Give me that baby.”
Lincoln laughed. She wasn’t surprised they were here as a family. “Here you go. He just woke up.”
Gabriela took the baby in her arms, rocking him a little, leaning down close and giving him a little sniff.
Fresh baby smell was one of her favorite things ever!
“How are you feeling, Grace?” she asked.
Her cousin didn’t look as if she’d had a baby a month ago.
“Good. Tired, but I’m used to not sleeping much. Or getting to bed late.”
“It takes some time getting used to. How is Wesley eating? Sleeping? I don’t want to give him back to start working, but I should.”
Lincoln reached for his son, while she went to her laptop.
“He’s sleeping well. Getting up every two to three hours at night to eat. During the day, he’s eating more frequently. Closer to every two, maybe sooner. He’s got his father’s appetite.”
Lincoln shrugged. “What can I say? He’s a big baby and needs to fill up.”
“Well,” she said. “He’s gained almost two pounds since birth and grown a little over an inch and a half. So everything is looking great. He’s on the high end of the charts for height and weight.”
“Is that bad or good?” Grace asked.
The concern shot up fast, but she wanted to quiet that down. “It’s good. As long as his growth stays around the same percentage then it’s fine. If he was this weight and ten percent in height, then we’d have to see if maybe he was eating too much. But it’s all good.”
“He’s perfect,” Grace said. “Or I think so.”
“Of course he is,” Lincoln said. “He’s got both of our genes.”
They went through the rest of the visit, Gabriela taking longer than she should have, but she just needed to get her cuddles in the best she could.
“You’ll be holding your new niece all you want soon enough,” Grace said when they bundled Wesley back up to take him outside.
“I can’t wait,” she said.
“And now you’ve got yourself a man,” Grace said, wiggling her eyebrows. “How is that going?”
She grinned. “It’s going wonderfully! Couldn’t be better.”
And when Luca texted her when she was at the hospital that he’d talked to Taylor and Cora and they said yes, they would love for him to adopt Taylor’s son, she knew what true happiness was.
She needed to share it. She could trust her mother.
So the minute she was in her office, she picked up her phone and called.
“Hi, Gabriela. Aren’t you working tonight?”
“I am. I’ve got a moment to chat.”
If she didn’t do it now, it’d have to be another night like this or wait four more days. She didn’t call her parents after her shift. That was too late.
“Everything good?” her mother asked. “We don’t normally talk to you when you’re working.”
“It’s great. I got to hold Wesley Harrington today. Oh my God, he’s so stinking cute. Grace looked great. Lincoln never stopped smiling.”
“I bet,” her mother said. “How long did you go over in that appointment?”
“Too long to keep count. I had to rush around to get back on track, but it was worth it.”
“I’ll have to stop over and visit at some point. Maybe the next time we are on the island. I like to give them some time to adjust and sleep.”
“They both looked tired but not horribly. Lincoln took two weeks off after the birth and then only has been working weekends when Melanie comes over and stays on the island to help.”
“It’s great they can work that out. I don’t want to step on toes with Justine and Garrett, but they know I’m around to help as much as I need to.”
Which meant that when her niece was born, her parents would be on the island more. Or at least her mother.
That privacy would be gone, but it’s not like Luca didn’t have a place for her to go and stay.
Plenty of time to figure that out.
There were more important things she needed to talk to her mother about.
“Speaking of babies,” she said. “Luca is looking into adopting a newborn.”
“What?” her mother asked. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. It kind of just fell into his lap.”
“How does that fall into anyone’s lap?” her mother asked. “You need to explain this more to me.”
She should have figured it would turn into more than she planned. “He always wanted children. He and Zoe tried for years, but she couldn’t conceive. It was her, not him. She wouldn’t do any kind of fertility treatments or consider adoption and he didn’t feel he had a right to push.”
“That’s sad,” her mother said.
“It is. He’s getting older. He wants a child and though we love each other—”
“Whoa, stop and rewind. Start there.”
Gabriela laughed. “I do love him. He loves me. Mom, I feel he’s the one. I’ve felt it for a while but have been fearful of saying it. Then last week when this whole adoption thing came up, he was nervous. He’s worried about what it will do to our relationship.”
“It’s going to change a lot,” her mother said. “You know that. You know how much work a child is, especially for a single parent, and then with his hours.”
“I know. We know all those things. We’ve talked about it. Just because we love each other, it’s only been a few months. I’m not going to hold him back on something he’s wanted for what seems like forever when we don’t know what a year could bring with us.”
“I see your point. But it could affect your relationship.”
“It could, both positively or negatively. I know all those things. But if I said I wanted to have a baby now with him, it’d be the same.”
“Are you considering that?” her mother asked, the shocked voice not lost on her. “I mean, adoption is no guarantee, right?”
“Now you need to rewind. I have no intention of getting pregnant right now. And yes, the adoption is not guaranteed. It’s a patient.
A teenage girl. She’s having a boy, she doesn’t want the baby, the home situation isn’t ideal and she’d already decided to give the baby up.
If Luca wasn’t the one to see this patient that day, it would have gone unnoticed by him most likely. ”
“So that is what you mean by it falling into his lap?”
“Yes. I can say her name now, because it’s not in the context of my patient, but rather the person who Luca is planning on adopting a baby from.
Her first name is Taylor. He talked to her yesterday.
She’s kind of excited that someone she knows wants her baby.
She’s living with her aunt, who is equally excited over it. ”
She was positive a lot of it had to do with Luca saying that he expects Taylor to take care of herself, not just for the baby but for her.
He’d told her that Taylor almost felt relieved that there was a plan in place. The same with Cora.
“And what part are you playing in this? How is he going to manage this with his job? He hasn’t even been employed a year to get Family Medical Leave.”
“But he has vacation and we don’t work the same schedule. For the first few months, I’ll watch the baby while he’s working.”
“Gabriela. I know you love him. I know you love kids, but that’s asking a lot. You work a lot during your rotation and then to care for a newborn for over eighty hours to follow up with the eight you just worked. You’re going to burn out.”
She ground her teeth. “If it were my child I’d be doing that anyway. Where is it any different?”
“You’d have child care and for nights or weekends, you’d have us or your partner.”
“And that is how it’s going to be. I’m not asking you to do it, I’m just saying, I’m his partner.
This isn’t permanent. Don’t think that. He knows it and I know it and I was clear it couldn’t be.
He’s going to need time to find a nanny or some kind of care in place for the morning and days.
I can be the one to put the baby to bed at night though if need be. There is still time to work it out.”
Her mother sighed. “I can tell there is no talking you out of this?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Why would you do that? This isn’t a bad thing.”
“It’s not really great either,” her mother said.
“I’m not trying to rain on your parade. You’re my daughter and I worry about you.
This is a lot. And it’s a new relationship on top of it.
Like you said, you don’t know what the future holds for you both and what if you get attached and things don’t work out with you and Luca? ”
She sighed. “Mom, that’s a lot of what ifs when there are more that will come on sooner. We need to focus on them first.”
Her mother was silent for a second, then asked, “When is the baby due?”
“Mid-May. She’s still in the second trimester. He’s talked to an attorney who deals with adoption and they were going to get it lined up with the best agency they have a relationship with. There will be home visits and certifications. I’m positive there won’t be an issue with him.”
“Most likely not. Not if it’s a private adoption and he has a good attorney.”
“He’s going through Bond Law. I’ll be part of some visits, but not completely.
We aren’t married or engaged. So he has to do this on his own and the plan is a nanny on the days he’s working.
The fact that someone might only work five days and get ten off could be attractive.
Maybe even someone from Boston staying with him those five days and then going back. ”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that. That might actually work.”
“See, you make it sound like he’s flying blind. He’s not. We aren’t. Mom, I know you’re concerned. I called because I had to talk to someone, but we are trying to keep it quiet since it’s in the early phases. Anything can happen. Taylor could change her mind, though I’m not sure she will.”
“You never know until it’s finalized.” Her mother waited a second. “I’m not trying to be critical. I’m just concerned.”
“I know. I love you for that.” She looked at her watch and had to cut this conversation soon. “I know you always think I’m full of fun and laughter.”
“You’re a very serious person, Gabriela. We all know it. Don’t kid yourself. It’s not that. You’ll make a wonderful mother someday. I just thought...”
“You thought it’d be with my child first. I thought it too. But at my age, there is a great chance I’d be dating or end up with someone with a child. I knew that.”
“But this is different.”
“No one should put their life on hold for a few months’ relationship, Mom. That is my stance and that is what I told him.”
“So you encouraged him to do this?”
Maybe this call wasn’t that great of an idea, but it had to be done. “I didn’t encourage him to do that. I encouraged him to go with his heart and assured him I’d be here regardless. If he changes his mind, it’s still not going to change mine. I think that is the mature thing to do, don’t you?”
“Very,” her mother said, the pride coming through. “And you know as well as I do, that I’ll help anyway I can.”
“Thanks, Mom. Oh, and one more thing before I go.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask,” her mother said, her voice wary.
“This is good. Kind of funny. Definitely funny. Everyone in the office found out I’m dating Luca now. So there, it’s out in the open.”
“That’s good. How did they find out?”
“I told them,” she said cheerfully. “Or I told Kate and then said she could spread the news. She did my work for me.”
“Gabriela! You never change.”
“Nope. And I’m not going to.”