Chapter 26
Three hours later, Leo was still dealing with Caleb’s random responses about Vidya and her sister. He flipped between ‘How can this be happening?’ and ‘I can’t believe Vidya thought it was you’. Right now, he was staring into space saying, ‘I’m sure we used protection. I always use protection.’
Leo sighed and minimised the document he was working on – he was clearly not going to be able to get anything done. ‘But you can’t remember for sure. You said yourself, you’d had far too much to drink.’
‘She’d already been drinking, so I had to catch up,’ Caleb said.
This made no sense to Leo at all, but he let it slide. ‘And condoms don’t work a hundred per cent of the time.’
‘I know, but … I didn’t expect it to happen to me.’
‘No one ever does.’
Caleb was quiet for a moment. Leo cautiously opened his work document again.
‘Leo?’
‘Yes.’
‘Do you think she’ll like me?’
Leo peered around the screen. ‘What?’
Caleb leaned back in his chair. ‘Well, she was drunk when we met. We had a great time, but she can’t even remember what I looked like. And if we’re going to co-parent this kid, we’re going to have to see each other. Do you think she’ll like me when she meets me … you know, sober?’
Leo had no idea how fragile Caleb was right now, so he said, ‘You said there was a connection when you met. Something special. So, I’m sure she will like you.’
‘That’s a good point.’ Caleb moved out of his line of sight again.
They worked in silence for a bit. Leo got to a point where he could save his work and call it done. He checked the clock. It was nearly time to go. A flare of something like panic shot through him.
Why was he getting worked up? This meeting was a big deal for Caleb.
He himself had no reason to be stressed.
He had a mental image of Vidya, looking out at the sea, her hair blowing back away from her face.
Now he knew why she had run out on him, it was still upsetting, but not humiliating anymore, not really.
In her place, he would have run away too.
As if reading his mind, Caleb pushed his chair around to the side of the desk, sat down and said, ‘What are you going to do about Vidya?’
Leo blinked.
‘I mean, you know why she reacted the way she did,’ said Caleb. ‘Are you going to forgive her?’
‘There’s nothing to forgive, really,’ Leo said. ‘I’m relieved that she didn’t find me repulsive or something.’
Caleb made winding motions with his hands. ‘And … are you going to talk to her about it?’
‘Probably. Eventually. When it’s the right time.
’ How did he bring it up without them both dying of embarrassment?
Would she even be interested now that things had gone so drastically wrong?
What if the sight of the dragon tattoo made her think of Caleb and her sister?
That was just too awful. He rubbed his fingertips on his shirt, above the tattoo.
‘Oh, come on,’ said Caleb. ‘There’s never going to be a right time. You have to seize the day.’ He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. ‘You like this woman, Leo. It’s not often you fall for someone. Don’t let her get away.’
‘Like you’re the expert on relationships right now,’ he snapped. The minute he said it, he felt bad.
Caleb’s face fell.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that,’ Leo said. ‘You had no way of predicting this would happen.’
‘But it’s true, isn’t it?’ said Caleb. ‘How long have you been telling me that getting drunk and getting laid aren’t going to solve my problems? I guess you were right. This is how it’s come back to bite me.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Leo said, again.
‘But … buuuuut,’ said Caleb. ‘Maybe this isn’t a disaster. I guess we’ll find out when I meet Elsa.’
‘Udeni.’
‘Sorry, yes, Udeni. I mean, Vidya’s great, so her sister must also be okay, right?’ He brightened. ‘Hey, this means I get to have Vidya as my sister-in-law, of sorts. That’s cool.’
Leo didn’t know what to say to that.
***
Vidya arrived at the café ten minutes before the meeting time. Udeni, who was working ‘from home’, was sitting at a table, tapping away on her laptop. She was looking healthier today and was smart in her work clothes. It wasn’t often Vidya saw her in work mode. Udeni looked professional.
Vidya had a moment of cognitive dissonance.
She had always thought of Udeni as someone young and vulnerable.
Someone she had to look after. Looking at Udeni now, it struck Vidya that Udeni was an adult.
Choosing to keep this baby may have seemed like a whim, but she had really committed to it.
She had bought books on baby care and was giving everything some serious thought.
Perhaps she was ready. Or ready as anyone ever was for a baby.
Caleb was a nice man. With his support and, of course, her own, Udeni would be okay. Vidya felt the load on her shoulders lighten a little.
She had worked through lunch, so she ordered herself soup and a roll, and took it to the table where her sister was working.
Udeni noticed her. ‘One second,’ she said. ‘Let me just send off this email.’
Vidya sat down next to her and made herself comfortable. From where they were sitting, they could see out of the window. The café wasn’t too busy. There seemed to be quite a lot of people also working. Most of them had earbuds in. This was a good place for a meeting.
Her sister finished what she was doing and closed her laptop. Vidya had told her all about the mix-up, that Leo wasn’t the father and it would be Caleb coming to see her.
‘How are you feeling?’ Vidya asked. ‘Nervous?’
Udeni nodded. ‘Yes, but also … not so bad, you know. You were right. Telling him is the right thing to do. And now you’ve found out it wasn’t Leo, it’s helped clear the misunderstanding between you, so that’s an added bonus.’
Vidya groaned. ‘I’m so embarrassed about that.’
‘Why? It was an honest mistake.’ Udeni nudged her. ‘It means that you can date him now.’
Vidya cast about for something to say. Of course she’d like to try again with Leo, but …
quite literally running away the minute she saw his bare chest wasn’t something that was so easy to recover from.
She looked out of the window and, to her relief, saw two familiar figures walking down the street.
Leo must have come with Caleb for moral support.
‘It’s them,’ she said. ‘There they are.’
‘The two suits?’ Udeni said, craning her neck to see.
‘Yes. Looks like Leo came too.’
Udeni stared for a moment. ‘Caleb is the one on the right?’
‘Yes. Why? Do you remember him now?’
‘I recognise the way he moves.’ A small smile touched Udeni’s face.
Vidya didn’t want to know what she was thinking about.
Udeni turned suddenly. ‘What if he doesn’t like me? He thinks I’m a blonde-haired Elsa. What if he sees the real me and doesn’t want anything to do with me?’
He didn’t have to like her. He just needed to want to be a part of the baby’s life. Actually, he didn’t even need to do that. ‘He’ll like you,’ Vidya said. ‘I can’t imagine why he wouldn’t.’
‘What if I don’t like him? I don’t remember that much about him – I mean, I must have found him attractive but—’
‘Tall, sexy, funny and a great dancer,’ Vidya said.
‘Yes, but I had vodka goggles on then. What if I don’t like him now?’ Udeni’s eyes were wide and a little panic stricken. This was a genuine worry? At this point in time?
‘Caleb is nice,’ Vidya said, kindly. ‘I like him. I’m pretty sure you’ll like him too.’ She rubbed her sister’s forearm. ‘Relax. Okay? It’ll be fine. For what it’s worth, I think you two would have made a really nice couple if you met under more normal circumstances.’
Udeni gave her a long look. ‘You approve of him?’ she said.
‘We’ve become friends. So, yes.’
‘That’s good to know.’
The two guys entered, Caleb first, then Leo. Caleb scanned the café. When he turned their way, Vidya waved. Leo said something to Caleb and went to the counter.
Caleb came towards them. His eyes were on Udeni. ‘Elsa,’ he said.
‘Rabbit head.’ Udeni smiled.
‘Caleb, actually.’ He smiled back and extended a hand.
‘Udeni.’
They shook hands and he sat down. His gaze slid towards Vidya for a second and they nodded to each other. Then his attention was straight back to Udeni. This, Vidya felt, was a good sign. She turned her attention to eating her soup quietly.
For a moment, there was awkward silence. Then Udeni said, ‘I guess this is a bit of a surprise. I thought you should know about the baby, but you don’t need to—’
‘I want to know,’ Caleb said, quickly. ‘Obviously, it’s unexpected, but I want to be a part of it.’
‘We’ll do a paternity test,’ said Udeni, firmly. ‘Once the baby is born. Because that’s less risky.’
Caleb nodded. ‘That makes sense.’
Vidya blinked. Udeni sounded very calm and in control. Vidya had seen Caleb switch from happy-go-lucky to serious and organised before, but this was the first time she’d seen Udeni do it. Perhaps she had underestimated her sister.
‘So, how far along are you?’ said Caleb. ‘Because they count two weeks before too, don’t they?’
‘Eleven weeks,’ said Udeni. ‘More or less.’
‘And everything is okay?’
‘I think so. We’ll know more when I have the twelve-week scan next Thursday.’ Udeni glanced at Vidya, who smiled back.
Leo arrived with two coffees and slid one in front of Caleb. He introduced himself to Udeni, who shook his hand and looked him up and down.
‘Nice to meet you, Leo,’ she said.
‘He’s one of my best friends,’ said Caleb. ‘We both work with Vidya.’
Udeni smiled. ‘I know.’
Leo made eye contact with Vidya briefly and looked away.
She assumed Leo was here because Caleb had asked him to come. Should she be talking to him to give the other two some space? Did he even want to talk to her after her ridiculous accusation? Heat rose up her cheeks. What must he think of her? She must have looked like such an idiot.
Caleb asked if he could go with Udeni to the twelve-week scan.
Udeni said, ‘It’s okay; Vidya’s coming with me.’