18. Kate
Exactly a week after Kate agreed to give Elias some breathing room, she texted him.
Kate:
Can we talk?
He must have been sitting on top of his phone, because he answered immediately.
Elias:
Sure. Where?
Kate:
I need to walk, so we could meet at The Regatta and then take the path along the river?
Elias:
Easy. See you in half an hour?
Kate:
See you then.
Kate looked back over the exchange. It seemed so innocent if you didn’t know the context.
But this would be the day she talked to Elias about how they’d proceed—either as parents or not.
She was more nervous than the night she’d told him she was pregnant. Maybe because she hadn’t actually expected to confess that night. It had been a spontaneous thing.
She changed into some leggings and a T-shirt and drove down to The Regatta—one of Brisbane’s well-known eateries—located in a lovely Victorian-style building.
She parked in a side street and stood on the path to wait for Elias. A Harley low rider turned the corner and parked beside her.
The rider removed his helmet. Of course. She should have expected it. Elias looked exactly like the kind of guy who spent half his time cruising the countryside on his Harley.
He smiled tentatively. ‘Hey.’
‘Nice bike.’
‘Ah, thanks.’
Kate was determined not to say anything that might freak Elias out, but she was tempted to make a crack and ask him how he was supposed to be a responsible parent if he couldn’t even drive a baby around. Although, there was a chance he owned a car as well. It suddenly made her realise how little she knew about the guy whose baby was percolating in her womb.
She looked at his well-worn boots. ‘Are you okay to walk in those?’
‘These are the most comfortable shoes I own.’
‘They look a little heavy.’
‘I can manage, Doc.’
Her heart fluttered. He wouldn’t call her Doc unless he was feeling good about everything, would he?
‘Okay. You happy to walk toward the city?’
‘Whatever you like.’
They crossed the road to the path that ran alongside the water. The weather was a little overcast, but Kate was too jumpy to care about the possibility of rain.
‘How have—’ she started at the exact moment Elias said the same thing.
They both laughed.
‘Sorry, you go,’ he said.
‘I was just going to ask how you’ve been.’
‘It’s been a pretty crazy week.’
‘Tell me about it.’
‘How are you feeling?’ he asked.
‘Good. Slightly nauseous, but otherwise fine.’
‘That’s a relief.’
‘Have you?—’
‘I want to do this,’ he blurted, cutting her off. ‘Sorry, I know I probably should have worked up to it, but I just wanted to get it out there. If you decide to keep the baby, I’m completely fine with that.’
Kate’s heart started pounding. ‘Really?’
‘I know it’s not a decision to be made lightly, but weirdly, I don’t have any doubts. Of course, I’m worried about what comes next, but I’m one hundred percent onboard with being a father.’
Kate blew out a breath. ‘All right. So I guess all that’s left is to work out how involved you want to be.’
‘Whatever you prefer. Although, if you say you don’t want me around at all, I’d be a little disappointed. I’d respect your decision, but I hope that’s not what you say.’
‘What level of involvement are you after?’
‘Anything from being a weekend dad all the way to being a full-time, hands-on parent that does at least fifty percent of the care. Probably more if you go back to work at some stage.’
Kate’s heart melted a little. This man was willing to step up with almost no notice and commit to raising their child.
Was he fully aware of the implications, though?
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes. I’d be lying if I said I was super confident I’ll do this all well, or that I really know much about pregnancy or babies, but I’m willing to try.’
Kate chuckled. ‘Well, you’re in luck. You have someone who has a medical degree and officially learned a bit about pregnancy and babies during her many years of study.’
‘That’s a relief.’
‘Did you talk to a lawyer?’
‘Not yet. I thought I should discuss what you want first.’
Despite thinking about it non-stop all week, Kate hadn’t been able to come to a decision on how involved she’d like Elias to be.
‘I… I’m not really sure. I guess if we look at it logically, we both own houses, and I don’t want to sell mine. I assume you don’t want to sell yours either.’
‘If possible, I’d like to keep my house,’ he confirmed.
‘What’s your work schedule like?’
‘Uh, whatever I want it to be?’
‘Yeah, but how many hours do you work each week?’
‘It varies. Anything from ten to eighty.’
‘Eighty?’
‘If I’m inspired. Or have an exhibition coming up.’
‘So it’s not the norm?’
‘No, not the norm.’ He stopped and grabbed her arm, ensuring she was facing him. ‘Just as importantly, what do you want to do about us?’
‘In what way?’ Kate knew what he was getting at, but she was stalling for time.
‘You know exactly what I mean. How do we define our relationship moving forward?’
‘How would you like to define it?’
He hesitated. ‘I…’
Kate worried he was about to tell her he just wanted to focus on the parent side of things for now, so she cut in.
‘It probably makes sense for us to be friends and get to know each other slowly.’
At least that way, it didn’t put any pressure on him, and it left the door open for something further later.
His expression registered a flash of disappointment before clearing. He smiled. ‘Perfect.’
A couple walked toward them, wheeling a pram. Kate glanced at the child inside as they passed. They were probably only a couple of months old.
She nodded her head at the pram. ‘Can you imagine having one of them?’
‘Strangely, I can. I never thought about being a father, but over the past week, whenever I’ve remembered it’s a possibility, I’ve been happy.’
‘I’m glad.’ Kate suddenly thought about her sister. ‘Do you want to meet my family?’
‘Of course.’
‘I can take you to my sister’s next week. She has four kids, and the youngest is still only nine months, so you’ll get a taste of reality.’
She expected Elias to flinch at the idea, but he grinned. ‘Sounds fun.’
‘And then I’ll introduce you to my parents. I already told my sister about you, but Mum and Dad still think I’m doing IVF. We might have to work on our story there.’
‘A different friend to the one you picked stepped in because the first one was no longer available?’
‘That could work. My parents aren’t that close to Hugo, so it’s unlikely they’d talk to him without me around.’
‘Cool. Then we’ll go with that for now.’
‘What about your family?’
Elias grimaced. ‘Apart from Levi, I hope to leave it as long as possible before inflicting them on you. Which won’t be difficult with my other brother being in jail. And I don’t ever see my dad. He’s basically a hermit, and I’m fine with that arrangement. But my mother is a different story. I’m trying to avoid her right now, so we’ll deal with that situation when it arises.’
‘Okay. Just let me know if you want to arrange a meeting. When are you going to tell Levi?’
‘I guess soon. You want to be there?’
‘Either way.’
He looked out at the river as a ferry drove past. ‘Phew. That’s probably enough for now. Who would have thought all these life-altering decisions would be so exhausting?’
Kate laughed. ‘I know.’
‘I was going to say we should go grab an alcoholic drink, but that’s not going to work. Should we find somewhere that sells hot chocolate or herbal tea?’
She grinned. ‘Sounds good to me.’