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I followed her into the office. She locked the door behind us, glancing over her shoulder to add, “We don’t want them to just walk in.”
She led me into what appeared to be a conference room with an oval-shaped table and chairs.
“Do you just handle mostly family cases?” I asked as she hustled around, tucking her backpack away and getting out some paperwork.
Stella shook her head. “Oh, no. I’m a paralegal for all the things. Blackthorne Law is busy. Colin handles the family law cases, and Quinn handles all the corporate stuff for Fireweed Industries. Her parents manage a few cases, but not many these days. We’re very busy. I’m not the only paralegal, but I’m the only one who was willing to move to Willow Brook. I’m just about done with law school. This is a great gig for me. They’ve already promised me I can have a position with them as a lawyer once I’m done.” Her dimples peeked out with her smile.
“That’s awesome! I know Quinn pretty well because I used to be Rhys Cannon’s executive assistant for Fireweed Industries. Now, I handle the office management here at this location.”
“Quinn is amazing. She’s my heroine and I want to be just like her,” Stella enthused.
I chuckled. “You do?”
“She’s so smart and on top of everything and I have so much respect for her. Of course, I respect everybody at Blackthorne Law, but except for her, they’re all men, so…” She shrugged.
Within minutes, Stella had made coffee and we were seated at the table. She placed a notebook, two pens, and several folders in a row in front of her.
“What are those for?” I asked.
“Colin prepared several options for legal agreements. We’ll see how you feel after the meeting. There’s no pressure to make a decision today. If you have any hesitation at any point, all you have to do is look at me and—” Pausing, she gestured to a pair of pens, one blue and one black. “Blue means you want to wait, black means you’re ready to go. Just pick up the one that works for you. I’ll handle the legal talk, so don’t even worry that you have to explain anything.”
“Oh, that makes it easier.” My chest was still tight, but I was feeling better.
“I know you reviewed everything with Colin, but is there anything else to cover before they get here?” she asked.
“Nope.”
Stella’s presence had this amazing effect on me. She was cheerful, almost bubbly, but also completely professional. She oozed competence and I felt like I was in good hands with her. I had zero doubt she would have my back if I needed something.
“I’m ready for them to get here so we can get this over with,” I said.
On cue, there was a knock on the entrance door. Stella hurried out, returning in a moment with Teddy’s grandparents. Although I felt confident with Stella here, my insides churned like a wobbly wheel. I kept my hands clasped tightly together. After we got through introductions, Stella launched into the outlines of the meeting while I studied Teddy’s grandparents.
Paul’s mother was petite with curly salt and pepper hair, glasses, and a warm smile. His father was all gray, tall, and thin with a serious expression. About halfway through, I almost backed out of telling them the whole truth, but I wanted them to understand why I was so distrustful of their son. Part of me kept thinking that maybe it didn’t matter in the long run, but I knew that it did. Paul was a liar in a sneaky way, and he could create more problems in the future.
After I stumbled through my halting explanation, I twisted my hands together under the table and looked over them. His mother was quiet for a few beats before her lips pressed together as she shook her head sharply. “I am so sorry.”
Paul’s father closed his eyes and leaned his head back for a moment. The whole thing was so embarrassing and I was still so ashamed. I’d never imagined myself explaining to strangers about their son taking a condom off in the middle of sex. It was horribly embarrassing.
When Paul’s father brought his gaze to mine, I wasn’t sure what I saw there, but I thought it was disappointment mingled with anger. “Paul is selfish. He takes care of himself. This isn’t the first time this happened,” he said.
“You have another grandchild?” My voice rose up sharply at the end.
His mother shook her head. “No. She didn’t get pregnant, but she pressed charges. That was in California where it’s illegal.”
“Oh,” was my single word reply. I glanced to Stella, uncertain of what to do with this turn in the conversation.
Stella’s sharp eyes arced around the table. “So, Paul’s behavior isn’t a surprise?”
Paul’s mother looked down at the table. When her gaze lifted again, pain shimmered there. “We didn’t know that’s what happened here.” She paused before flattening her palms on the table, as if steeling herself. “Are you glad you had…?”
When her words trailed off, I interjected quickly, “Absolutely. I don’t regret having Teddy for a millisecond. I don’t like how it happened. I certainly didn’t plan on getting pregnant and having a baby. But the way it happened has most definitely affected my trust in Paul. It’s my understanding from what he said that he doesn’t really want any involvement.”
Paul’s father finally spoke, “Of course he doesn’t. Responsibility isn’t something he’s interested in. We wish we could understand, but clearly, we didn’t instill a strong moral compass in him.”
What I said next was impulsive, but for some reason, I trusted them. “I’m definitely not opposed to your involvement. I’m willing for you to have visits as long as you respect my boundaries with Paul. Maybe someday he’ll change his mind. Maybe he’ll demonstrate he can be responsible and trustworthy in the future, but right now, it’s important to me that you respect that I don’t want him to be involved. I don’t even want child support from him.”
“We completely understand,” his mother replied. “We’ve already discussed it with our attorney. We’re willing to do supervised visits, to visit only in locations where you’re comfortable, with whatever guidelines you want to set. We would love to have a relationship with our grandson. We don’t really understand why Paul does the things he does, and maybe it’s partly our fault.”
