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She nods with a satisfied smile, grabbing my hand to lead me to the kitchen.
We don’t bother grabbing plates as we bring the food over to the dining table, opting to eat straight out of the metal tins.
“Was Jared surprised?” Maria asks as she takes a bite.
“Yeah, he was pretty taken aback. I knew he would be. I don’t think he was expecting this anytime soon. We figured he’d be the first one to have a kid since he’s been with Jessica for a while already,” I explain, the fact that I’m beating Jared to parenthood still being hard to wrap my head around.
“He doesn’t think it’s . . . weird?” Maria asks, and I smirk at her question.
Her dad has been a major concern, and I can tell she attempts to gauge his response based on how others react. Our relationship is a tad unconventional, given our age-gap and the upcoming arrival of our child at this relatively early stage.
“Weird? No. I think for the most part, he’s excited for me. Though, he did think we should tell your dad soon,” I tell her, wanting to broach the conversation.
We keep putting it off. We’re both dreading it. But we have a child on the way, and it’s time we start acting like grown-ups. People are going to know sooner rather than later, and sooner is our best bet.
“Yeah, I have been thinking about that . . . all day, really.” Maria sighs, looking very interested in the pasta left in her container.
“Any ideas on how you’d like to do it? I’ll go with anything,” I offer. It’s her dad, and she will know the best way to handle him.
“We should go to dinner at their place,” Maria suggests.
It sounds reasonable enough.“Won’t they think it’s weird that I’m joining you for dinner? Or would you tell them we’re dating over the phone?” I question.
She thinks over my words for a moment.
“I guess I could just say I’d be inviting you over as a thank you for volunteering and maybe add that I thought it’d be nice since you already work for my dad,” she starts slowly, thinking about what to do as she speaks. “Then we can spill the beans and come out with the truth.”
The truth.
The words make my stomach drop. It will be sad sitting there as such a nice dinner goes completely to shit.
I can tell that Maria notices the worry on my face, so I try my best to reassure her with a smile.
“You know, we’ve never even considered that your parents could take things well,” I offer, noting how we’ve only been pessimistic about the situation.
Maria gives a small nod of agreement. “That’s true. I don’t think my mom will be upset. Surprised, for sure. She’ll be miffed that we kept the secret for so long, but not about our relationship. But my dad . . . That’s a whole other story.”
The words “hands off” ring through my mind.
“There’s a reason I’m pessimistic,” she continues, and I wince at her words.
Reaching across the table, I rest my hand over hers. I know she’s just as scared as I am, if not even more so. She and her dad are close, and I know she doesn’t have any desire to jeopardize that relationship. Yet, here we are.
“Things will be alright,” I finally utter, not knowing what else there is for me to say.
“You don’t know that,” Maria tells me glumly.
And she’s right, I don’t know that, not for sure. But sitting here enjoying my dinner with her gives me some hope.
“I know. But I have you and . . . we have the baby,” I assure her, and this seems to somewhat perk up her mood as the side of her mouth quirks up.
“And we have the baby,” she repeats, the words only making her smile even wider.
I’m not sure how dinner will go, but I know that at the end of the night, I’ll go home with Maria, and that’s good enough for me.
CHAPTER24
MARIA
