Bear My Babies

Chapter 3

Thomas had been putting off calling his mother to tell her the news. It was the day of his dinner with Melissa to discuss all the ins and outs of their plan. His mother was a strong believer in fate and always thought he’d meet a nice were woman to settle down with despite there being a shortage of them in New York. He’d once asked her if there wasn’t some type of network or association that kept up with the bears in the world and she’d gone really quiet.

Later, his father had told him they’d fallen out with the elders due to something his father had done when he was younger. Neither one of his parents would tell him what that was, so it was another reason he assumed they never heard or met with others of their kind. Maybe they were the outcasts, cut off from the society they’d once belonged to.

“Mom,” he finally called and she answered on the first ring, of course. It had been a couple days since they talked so she was probably worried about him.

“Tommy, are you okay, are you sick? Why haven’t you called your mother?”

“I’m fine, Ma, I’ve just been busy with work.”

“Work, work, work is all you men ever do. You need to find a hobby or settle down and start a family.”

He took a deep breath. His mother knew nothing about his inability to get a woman pregnant. He’d been able to keep it a secret from her for a while and there was no reason to tell her now.

“That’s actually why I’m calling. I’ve met someone who wants to have my baby.”

He held the phone away from his ear while she screamed for his father and then squealed into the phone.

“Tommy, that’s incredible! Are you getting married, are you going to bring her to meet us, is she too young for you? Don’t answer any of that. Oh honey, I’m so happy!”

This was his chance to tell her she was simply going to have his child. There wouldn’t be a wedding or a relationship. It would just be a baby. He couldn’t bring himself to do it though. It was too much to throw on his mother, she wouldn’t approve one bit.

“I knew fate would bring another bear into your life, you just had to be patient.”

“Mom, she’s human.” That part, at least, he could be honest about.

She didn’t say anything and just breathed heavily into the phone for a minute. “I suppose,” she started quietly, “if there aren’t any bears you’ll have to make due with a human woman.”

“I think you’ll like her, Mom, she’s nice.”

“Well, I should hope she isn’t mean, son. We shall see, bring her to your niece’s birthday party and I’ll decide then.”

After that statement, there was no way he was going to tell his mother she was just going to have the baby and move on. He’d simply have to find a way to tell his parents they split up after the baby was born.

“Okay, I will see you then.”

“Mr. McMillian, Mr. Blair Schmitt is on the phone for you.” Janet poked her head into his office.

“Tell him I’m in a meeting.” He knew Blair would just keep calling if he knew he was in his office.

“This is the third time he’s called, sir.”

“Fine, put him through, and Janet, see if you can make reservations at the Owl and Pond for seven tonight will you?”

“Hello, Thomas, nice of you to answer me.”

“Blair, what do you want that you had to call three times?” Thomas asked when his friend yelled obscenities at him the minute he answered the phone.

“Just wanted to let you know that Melissa’s ex-husband had lunch with her at her office today. I saw him go in with a bagged lunch. Or I suppose it could have been a bag with his sperm,” Blair said thoughtfully. “Either way he was there with her.”

“One, why the hell would it be a bag of his sperm? And two, are you spying on her, Blair?”

“Just a bit.”

“Why are you spying on her?”

“For the bet, of course. The stakes are high. I have a lot of people making bets on dates you fall in love or everything falls apart.”

“Stop spying on her, you lunatic!”

“I’m a P.I., Thomas, it’s what I do. You can’t ask me to stop working a job can you?”

“I most certainly can. I’m the one who asked you to do it. You aren’t even a real private investigator.”

“That hurts, man. I’ll see you at the Owl and Pond tonight? Don’t worry, I’ll hide behind my menu and then a plant strategically placed near my table.”

“Blair, if you show up tonight, I will fight you. And stop flirting with Janet for information on my schedule, you freak.” He seriously was going to have to put a restraining order on him.

“Fine, just fine. You’re no fun at all. I’ll find something else to do, but there is something you should know about her ex-husband.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know that I want to tell you now that you’ve hurt my feelings.”

“Blair,” Thomas yelled, his patience growing thin.

“He’s Nathaniel Burr and he owes a lot of people money. This includes my drug dealer and some other very bad people. If they wanted to hurt him, they might try to get to Melissa since she’s still in his life, you know.”

“I’m not touching the fact that you have a drug dealer, Blair, but is he dangerous?”

“Yes, so be careful.”

“Okay, thank you, and stay away from us tonight.”

“You’re welcome, and I’m glad you can see how useful I can be.”

Thomas hung up, not sure how to take the news that Melissa’s ex-husband was such a bad guy. He wasn’t worried about his safety. He could take care of himself. He wondered how the guy would take someone he clearly still wanted to be around having another man’s baby. He was worried about Melissa’s safety.

“Reservations are confirmed, sir.” Janet popped back in and gave him a thumbs up.

***

Melissa had spent a pretty long time getting ready for the dinner. She felt silly since it was a business meeting more than it was a date, but she figured she might as well look good. They were going to a really expensive restaurant, according to his text, and she didn’t frequent those that often. She’d stopped by to check on her mom and found the nurse reading to her.

“Mel, you’re so pretty,” she said.

“Thanks, Angela. Has she spoken any today?”