Then Gregory noticed something. There was something different about Jessica. She was looking a little…fuller in the figure, especially around her middle.
Realization dawned.
“Shit, are you pregnant?”
“I am.”
“You’re not going to tell me that it’s mine, are you?” Gregory shook his head. “I think you know that it will be pretty impossible for me to be the father…”
“I know you’re not the father.” Jessica winced and wrapped her arms around her chest. She looked awkward. “I was considering it, but I was persuaded out of it.”
Persuaded out of it? Gregory exchanged looks with Clint, who appeared to be equally confused.
“So…who’s baby, is it?”
Jessica bit her lip and glanced away.
“I…, I had a one-night stand. I don’t even remember the guy’s name. We were both drunk, and it was…well, you can use your imagination.”
Gregory could imagine, although he didn’t want to. He rubbed his hand across his eyes. Now he was getting a headache.
“You’re clearly quite far along. Were you pregnant when you confronted me and Diane at Growler’s?”
“I was,” Jessica grimaced, “I was planning to say you had gotten me pregnant and ditched me, and I would demand that you were to do right by me and the baby. That was if your date didn’t leave as she did.”
“Called it,” Clint declared.
Gregory waved his friend into silence.
“You do realize that trying to say I got you pregnant when we hadn’t had sex in months, longer than your pregnancy, would have made you look like an idiot when I could disprove what you were saying?”
“I get that now. Not at the time, though. I didn’t know who the guy was who knocked me up, and I didn’t want to upset my parents further.” Jessica paused. “They weren’t too happy about me cheating on you, and I was on thin ice.”
“Do they know now?”
“They do, but I just said it was a guy I dated briefly who ghosted me.”
Sort of the truth, but not quite. Gregory was still confused, though. The last time he had seen Jessica, she had been very combative.
What was going on now?
“So, what are you doing here, then? Why are we having this conversation?”
Jessica took a deep breath, her hand absently rubbing her belly.
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry. I was a fucking idiot with it all, and I was just desperate for me to have something for myself. Being pregnant and not knowing who the dad was…let’s just say I wasn’t thinking straight.”
“And what was your excuse before you got pregnant?” Gregory asked.
Jessica frowned.
“Give me a break, Gregory. I’m trying to apologize.”
“You fucked up my first date with Diane. I’m incredibly lucky that she wanted anything to do with me afterwards.” Although I’m not so sure about now anymore. “It’s going to take more than an apology.”
“I get that. And I know I screwed up. Diane said that I needed to give myself a clean break.”
Gregory blinked.
“Diane? You two have spoken?”
“I saw you two together in Boise, and I realized that you were still dating her. Admittedly, I still wanted you as a meal ticket, and I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was on my own, so I went to confront her. And we ended up talking.”
“Talking? Seriously?”
“She didn’t look to be in any mood to fight. We ended up talking, and she let me rant and let it all out. She didn’t even flinch when I started going into details I haven’t shared with my girlfriends.” Jessica gestured at my belly.
“Diane said that sometimes we can’t always have what we want, and the person I need to focus on is my baby, which means I need to look after myself. The priority is to have a healthy baby and not be afraid to take charge of things on my own.
Going after something that is going to be forced into happening is not going to make anyone happy.”
Why did it feel like this wasn’t advice to Jessica and more like Jessica passing on Diane’s advice to Gregory? He shifted.
“So, what does that mean?”
“I should focus on me and my pregnancy, not chasing you for something that isn’t going to happen. I can’t force you to be with me, and it’s just going to end up with everyone upset. There was no judgment from her at all.”
Jessica sounded surprised at that. “I thought she would be mean and claim you and call me names, but no. She was actually more focused on the baby.”
Gregory didn’t think he would have heard that his ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend actually talked like adults and believed it. But he could see Diane doing that.
“And that means…?”
“I’ll leave you alone. I wanted to say sorry for what I’ve been doing, and I’ll focus on myself.”
“What about the father?”
“If I can’t find him, no big deal. I can raise the baby on my own.”
Gregory liked the strength coming from her.
“You always were tough, Jessica. I think you’ll be fine.”
“That’s what Diane said.” Jessica gave him a small smile. “She’s actually really nice. I don’t think I’ve had anyone listen to me like that before. You’ve picked a good one there.”
Gregory didn’t know what to say to that. He was still dazed as Jessica approached him and squeezed his arm.
“Take care, Gregory. And don’t let that woman go. She’s a keeper.”
“I think I’ve realized that,” Gregory murmured.
Jessica patted his arm, nodded at Clint, and then left the office. Clint whistled.
“Bloody hell. Of all the things I expected her to come out with, I was not expecting that.”
“Neither was I.”
“Did she really say that she and Diane had a conversation that didn’t involve fighting?”
“Yes. And Diane talked her down.”
Gregory could see Diane doing that. And it made him feel proud of her. But only briefly as he remembered how she had run away from him.
He might have picked a good one, but Gregory didn’t know if his pick was running away from him.
“I’m going to head out for a bit.” Gregory pushed off his desk and gathered his things. “If this goes badly, can I rely on you to get me drunk later?”
Clint chuckled.
“Hopefully, you won’t need that, but you can count on me.”