Downhill

There is a moment of stunned silence as Charles stares at me in the rapidly dwindling light. Sooner or later, one of the staff will turn on the garden lights. I stare back at him, a sinking feeling in my gut as I wonder if I’ve made a mistake telling him. If he rejects the baby, it will hurt like a bitch.

“Excuse me?”

“I said you’re my baby’s father. I found out sometime after we got back from the island and I left the hospital that I’m pregnant, but I was not yet ready to tell you about it. I’m not still sure I should have told you, but I…” I had said all this in a rush, trying to get the words out as fast as possible, but now, I trail off.

“You’re carrying my child?” Charles asks again, but this time, he’s asking to be sure that he’s not hearing things. At my nod, the widest grin that I’ve ever seen graces his face and he lets out a whoop of delight which is so in contrast to his usual somber demeanor, that I find myself returning the smile.

“Something tells me that you did not rejo