Page 211 of The Moment We Know

Paige reached over and took one of his small hands. “You could call me whatever you want,” she told him gently. “It’d be up to you.”

“I don’t want to call you ‘Mom’.”

She was stunned at how much that hurt, especially his almost flat tone. But what he said next almost broke her heart.

“Moms can go away.”

It was clear to her that despite the lack of a close relationship with Ashley, her leaving had left a mark on Jacob, and it was also clear to Paige his growing attachment to her would make her leaving possibly crushing. Blinking away the threat of tears, she squeezed his hand. “You could just call me ‘Paige’,” she suggested. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Just then a timer beeped in the kitchen, bringing an end to the conversation. “Dinner’s ready,” David said, and the words were barely out before Jacob was up and sprinting into the hall. “Wash your hands, first,” David immediately called out.

The sound of footsteps stopping, then heading back to the bathroom could be heard, followed by running water in the sink. David got to his feet and pulled Paige up until she was standing in front of him. Then, instead of letting go of her hand, he began gently rubbing her ring finger with his thumb.

“Well?” he asked.

“I think it’s time to put that ring on my finger.”

While they ate, Jacob peppered them with random questions, his curiosity now at full steam.

“When will you be married?” he wanted to know.

“Pretty soon,” David answered. “And don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Swallowing the bite he’d taken, Jacob turned to Paige. “Where will you sleep?”

“In my room,” David said, saving her from having to answer.

He then went on to ask if Paige would be making dinner every night, would she be taking him to preschool, would she make Rice Krispies Treats a lot, watch Scooby-Doo with him, and read him bedtime stories. David found all of these inquiries very interesting, given that Ashley had done none of those things, and yet, Jacob was wondering if Paige would. It made David think his son had missed a mother’s hands-on presence in his life more than David had imagined.

Halfway through the meal, Jacob looked at Paige with an intense expression. “Are you going to have a baby?”

Paige almost choked on the bite of gnocchi she’d just taken.

Instead of answering, David asked Jacob, “Would you like to have a brother or sister?”

“Not a sister,” Jacob negated quickly. “Patrick has a sister and she’s mean. She hogs the TV.”

“Well, she’s older than him. If you had a sister, she’d be younger than you, and younger sisters are hardly ever mean,” David said, even though he had no idea if that was true or not. It sounded good, though.

Jacob shrugged, still clearly not on board with having a sister, regardless of her age.

When dinner was over, Paige and David sat alone in the kitchen, neither in a rush to clean up, while Trick-or-Treat watched them from where he was perched on top of the fridge, and Marshmallow sat on the island washing her face with a paw.

“How are you doing?” David asked. “You’ve had that Oh, shit look on your face since Jacob brought up having a baby.”

She took the last drink of her wine. “I know. That sort of … took me by surprise.”

“It took me by surprise, too.”

“It did? You seemed to roll with it pretty well.”

“Only because I’m used to dealing with a four-year-old. You’ll get used to it.” He got up to get the bottle of wine, but she waved off a refill. After adding a little to his own glass, he sat back down again. “That being said, you and I probably should’ve had a conversation about children, before having one with Jacob.”

“Yeah, probably.” Her tone was as dry as the Sahara. “So, you never did answer his question.”

“Because it wasn’t my question to answer. It’s ours.”

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