Page 22 of Baby for the Professor
"He did? I'm sorry,” I said with a chuckle. “He is er…"
"I'm four and a half years old. My birthday is April 20th,” my son said proudly.
"Oh," Jackson looked visibly disappointed.
It took me a second to realize he wasn't making the connection. I laughed with relief. "Aiden loved telling people his birthday,” I said, hoping to distract his attention.
"Nice," Jackson said. "I'll mark my calendar. Expect a gift from me on your next birthday."
"Yay!"
I got in the car, thanking Jackson again.
When I waved him goodbye, Jackson’ eyes were still on Aiden.
Not until I was about to drive away did he call after me. "Wait a minute! It takes nine months!"
I pretended not to have heard him and hit the gas pedal.
He shouted. "We need to talk, Sabrina!"
“What’s he doing, Mommy?” Aiden asked.
“Nothing, Aiden. He’s just being funny,” I said absent-mindedly. But deep down, I dreaded what I would face the next time I saw Jackson, even though I was more or less responsible for the mess.
Chapter 13
Jackson
I'm such a dumbass. It took me long enough to gather my courage to ask the question, and then I forgot that a child's age didn't begin from the moment he was conceived. Fucking idiot. Aiden was my son. He had to be. He had my eyes, my nose, my hairline…my everything. I couldn't take my eyes off him the moment I saw him. And the two hours we spent together only deepened my suspicion. I was instantly reminded of one of those baby pictures my parents still kept in their albums.
Despite my certainty, I needed confirmation from Sabrina. I texted her the moment I got in my car. "Is Aiden my child?"
Sure as hell, she didn't respond. I paced restlessly in my apartment as self-doubt plagued me. It couldn't have happened. I had a one-night stand with the woman and got her pregnant? I didn't use a condom, but she said she was safe.
Wait. She had just broken up with her ex that night we met, so there was a good chance the child was his instead... except the child still looked awfully like me when I was little. Hell, maybe I looked like Sabrina's ex. Perhaps that was why she picked me up that night.
I stopped myself from the insane guessing and went to shower, and then I watched a sci-fi film on Netflix until I nodded off.
I was in bed and had just turned off the lamp when my phone chimed. I picked it up and saw a text from Sabrina. There was only one word: Yes.
It took my groggy mind a minute to register the meaning of it. I had messaged her and asked whether Aiden was my child. Holy Mother of God. I sat up.Aiden was my child.
I sat staring at the message, fully awake. What the hell did it mean?I'm a father?Father of Sabrina's child? Crazy. Insane! And then, unexpectedly, I laughed like a maniac.
Fuck. Why was I so happy? I had never wanted kids! Not yet, anyway. How could I have, since I hadn't even had any long-term relationship?
And kids meant responsibility. I had told my colleagues and friends that I wasn’t ready to be a dad until I was at least forty. But now, I felt nothing but excitement—only for a few minutes. Because I realized Sabrina didn't seem to have wanted to tell me. She had been holding back the truth from me all this time.
Her laptop screen background I saw on the first night of our class was undoubtedly Aiden, but she didn't tell me. Realizing the fact made me angry. Was she going to hide the fact from me indefinitely? If I hadn't pressed for an answer, would she have told me? To think that I might never have known I had a son with her made my heart ache. Aiden was such an adorable kid. I loved him before even knowing he was my son. Knowing it, I had the desire to see him again and to hear his voice.
I glanced at the phone. It was eleven. The kid must've gone to bed already.
But I had to see him again. I typed a text to Sabrina quickly.
Meet me at dinner tomorrow, please? We need to talk.
I considered asking her to bring along Aiden but decided I should be patient. I needed to sort things out with Sabrina first.
