Page 63 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

It was suddenly sinking in that I was pregnant. There was no doubt I was keeping it, and excitement started to bubble in my gut.

I was having another baby. With Marcus.

I didn’t know yet if it was a girl or a boy.

I put my hand on my stomach. I couldn’t feel anything yet, but I knew I loved my child already, whoever the little guy or girl was.

But then the main problem came. How would I take care of him?

I currently didn’t have a stable job, and my savings were quickly running out. Marcus said he would help with Caleb, but we never bargained for having an extra child this early. I didn’t know if his salary could cover it, and I wouldn’t blame him if he were feeling nervous about the whole prospect.

I felt his hand slip onto my lap, squeezing my thigh as I continued to think.

I glanced at him, and while his eyes were focused on the road, I got the impression that he was completely tuned to me, almost like he could read my thoughts.

“Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly. “I’ll take care of you.”

There was a determination in his tone, and I instantly believed him. I released the breath I was holding, feeling my tension go with it. I believed him. It meant that everything would be okay.

As the days rolled by, we started getting more and more into the Christmas spirit. It seemed, with the news of my pregnancy, there was a new lightness in the house that wasn’t there before—an understanding between the three of us.

Caleb felt it too. He started wanting to do more things with us, and whenever he saw us sitting somewhere, he would come and either sit next to Marcus or me.

When I decided it was time to start decorating the place, Marcus agreed to help out.

That was how we ended up under the Christmas tree my father brought over, working hand-in-hand to create the decorations. I was fashioning the cutouts as well while telling him stories of doing this with my family, and he’d chuckle and throw in some comments.

Caleb came down when we were both discussing, and he stood there, picking at his trousers.

“You wanna help, baby?” I asked, and he nodded, so I handed him some stickers for the cards under the tree.

He then proceeded to stick it on determinedly as if everything relied on it being there. We soon lapsed into a comfortable silence with Marcus hanging it up, me cutting it out, and Caleb sticking it on.

“What were some of your childhood Christmas traditions?” I asked Marcus.

He didn’t look up from what he was doing when he answered.

“Didn’t really do much,” he said offhandedly.

My eyes widened. “For real?” My family was really big on Christmas, and it always surprised me whenever I met someone who didn’t really celebrate the holiday.

“Are you Jewish?” I asked.

A smile tugged on his lips. “No. My mom was just never into holidays or celebrations of any kind.”

“What about your dad?” I asked tentatively. Maybe it was insensitive of me to ask, but I wanted to know. I didn’t want there to be any unspoken topics in our relationship. I noticed he never spoke much about the man, even back when we were friends.

His expression darkened slightly. “My old man was barely around even before he took off with stolen money. To be honest, I don’t really remember him much.”

“Oh.” My heart ached for Marcus and everything he’d been through. “Well then, we’re going to create our own Christmas traditions. Starting from today.”

“Presents,” Caleb said in a voice that was so quiet, I thought I was hearing things at first. Only seeing my own shock reflected on Marcus’ face told me that I didn’t hear things.

Caleb just spoke. On his own. Unbidden.

“We should get presents,” Caleb said again. “For Dad.”

I saw Marcus’ expression shift with so much emotion that it was tangible. We hadn’t yet had the conversation with Caleb about who Marcus really was, but my little boy was apparently wiser than I thought. It seemed he got it anyway.He got it.

---