Her face fell, and she let out a long breath. I could see the fear in her eyes as she talked about not being able to find a job. She was bordering on panic.
“I'm sorry to hear that,” I said.
I shuffled my feet and looked around, suddenly realizing how awkward this entire situation had to be for her.
“Would you like to grab lunch?” I asked.
She looked back up at me, batting those dark eyelashes up at me. I assumed she'd shoot me down again, but she surprised me instead.
“Sure,” she said. “Actually, I did want to talk to you about what you said the other night.”
“Come on,” I said. “Today you get to pick the place. Anywhere your little heart desires.”
She smiled gently. “It has to be cheap, I'm broke.”
“It's my treat, Casey. I invited you, remember?” I said. “Just name the place.”
She bit her lip and seemed to think about it for a long time. She looked at the places around us, searching for something.
Finally, she said, “How about the Cheesecake Factory? I've never been there before.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I said.
We walked over to the restaurant, and there was a bit of a wait. I made small talk with her until we were finally seated, not wanting to bring up our conversation from the other night before she was ready.. I was content to just let her play it out at her own pace. I didn't want her to slap me again or storm out of the restaurant. Even though she seemed to be in a better mood, I wasn't going to take any chances.
As soon as we sat down, she started talking just as I did.
“Malcolm, I –”
“Casey, I just wanted –”
We both stopped, and then we laughed.
“Go ahead,” I told her. “Ladies first.”
Her smile wavered, and she took a deep breath. “I thought a lot about what you'd offered me the other night, Malcolm and I – ”
The waitress interrupted us, and Casey let out an agonized sigh. I could tell it was hard for her to say what she was trying to say, and she’d been trying to get it out while she’d had the courage.
“Welcome to The Cheesecake Factory, my name is Katrina,” she chirped brightly. “Would you like to start out with an appetizer or maybe a cocktail?”
“Can you give us a minute, Katrina?” I said. “We haven't had a chance to look at the menu yet.”
“Of course. Let me get you started with some waters for now, okay?”
“Sounds great,” I said.
Katrina wandered away from our table, and I stared at Casey. She looked like a deer in the headlights, her eyes wide. I felt like a complete and utter asshole. So, I decided to just nip it in the bud and take all of the strained tension, awkwardness, and pressure off of her.
“Casey, I'm sorry I even brought all that up with you,” I said. “Honestly, it was a spur of the moment thing, and I shouldn't have put you in the position. Really, I'm so sorry.”
“Malcolm, I was just going to say I'll do it.”
A strangled, choking sound escaped me. “You will?”
“I will.”
I couldn't believe it. I was staring at the face of the woman who would have my child. Well, if things worked out, that was. Still, hearing her say she'd do it was incredible. It felt like a two-ton weight had been lifted from my shoulders. At the same time though, it felt like another two-ton weight settled heavy in my stomach.