The Moment of Truth

“Is that what the money was for?” she said. “When your father came home and told me that you’d called Leonard for a signature loan, I’d hoped maybe you’d found an investment.”

He should have known Leonard would talk to his father. “I’ve met someone, Mother. Her name’s Dana....”

Josh spent a good five minutes telling his mother about the woman who was, at that moment, unpacking their things in the home they were going to share.

He was avoiding telling her the rest.

He was also smiling as he told her about the way Dana had helped him with Little Guy, teaching Josh how to care for a pet.

“You have a dog?”

Something else he’d failed to mention. Pets were forbidden in the Redmond mansion.

“His name’s L.G.,” he said, delaying telling her the real news. “Short for Little Guy,” he continued, telling her how he’d ended up with the dog.

“You always wanted a dog,” his mother said, something that he’d forgotten. “But your father was so allergic there was no way we could bring an animal into the house...”

His father was allergic to dogs? Shouldn’t he have known that?

Maybe he had. Maybe the information was something else he’d been privy to but hadn’t bothered to note.

He had to tell his mother about the baby.

So he told her about the meals Dana had left in his freezer, and the cookies she’d baked.

“You love her,” his mother said, her voice soft. “I...”

What had Dana said to say? He was quite sure she hadn’t mentioned anything about love.

“She’s the one, Joshua.”

He didn’t have time for nonsense.

“What one?”

“The woman I knew you’d meet one day. The one that would stop you in your tracks.”

Dana hadn’t done that. The baby had.

“I can tell by your tone of voice when you say her name,” his mother continued. “A mother knows these things.”

She sounded so pleased, he hated to disappoint her. But it had to be done.

“We’re having a baby together, Mother.”

“What? A baby! When?”

She must have been home alone. She’d never have allowed herself to lose control otherwise. He could imagine the look of horror on her face.

And his stomach took a dive. He’d tried to avoid this. Would have preferred not to tell his folks at all. At least not until after the baby was born when he would’ve had some time to prove himself to be a good father.

“We have to meet her, Josh. I’ll fly out. Next weekend. We have to plan the wedding. I’m sure she’ll want to have it before she starts to show too much, which doesn’t leave a lot of time, but we can get this done.”

“Mother.” It wasn’t often that he’d used that tone of voice with her. In fact, he’d only had to once before, when he’d told her he was leaving Boston. “We aren’t getting married. I can’t. Not with Michelle...”

“Of course you can, Josh. No one expects you to live your life alone.”

It was what he deserved. “Dana and I are happy to have found each other.” They weren’t the exact words he was supposed to have said, but they were close enough. “We want this baby and are sharing a home. That’s what I called to tell you.”

“If you want to wait on the wedding, I understand, Josh. I don’t like it, and you know your father won’t, either, but I do understand. The world’s a different place now. Young people have children before they marry sometimes. And I give you my word that I will do my best not to get ahead of myself, but...a baby! I—I’m just so thrilled, Joshua.”

She wasn’t drinking. He could always tell when she’d had a couple of glasses of wine. “I thought you’d be horrified.”

“Whatever gave you that idea, Joshua? You know I want grandchildren.”

“And you know that I’m the farthest thing from father material there is.”

The silence on the line was telling.

“What I know, Joshua, is that while it’s true you used to be a bit...unaware...when it came to other people, you are and always have been a decent man. It’s time you quit castigating yourself for something that wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m a spoiled, selfish ass who’s spent my whole life focused on me.”

“You’ve spent your whole life being the only one in your crowd who remembered to call your mother on her birthday every single year. Who, at eighteen, canceled a poker tournament when his father had the flu so he could handle a critical business deal.”

“I left a chain of broken hearts and wasn’t even aware of having done so.”