“I’m sure. Really sure. We can do testing if you want, but I hadn’t been with anyone else and haven’t been since. Not even with Leaf yet, but...that’s TMI. Sorry. I’m babbling. It’s just—I’m thinking of naming her Cass? But we can talk about it if you want to be involved. Dr. Cardiff said the baby will be born with a vagina so I’m assuming she’s a girl. But I’ll be down if she determines she’s not later. That’s...yeah. I’m babbling,” I finished weakly.

“Oh, shit. Oh, shit. My old man is going to kill me.” Jack glanced over at the garage, his hand covering his mouth. I followed his gaze. A tall, thin man with graying temples and a mustache worked on one of the SUVs, his hands twisting inside the guts of the machine. Jack was built like him and dressed like him thanks to the uniform. It was like looking at a second Jack, before and after a time machine.

“I didn’t want to tell my mother, either. It’s hard, I know.” I felt like crying again, but to be fair, I’d gotten weepy at a tampon commercial the week before thanks to hormones, so it wasn’t out of character.

Watching Jack process—the flicker of emotions from shock to sadness to anger and frustration—felt weirdly invasive, like I was peeking at his diary. I hadn’t been able to process the anvil dropping on my head in private, either, and I didn’t want to do that to Jack if I could help it. I grabbed my phone and pulled up my contacts list, keeping my eyes averted from him so he didn’t think I was gawking at his expense.

“You’ve got to think about it, and talk to your parents and stuff. So why don’t we exchange numbers and you can get back to me? If you want anything to do with the baby or—well. Talk to your parents, I guess, and then text me? We can maybe get together?”

It took Jack a minute, but he nodded and pulled out his phone, too. He was sheet-white as he typed in my number. His voice warbled as he gave me his. I felt sorry for him, to the point I leaned in to give him a fierce hug. I hoped he didn’t think it was weird, but I’m pretty sure when you’ve exchanged bodily fluids and made a baby together, a hug was a fairly innocuous thing to do.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for, but it felt like the right thing to say.

His arms closed around me and he squeezed tight. “I’m sorry, too. I’ll get back to you quick. Promise.”