The little boy crouched in the booth across from us, obviously uncomfortable. I watched Seth draw him out of his shell by asking about his favorite cartoon character and toys. Jonah pushed his little glasses up and lit up with a grin when Seth told him a silly knock-knock joke.

I marveled at the man beside me. He was amazing with kids. Peanut was lucky to have him. I was lucky to have him.

When Joe and Court came out, Joe picked up a laughing Jonah and hurled him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “I was thinking it would be a great night for us pirates to go to the p-arrrrrrk.” He said the words in his best pirate impression.

Jonah squealed with delight, and I wondered if we were going to need to cover the bar again. As if reading my thoughts, Joe pointed over his shoulder. “Hired a part-time bartender, so I can spend some time with my little buckaroo.”

We all smiled as we watched the father and son duo happily leave together, with Joe singing a song about swashbuckling. “He’s really taken to this fatherhood thing,” I commented.

“Yes, and he’s being very understanding with me,” Court added. “He seems to really grasp that I’m not ready to be in a relationship with someone who has a child, and I don’t think he’s going to make it awkward for me at work.”

I still didn’t comprehend why Court was so against trying to make it work with Joe, but I was glad he wasn’t going to make her uncomfortable. I wondered if she had decided that she never wanted to have a child.

As if sensing my lingering question, Court said, “I’ll probably have children someday, but I’m not quite ready yet. For now, I’ll just practice being the best aunt in the world to Peanut.”

“Sounds great to me.” I gave her a watery smile as my pregnancy hormones kicked into high gear and threatened to turn me into a blubbering mess.

Ever the comedic relief, Seth wiped an imaginary tear from his eye as he overly-dramatically said, “Sounds great to me, too. I love you guys.”

We shook our heads at him, grinning. “Who invited him?” Court rolled her eyes as she pointed her thumb at him.

“I think that was you,” I reminded her.

We had all survived an incredibly stressful day, so we spent the rest of the evening laughing and talking. Even though it hadn’t gone well, it was such a relief to have told the Davis family about Peanut. I sat back and truly relaxed for the first time since finding out I was pregnant.

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