Page 18 of Rebound

“It’s yours.”

The bed falls away from below me and I stare at her beautiful face. Even in tears, looking as scared as she does right then, Tamara takes my breath away.

“What?”

“The baby, it’s yours.”

Holy fuck. I grab my chest, like I can calm my heart down.

“Did you really think I called you because I was pregnant by someone else?”

“You’ve been ignoring me for months, Tamara. What was I supposed to expect?”

“I’ve been ignoring you because I have nothing to say. Now I do.”

I nod, processing the fact that my baby is growing inside this woman. “It’s mine?”

“Clearly those condoms were no match for your super sperm.”

My responding chuckle is tight. That night when I was disposing of a condom, some of it almost spilled out. She snorted loudly and said all it missed was a cape and we cracked up laughing over my super sperm. My panic abates and my heart warms; she remembered that moment. It was soft and sweet, a big change from how the rest of our day had gone.

“Are you okay?” I ask as she tucks her hair back.

“I’m terrified.”

“Why?”

“This wasn’t part of my plan. You weren’t part of my plan.”

You were always part of mine. I shake off the thought and focus on her. “How are you feeling?”

“You’re pretty calm for someone who found out he knocked up a random woman.”

“Random woman? You’re…” I stop myself, not wanting to confess anything yet. “I don’t think it’s fully registered yet.”

Tamara nods. “Understandable. I…uh, been tired a lot. Some morning sickness and dizziness. All normal, according to my doctor and the internet. But I’m okay.”

“Okay. Good. Thank you for telling me.”

“I wasn’t going to, you know? I thought about an abortion first. Maybe even adoption. Then I realised this wouldn’t be the worst thing. I like the idea of being a mother.”

She smiles, her eyes on the sonogram and I nod slowly. If I didn’t have a medal to win, I’d be on the first flight back to Chennai to be there for her. The news hasn’t fully sunk in, so I might change my mind. I never thought about getting married or being a dad. Only people in long-term relationships seemed to have that. Now I’m going to be one of them. Without the relationship part, long-term or not.

“I’ll be home soon and we’ll uh…we’ll figure this out, okay?”

“We?”

“Did you think I was going to stand by and let you do all this on your own?”

“I mean, yeah. You’re a big hotshot professional athlete, don’t you have shit to do?”

I laugh. “Nothing in the world is more important than you.”

She rolls her eyes. “Good luck at your next match.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Win the medal, yeah?”