In the space of a few months, I have lost the woman I thought I would spend my life with, discovered my twin daughters aren’t biologically mine, met an incredible woman who made me realise the true meaning of a decent human being and almost lost her because I was too wrapped up in my own crap to properly consider what she was going through.
But now we’re expecting a child together, and I’ve gone from being on my own to suddenly having the twins back in my life, as well as Tash and Daisy.
Not to mention Tash’s friend Millicent and her son Ryder, who I didn’t quite appreciate how deeply embedded in Tash’s life they were until now.
But I’m starting to adjust.
I think the twins must have worn Rachel down because she’s agreed to let me chat with them via Skype a few times a week. I’m not sure she would have voluntarily made that decision, but she’s finally allowed it. And she seemed to feel sorry for me and went back to only wanting half the proceeds from the sale of our house. I think she realised that when I found out she was taking advantage of another man’s finances, I could possibly use that against her if we were to go to court.
Still, there’s a long way to go on this journey. It’s going to be a few more days before Tash can get the paternity test done, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t freaking out about it. I do trust Tash, but I trusted Rachel, too, and I hate myself for not being able to shut off the tiny part of my brain that is questioning the outcome.
Not that Tash has any idea about that. I know expressing my doubts aloud would only make things more complicated. I’m just going to have to suck it up for a bit longer.
And today, I’m proving my commitment by going with Tash to visit her parents. She wants to break the pregnancy news in person, so I offered to accompany her. And while Daisy already knows what’s going on, we’re leaving her with Millicent for the day. Tash is worried her parents might not react favourably to the news, especially since I haven’t met them yet.
I arrive out the front of Tash’s house. I’m just about to go and knock on the door when she appears. She turns and says something over her shoulder, presumably to Daisy or Millicent before joining me in the car.
“You look beautiful,” I say, kissing her on the cheek.
She smiles shyly. “I feel like a whale already.”
“I don’t know how you can say that. You look the same as always to me. Which is absolutely perfect.”
We drive in the direction of Eight Mile Plains, where Tash’s parents live. Apparently, they’ve been in the same house since before Tash was born.
“How are you feeling otherwise? You mentioned a little nausea a while back.”
“Thankfully, that’s subsided. I remember with Daisy, I only had it right at the beginning, so fingers crossed it stays away.”
“I remember with Rachel, she had it really bad…” I trail off, wondering if it’s appropriate to mention my ex’s pregnancy.
Tash notices my hesitation. “Hey, it’s okay. Please feel free to talk about Rachel whenever you need to. I’m actually glad you have experience with kids. You know what you’re letting yourself in for.”
I laugh. “I love kids. To me, any of the craziness is offset by all the fun you can have. And just so you know, I did my fair share of getting up during the night, so I’m not completely delusional.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Well, we’ll have to wait and see if you feel the same way once this one comes along.”
We hit a bit of traffic, but the time goes quickly. Despite the seriousness of what we’re facing, I’m happy to just be hanging out with this gorgeous woman. Before I knew she was pregnant, I was excited at the opportunity to have a proper relationship with her. That hasn’t changed. Well, obviously there’s a little more pressure to make it work, but I’ve never shied away from a challenge.
We arrive in a suburban street, and Tash directs me to a single-story red-brick house.
I get out of the car and go over to Tash’s side to open her door and help her out. She giggles. “Such a gentleman.”
She squeezes my arm, and I can see a trace of apprehension in her eyes. “Are you ready for this?” she asks.
“Yep. Are you?”
She lets out a puff of air. “I think so.”
We walk hand-in-hand from the driveway to the door. Tash knocks before trying the handle and finding it unlocked. I follow her inside.
“Hello?” she calls out.
“In here,” a woman’s voice responds from somewhere out the back.
We head down the hall and come out in a bright kitchen overlooking the yard. A woman who looks a lot like Tash—minus the colourful hair—is pouring water into a jug, and an older man, presumably Tash’s dad, is retrieving glasses from the cupboard.
Tash’s mum places the jug on the counter and comes over to give her a hug. “Darling! It’s good to see you.”
“You, too, Mum.”
Her mum steps away and appraises me. “You look familiar. Where do I know you from?”
Tash laughs. “Don’t tell me you watch Sing to Me as well.”
Her eyes widen. “Lincoln Page?”
“The one and only,” I say, grinning.
“What are you doing here?”
“We’re dating, Mum,” Tash says awkwardly.
“Oh. Wow.” She looks around. “And where’s Daisy?”
“She’s having a playdate with Ryder. You know what those two are like. I couldn’t drag her away,” Tash fibs.
“Well, then.” Her mum comes over and gives me a hug, as well. “It’s lovely to meet you, Lincoln. I’m Keiko. And this is Tash’s father, Dennis.”
“It’s great to meet you both, too,” I say, suddenly aware that this is probably the politest they’ll be today. I can’t imagine many parents responding with delight at the news their daughter is pregnant to a guy they just met.
Dennis shakes my hand and ushers us outside to a covered patio area. Keiko pours us water and focuses on me. “I really enjoyed your performances on TV.”
“Thank you.”
“If memory serves me correctly, didn’t you have a wife and two daughters?”
“Uh, we weren’t married, but yes, I did have a partner.” I still struggle to say all this out loud, but I know I have to. “She moved to England with the girls, who, it turns out, weren’t mine.”
Keiko and Dennis exchange a look I can’t read.
“Lincoln is still present in their lives,” Tash adds. “They’ll be coming back during school holidays, and he will visit them over there occasionally.”
“I’m very sorry to hear you’ve experienced such a difficult situation,” Keiko says. “This all couldn’t have happened very long ago. Sing to Me only finished in April.”
“That’s right. It was just after I left the show.”
“And you feel ready to enter into another relationship?”
I glance at Tash. She looks as if she’d hoped there’d be more time before breaking the news, but I can see the resignation on her face.
“Yes, I believe so. I care very deeply about your daughter.”
Tash wrings her hands together. “Mum, Dad, I was going to wait for a bit to tell you, but since we’re already sort of talking about it, I have some news.”