What Now?

Telling the Family

You texted with Henry every day. Most of the time, you talked about your lives. You never asked him about having a girlfriend, and he never asked you about having a boyfriend. Deep down, you hoped he was single. It wasn't that you were planning to try for a relationship with him. You just didn't want another woman raising your baby. That probably seems selfish, but you couldn't help how you felt.

You also talked a lot about what you wanted for the baby. What kind of values and morals you had. Religion, socialization, familial bonds. You were relieved to find out that family was very important to him, as it was to you. Neither of you were overly religious, although you would have fostered any religious beliefs he wanted to instill in your baby. You found that your morals and values were along the same lines. You didn't live similar lives, but you shared similar beliefs on some important matters.

There were a lot of things that still needed to be discussed. You were avoiding the custody discussion for now. You wanted to get to know Henry and enjoy your pregnancy without the looming knowledge that you'd have to share custody of your child. You'd never deny Henry access to the baby, but that didn't mean it wasn't challenging to think about.

Today was Saturday, and you were nervous. Your parents and your sister were headed over for lunch. You'd ordered in, as you were too anxious to cook. You'd talked about how you were feeling with Henry. He said he understood, and felt the same. He hadn't told his parents yet. He'd asked them to fly to LA for an important conversation. And he'd asked if you'd be there, so they could meet you. You were pretty nervous about that, but you'd agreed. You weren't sure when you'd have Henry meet your parents. You wanted to ask him to come to lunch, but figured it wasn't the best idea. There would be time.

You startled when the doorbell rang. Your parents didn't come to your house often. You usually met for lunch or dinner out in town. You lived on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, close to West Hollywood. It was a really nice area. Your commute wasn't always great, but you didn't mind.

You opened the door and your mom immediately pulled you into a hug without even looking at you. She let go when she felt your bump hit her stomach.

"You're pregnant?" She looked at you with confusion and what might have been disappointment.

"Yeah. Come in. We can talk about it over lunch."

Your parents and your sister all filed in and took off their shoes. You'd already set lunch on the table, so you dished everything up and sat down.

"Ok, explain yourself," your dad said.

"I'm 20 weeks pregnant. I haven't found out if I'm having a girl or boy, but will likely do so when I have my next ultrasound."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was contractually obligated to keep the pregnancy quiet until paternity was established."

"What? Who's the father?" Your mother looked appalled.

"I can't tell you. Not right now. We've made the decision to keep it quiet until it's the right time to share it."

"You can't tell us who the father of our grandchild is?"

"I'm sorry, but no."

"That's ridiculous."

"I'm sorry, but that's the way it is right now. I made him a promise that I wouldn't tell anyone until we both agreed that it was the right time. I'd imagine that'll come at some point after we talk to his parents."

"So his parents don't know?"

"No. I'm meeting them next week, and we are telling them together."

"I didn't know you were seeing anyone."

"I'm not. We met when I was in Las Vegas, and the baby is the result of a one night stand."

"Really?! You're having a baby with someone you don't know? How could you let that happen?" Your mother was practically yelling at this point.

"Don't talk about my baby like they are a mistake. They're not. They're a blessing. The father and I are getting to know each other, so we can be friends. It's not ideal, but it is what it is."

They continued to bombard you with questions. About an hour after they showed up, you got a text from Henry.

Hey. I just wanted to see how things were going with your parents.

Not great. They are pissed that I'm pregnant and didn't tell them, and that I won't tell them who the father is. I tried to explain that it was a mutual decision, but they won't let it go. I'm honestly about to kick them out.

Don't do that. You're in Beverly Hills, yeah?"

Yeah. Close to West Hollywood.

You aren't too far away from my hotel. Let me come there. I'll meet them and you won't have to keep it a secret from them. As long as you think I can trust them to not say anything.

I do trust them. My sister is here too, though, and I'm not positive I can trust her to keep quiet.

Would it be terribly inappropriate to ask them to sign NDAs about the paternity?

I don't think so. It's unconventional, but so are a lot of things here.

Ok. I'll have Dany courier 3 copies to your house. She should be able to have them there in under an hour. I can be there in an hour, if that's ok?

Yeah, an hour works.

You sent over your address and put up your phone. Your parents had watched you while you were texting, and immediately asked about it.

"Ok, here's the deal. He will come here so you can meet him. Under one condition. You have to sign NDAs stating that you will not reveal that he is the father to anyone."

They all agreed, and your sister looked super excited at the possibility of meeting someone important enough to require an NDA.

"You know, that means if you break the NDA, you are subject to being sued, right? I've signed one with him, so I know it'll be pretty standard. I'll look it over for you first."

They all acknowledged that they understood, and signed without issue when the courier dropped them off 45 minutes later. You texted Henry to let him know they'd been signed, and he told you he was just a few minutes away.