Am I scared? Well, to say the least. I don't know why Stevie's father still frightens me, but he does. He hasn't completely gotten over how untraditional our relationship is, but at least he doesn't really mention it anymore. On top of that, we're going to tell him, we're going to have a baby. Something tells me, Jerry won't be too pleased. I mean, he would be if the father was anyone else but me.
"It's going to be fine." Stevie tells me once again, squeezing my hand. "My Dad doesn't hate you like you assume he does."
"But he doesn't exactly like me either, does he." I say.
My hands are getting sweaty. One more turn and we'll be there. And that one last freaking turn approaches us too quickly. I pull into the driveway and park my car, hesitant to step out. I hear Stevie sigh as she brings her hand to my face and turns my head, so we're looking at each other.
"Can you please stop worrying?"
"No can do, baby." I shake my head, causing her to laugh. "I don't think that's very funny." I say, smiling myself.
"Come on." She encourages me with a peck on the lips and opens the passenger's side door.
I follow, getting out of the car, I lock it and then catch up with her, taking her smaller hand in mine. She's got the key already and as soon as we end up at the porch, she slides it in and unlocks the front door.
"Daddy, we're here!"
Her use of the word Daddy makes me cringe in this particular situation...
Soon, Jerry appears with a wide grin on his face. And he's not alone. Awesome. This is going to be even worse. Opening his arms wide, he pulls Stevie in and hugs her, telling her, he's missed her.
"I've missed you too, Dad." She smiles at him and steps back. Jerry and I shake hands, nodding at each other once.
"Since you're here, I'd like to introduce you to someone." Jerry says, his arm sliding around the back of the tall brunette beside him. "This is Jessica. Jess, this is my daughter Stevie and her- her boyfriend."
Jessica gives us a shy smile, saying hi. Stevie narrows her eyes at the woman, studying her. "Are you two..." Stevie trails off, unsure how to finish her sentence.
"Yes, sweetheart. Jessica and I have been together for a couple of months now." Jerry confirms her suspicion.
"Why am I only finding out about this now?" Stevie asks, crossing her arms.
"Well, I wanted to make sure she's nothing like you know who." He shrugs and that seems to satisfy Stevie.
"I think, dinner's ready, honey." Jessica speaks up again, looking as if she was too afraid to join the conversation. I understand her completely. Whenever Stevie drags me along to visit her father, I mostly say nothing as well.
"You cook?" Stevie focuses on Jessica and she nods.
"Yes, I used to be a professional chef, but I just don't have the energy anymore to work in a kitchen." Jessica says and excuses herself.
"How old is she?" Stevie asks another question as Jerry leads us to the dining room.
"She's only five years younger than me." Jerry laughs, hugging his daughter around the shoulders. "Tell me, how you've been?"
"Great, wonderful actually." Stevie beams and it makes me smile, hearing that.
We keep our news to ourselves throughout dinner. Stevie spends most of the time getting to know Jessica and I can tell, she's got nothing against the woman dating her father. Jessica seems very motherly to me, nothing like the devil he was engaged to before.
"Dessert anyone?" Jessica asks, already up on her feet, but Stevie stops her from leaving.
"Uh, there's something Lindsey and I have to share with you first." She says, reaching for my hand under the table. "I've been keeping a secret from you too, Dad, and I don't want you to get mad at me, okay? I wanted to do it this way, I wanted to- to be safe to tell you."
Jerry frowns, I can tell he's concerned. "What are you talking about?"
"Well..." Stevie pauses, unable to hide her smile. "Lindsey and I are going to be parents."
"Are you- are you saying that you're pregnant?" Jerry struggles to ask the question and I hold my breath.
"I am, Dad. I'm over four months. I felt the baby kick last night." Stevie grins, glancing at me before turning to her father again.
Jerry doesn't say anything for a minute. He then cast his eyes down and quickly wipes at them. Wow... That's the last thing I expected.
"I'm going to be a grandfather?"
"Yes, yes you will." Stevie nods. She stands up and walks over to him. "Are you happy?"
"Oh, sweetheart..." He nearly jumps up to his feet, crushing Stevie in a hug. I don't think she thought that was the way he was going to react either. "Of course, I'm happy!"
Relief! Huge, massive relief washes over me.
Then he does something even more surprising. As I see him approaching me, I push my chair back and stand up, still half expecting to be punched in the face.
"Congratulations." Jerry says, a genuine smile on his face. We don't hug, but he gives me a firm handshake. "Maybe I was wrong about you after all."
I'm left quite speechless. Stevie returns to my side, wrapping her arms around my middle as I hug her too, pressing a kiss to her hair. "I'll take care of them both, I promise you."
"You better." Jerry nods, smirking. "So, when's the wedding then?"
