Personal Chef

Chapter 42

The day after the dinner party, Shawn and I decided to stay in, wear jammies all day, and focus on each other. I was wearing some patterned Old Navy thermal leggings with one of his long-sleeved t-shirts, and he had on sweats and a hoodie. We'd eaten the leftovers from the night before for lunch, and afterwards were curled up on the couch making out.

We'd intended to watch a movie, but we'd argued over which one. He felt bad that we'd had a tiff so he'd given me a kiss. One kiss led to many other kisses and eventually I was on his lap. I knew that soon we'd either be heading to the bedroom or closing the shades.

"I need to piss," Shawn said. "Stay here."

I climbed off his lap and giggled as he walked to the bathroom with a protrusion in his joggers.

As he rounded the corner and went in the hall bathroom, there was a soft knock at our door.

"I'll get it," I said, which was silly considering he clearly wasn't answering it.

I opened the door and was shocked to see Kat standing in front of me. She didn't look like herself; she had on no make-up and her face looked slightly haggard.

"Hello, Chelsea," she said. "Is Shawn here?"

"Kat. You're in Toronto? I'm, um, surprised to see you. Come in. Shawn will be out in a second," I babbled, my brain not functioning because seeing her was so unexpected.

She walked in right as Shawn called out, "Baby, I told you to stay where you were!"

Evidently he had not heard the knock on the door or me saying I'd answer it.

He turned his head as he got to the living room and saw me and his ex coming down the hall.

"Kat?" he said with astonishment.

"I'm sorry I didn't call first," Kat said anxiously, her voice wavering. "I was afraid I'd lose my nerve if we spoke."

"What's going on?" he asked with a look of concern on his face.

"We need to talk," she said as she started to take off her puffy jacket.

Shawn's jaw dropped. He obviously did not want to talk to her if that was his reaction to the suggestion. This probably made her more uncomfortable than she already was, and I actually felt a bit sorry for her.

I walked over to Kat to take her coat and hang it up, since there was no reason to be impolite. Plus, my nerves told me to do something to try to ease the tension in the room.

As she turned towards my outstretched hand, I saw what had elicited Shawn's reaction.

Visible under her sweater was a small yet pronounced baby bump.

Kat was pregnant.

"You're pregnant!" I blurted out, my eyes unable to leave her stomach.

"Five months," she said, her hand still holding out her coat to mine, which was suspended mid-air.

As I took the coat and hung it over the back of a chair, I quickly did the math in my head, as did Shawn, apparently.

"Is it-" he started.

"Yours?" she interrupted. "Yes. He's yours."

He. Kat had a baby boy inside her. Shawn's baby. My boyfriend was going to be a father to a baby boy in about four months. My mind was racing a mile a minute as I tried to process this.

"How did this happen?" I asked, looking between Shawn and Kat.

Shawn was just standing there in some kind of state of shock paralysis.