stranger than fiction || s. stan

the twenty second chapter

sebastain

Later that night, I met with Anthony at the bar between our places. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, but I needed to talk to a friend. And I didn't have too many of them in Los Angelos.

I got there first and already was drinking a beer by the time that Anthony got there. It was almost nine by the time he arrived, but I knew he would probably be late. The bar was somewhat crowded but because of the lights, I hadn't been bothered.

"Hey man," Anthony said when he came up to me. He squeezed my shoulder before taking a seat next to me.

"Hey Mackie," I said and smiled at my friend. "Thanks for coming."

"You shouldn't desperate." He signaled for the bar tender and ordered himself a beer too.

After he got it and the bar tender left, I leaned a little closer to him. "Maeve's pregnant."

He had just taken a sip and nearly choked when my words registered with him. He looked at me with wide eyes before setting the glass down. "She's what?"

"Yeah." I grabbed the sonogram from my back pocket and gave it to him.

"Jesus. I'm guessing you're the father."

"Yeah."

"Now I see why you called. You need another drink."

"I'm kind of freaking out. I've been trying to play it cool when I'm around her but I am so close to a full blown panic attack." I said.

He nodded in understanding. "I get it. I was the same way when I found out about my first. How do you feel about it?"

"Good?" I said, though it came out like a question. "I mean, nervous as fuck. And the timing probably could not be worse. We just started dating. Now all of a sudden instead of going out on dates and getting to know each other, I'm trying not to watch a doctor stick something up her to see the baby. Not to mention the fact that there's a four year old involved too."

"That definitely changes your perspective on her."

"It's not even that. Maeve's great. You know I really like her. I mean, I guess you can know, I did kind of have a thing for her in the past."

"You don't say."

"And so yeah, I am thrilled that it's here I'm going through this with. Do I wish the timing was different? Yeah. Like five years from now."

"You'll he forty. You do not want to be changing diapers when you're forty."

"Either way. And I know she's guarding herself because of Jake - that's Sawyer's father. He was a real dick. So I know she's probably half expecting me to split."

"Will you?"

"Hell no. That's my kid. I'm not going to abandon it." I said with a shake of my head. "I just am so out of my element here."

"How far along is she?"

"Six weeks."

"That early? She showing?"

I shook my head. "No. What's it like when they get really pregnant?"

"It's fucking hell. Sheletta was a nightmare. Crying all the time. She hated me for like three months. And she was so bitchy too."

"She was pregnant." I said.

"Yeah, I know. You should ask Maeve and see about how she gets. Like what you're getting yourself into."

"I'm not asking her if she's gonna her bitchy." I said. "That's incredibly disrespectful."

Anthony laughed and took another sip of his drink. "I didn't say ask that. But you can ask her about cravings and if she cries a lot. I don't know."

I nodded and took a sip of my own drink. "What was it like?"

"Which part?"

"All of it."

He sighed as he thought. "The pregnancies wasn't too bad, I guess. Emotionally for me, I mean. I think the best part was feeling the babies kick. The birth is emotional. You're a pussy so you'll probably cry."

"Thanks."

"It's scary. I don't know, man. Honestly it's really hard when they are so little. Crying all the time. And Sheletta got even more hormonal after the baby. Crying all the time. And she was mad too. But that could have been the lack of sleep."

"I'm still trying to process the fact that she's pregnant."

"Should have wrapped it."

"She was on birth control." I said. "I don't know what happened there."

"Think she skipped a pill?"

I immediately shook my head. "No, she's not like that." I said. His question rubbed me the wrong way and I had to keep myself from getting too defensive. "Apparently birth control isn't totally effective. Who fucking knew."

"Damn. Alright, look, it's not bad. It's actually a really beautiful thing. The first time you hold it, it's a game changer. It's like... I don't even know how to explain it."

"Like your life has a new purpose?"

"Yeah, like that. And hey, Maeve obviously knows what she's doing. She's got a kid already. Just follow her lead. You still like together and shit?"

"Yeah..." I nodded. "I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. I don't think she'd want to move to New York."

He snorted. "Good luck with that. She's a Cali girl." He said. Woman. She's a woman.

"I don't really wanna move here. New York is my home."

"That's a discussion you can have with her. I mean, if you two want to make it work, someone's gotta budge. And you aren't the one pushing out the kid. I'd start looking at places for permanent. The penthouse you have won't be sufficient."

"I'd want something close to her." I said. "This is crazy. I need another drink."

Anthony laughed loudly. "You're gonna be a dad, Sebastian. You're gonna need a lot of drinks."