Jane ruined a perfectly good movie night with one single statement. "You and I should have a baby together."
I choked on my Sprite, gave her a look, reached for her wine glass and said: "Ok, no more wine for you." I took the wine glass and moved it to the far end of my coffee table.
"Jack, I'm serious." Jane said sitting upright. She had been resting her legs on my lap while leaning her back against one of the arms of the new sofa that I had bought a month ago. "We should totally have a baby together. You and me."
I sat back against the soft suede of the couch and folded my arms. "We're not married." I stated. Was she serious about this? Did she really want kids with me of all people? Why?
Jane chuckled and repositioned herself so she could place her feet on my hardwood floor. "And it's not the 1800s either. I'm not going to be stoned to death for having a child out of wedlock nor am I going to be shamed, there are plenty of single moms out there in the world. Times have changed, Jacky-Boy."
I chuckled at the sound of my nickname. It was one given to me by a summer camp teacher that Jane and I had when we were in 6
th
grade. The nickname had stuck and Jane still used it at times to tease me. "Fair enough, but you and I aren't dating either." I replied, "I'm not exactly sure most woman are lining up to be single mothers and you're coming off fresh from your break up with Eddie. This is a really complicated situation"
Jane nodded. "That's true, but I'm 29 and I always thought that I would be married now." She sighed. "I wasted so much time with Eddie. Had I known that it wasn't going anywhere I would have ended things earlier. I should have ended it earlier. After Eddie and I broke up, I took some time to think about what I want in life and what I have to do to get there. I realized that with the current state of my career and where I am both financially and mentally, I'm ready to have a kid."
I turned off the movie. Donnie Yen and the bad guys he was fighting would have to wait, this was definitely a serious conversation. Jane and her ex, Eddie, had dated for about three years. Eddie, for all intents and purposes, was a pretty cool guy. He liked being outdoors, going rock climbing or just hanging out at the local brewery or gastro pub. Eddie had the kind of outgoing personality that was crucial for bringing someone like Jane out of her shell and she thrived when she was with him. Unfortunately, he also liked fucking girls that weren't his girlfriend. Jane didn't find out until she literally walked in on him mid-blowjob in the middle of the bed that they shared. That was roughly a year ago, Jane subsequently moved out after she found out. She crashed with me for about three months until she managed to find her own apartment, not too far away from my own. After that, we started hanging out almost every week. We would cook, work out together, go to restaurants, watch movies at home or in theaters, go out on hikes or talk about our plans for the future, the kinds of things that friends do together.
Wasn't it? The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like those three months living with Jane was more as lovers than as friends. The only difference was that I hadn't been intimate with Jane. Did I want to be?
I shook those thoughts out of my head and focused at the task at hand"So, let me get this straight, you've been thinking about having a kid for a week?"
"No, I've been thinking about having a kid for about two years now, I just needed to be in a place where I was stable enough before trying. I had a lot of growing up to do" Jane retorted,
I nodded. "Huh, ok"
I had to agree with her on that. Jane had changed a lot in the past year. Not only had she gotten a promotion at her work place. Her demeanor had changed too. Where she was once quiet and withdrawn, she was now more open and social, making jokes and engaging in conversations. Where she was once introverted, preferring to spend weekends watching TV or playing video games, she was now actively planning hangouts and events. In fact, our monthly movie nights were her idea. Eddie definitely had a positive effect on her in that degree. Too bad he was an asshole who couldn't keep his dick out of other woman.
"I've been thinking about having a kid with you since July of last year, back when I realized that Eddie and I had no future." Jane stated, matter-of-factly.
I blinked. That long?