“The Phone Call”

She’d told Sid she was going on a morning walk after breakfast and she’d be back soon. Truthfully, she just needed a bit of time to herself, to clear her head. Other than a cocked eyebrow, Sid seemed fine with her announcement and didn’t object when she’d hastily left the house for her walk.

Yesterday, at Travis’ barbie... that look on Colin’s face when he realized she was pregnant... something about it didn’t sit well with her. Did he honestly think that the baby could be...his? No. No! She couldn’t let him even wonder such a thing, she had to set him straight right away... put any thoughts he might have out of his mind before he started any sort of trouble.

Trouble. That was something that always seemed to follow Colin O’Brien around, something Kate was sick of and part of the reason she’d left him in the first place. No, this was Sid’s child, she knew it to be true, felt it in her heart... even if the dates did sort of overlap between when she had been with Colin and Sid.

Once Kate was safely away from the house, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed his number. After the first ring, a gruff voice answered, giving her a start.

“Umm... Col?” she asked, wondering if she’d dialed the right number.

“Yeah? I’m here,” he answered, sounding tired, though much more like himself than he had initially.

“No backing out now,” she thought to herself, swallowing hard. “If...um...if this is a bad... time...”

“Like anytime calling Colin IS a good time?” she mentally chastised herself, biting her lip.

“No...um...no. What’s up?” he answered.

“The baby,” she replied, then paused for what seemed like an eternity, as she tried to find the words to continue.

“Yeah?” Colin asked, wondering where she was going with all this. “What about it?”

“It’s not yours, you know. It’s... Sid’s. Mine and Sid’s. So, don’t get any strange ideas in that thick head of yours.”

“O-kay,” Colin answered. If he wasn’t curious before, he was now. He thought for a moment, then asked, “Wait a minute...you’re...how far along, again?”

“Don’t. Colin, don’t,” she stated firmly. “Just...don’t.”

“Does Sid know about your little call to me?” he asked, wondering why she would call him and protest so much when all he’d done was congratulate her and Sid on her pregnancy when he’d run into them at Travis’ barbeque the day before.

“Does it matter?” she asked, worriedly.

“To me? No. But to Sid? Most likely.”

Kate closed her eyes tightly, held her breath, pressed the phone to her chest. Shit. Why had she called Colin? For the off-chance he may lay claims to her unborn child? She opened her eyes, breathing lightly into the phone. “I just didn’t like that look you had in your eyes yesterday, Col... wanted to make sure you didn’t get the wrong idea about my pregnancy. The baby IS Sid’s. Am I clear?”

“Crystal,” Colin answered.

“Good. Then that’s that. By the way, I was sorry to hear about your leg. Bummer, that. I hope you have someone to help take care of you.”

And with that said, she hung up the phone and headed off for home, where Sid was surely waiting on her return.

TBC...