“Actually, that’s not something I can imagine her getting upset about.” He correctly read my terror. “She’ll be fine.”
“But what if she wanted to have one of those big gender reveal parties? What if I ruined it?” The horror was real. “Oh, she’s never going to forgive me. I stole her gender reveal moment, and the rest of the pregnancy is going to be mired in depression.”
It was impossible to ignore Zach’s eye roll. “Wow.” He shook his head. “Just wow. The more time you spend with Ruby, the more you act like her.”
Celeste picked that moment to return to the table. “You guys good?” She batted her eyelashes at me.
“We’re fine,” I replied, barely sparing her a glance. “We haven’t had more than a few sips yet.”
Celeste cocked her hip and smiled.
I smiled back, but it was one of bland disinterest.
She stared a beat longer, then took off, a small huff escaping.
“Dude, you’re crushing her spirit,” Zach intoned. “She’s going to think there’s something wrong with her.”
“There’s nothing wrong with her. I just don’t feel the need to flirt.”
“Because you’re no longer interested in women?”
“No.” That was the most absurd thing I’d ever heard. “I adore women. I just … I’m going to be a father.” I straightened. “I’m going to be a father to a little girl. That means I have to be a better man.”
“I don’t know. I kind of like the man you already are.”
“Yes, I’m a treasure,” I agreed. “I can be better, though. All men can.”
“Are you including me in that statement? Because I have it on good authority that I’m the perfect man.”
“If my sister is telling you that after sex—and why did you have to put that image into my head?—then she’s lying to you.”
“Nah. I’m perfect.” He grinned and took a long swig of his beer. “Why do you think you have to be a better man?” he asked as he lowered his cup to the table.
“Because women have to deal with a lot more than I ever realized. It’s not just the rampant sexism and misogyny. Women make up almost half of the workforce, but the gender pay gap has remained relatively flat for two decades.”
Zach blinked but didn’t say anything.
“There’s more.” I had a lot of stats at my fingertips. I’d been reading. A lot. “Women are forty-seven percent more likely to suffer severe injuries in a car accident. Do you know why?” I didn’t wait for him to respond. I just barreled forward. “Because the safety features on cars are designed for men.”
“Is that true?” He looked concerned. “Like … are you making that up?”
I vehemently shook my head. “I am not. On top of that, more than thirty thousand girls become child brides every day. That’s day, not year. Twelve million girls get married before the age of eighteen every year.”
“In the United States?” Zach looked appalled.
“I don’t have a breakdown of the countries, but I do know that it still happens here.”
“Is my sister feeding you these stats?”
I ignored him and kept going. “At the current rate of progress, it will take more than a century to close the gender gap … and there are some countries where it will never be closed.”
“You’re definitely getting this from Ruby. There’s no way you’re pulling these stats on your own.”
“It started with Ruby,” I acknowledged. “Once I started reading about it, though—I was determined to prove her wrong—I found out it’s true.” I leaned forward so he could hear me above the din. “For every female film character, there are 2.24 men.”
“Huh.” Zach cocked his head. “At first, I thought you were just being funny. Now I can see you’re being serious.”
“Oh, I’m being serious,” I agreed. “I am not allowing my daughter to be treated as a second-class citizen. Rexorita is going to be at the top of the food chain.”
