“Don’t crash and burn yet, babe. We haven’t even taken off yet.”
“I can’t help it,” I said, flipping the laptop closed. “The weight of paternal responsibility is already crushing my soul.”
He stood and kissed the top of my head. “Let’s take a break. Get some air. Maybe go for one of those walks with purpose.”
“Don’t even joke.”
He pulled me up. “Come on. The perfect person is out there.”
I leaned against him and let out a long, theatrical sigh. “She better be. Because if this process gets any weirder, I’m going to seriously look into the legalities of adopting Suzy Shortcake.”
Cal chuckled. “We’ll find the right person to bring our child into the world. Just you wait and see.”
I rested my head on his shoulder. “I hope so.”
I wasn’t sure what annoyed me the most—the fact that the baby boutique was so obsessively pastel, or the fact that I thought it would be a great idea to go shopping for baby clothes with Angusand Mr. Banks in an attempt to buoy my sinking hopes of finding the right surrogate. Nevertheless, there we were, the three of us, while Mrs. Mulroney was busy meeting with several estate agents to sell her business and Cal was busy with yet another lunch meeting with Hal Chambers.
I tried hard to focus on being in the moment… in a shop calledOnesie Upon A Time.
Everywhere I looked there were miniature cardigans, woodland creature hats, and booties so tiny they looked like knitted finger puppets.
Angus, still in his pajama pants, held up a tiny pair of corduroy overalls with a matching beanie that had antler ears. “Okay. This baby is either going to look like a lumberjack’s best friend or someone who celebrates Christmas all year round. Either way… adorbs!”
I squinted at it. “I seriously don’t want clothes that will make the baby look taxidermied.”
“I love it. We’re getting three,” he said, folding the outfits over his arm like there was nothing up for discussion.”
Mr. Banks emerged from behind a rack of baby tops, one of which readI Get My Good Looks From My Dad. “This one’s perfect. Has the truth printed right on it. Now all we need is the child. And possibly the good looks.”
“Maybe add resilience and a can-do attitude to that list,” I sighed, then slumped onto the edge of a display bench stacked with plush endangered animals. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be so down in the dumps. I’m just… discouraged. This is harder than I thought.”
Angus sat beside me instantly. “The surrogacy stuff?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I knew it would be emotional. I just didn’t know how weirdly clinical it would feel. Check this box. Filter that personality. Scroll through smiling strangers and somehow guess if one of them is the beginning of your family. I thought it’d feel magical. But so far, it’s just… awkward and terrifying.”
Mr. Banks joined us, holding a stuffed lemur like it was both comforting and suspicious. “Well, good news—families aren’t built by spreadsheets. They’re built by love. You’re already on your way.”
“I know,” I said. “I just want to feel that click. That thing you feel when youknow.”
“Like the wayweclicked?” Angus said to Mr. Banks, elbowing him.
“Exactly,” I said, smiling. “You two… you’re a perfect match. In another universe, you’d be the ultimate father and son.”
Angus lit up. “You think so?”
“Totally,” I said. “You alreadyare, in a way.”
Angus looked at Mr. Banks, all wide-eyed affection. “I’d love to have you as my dad.”
Mr. Banks softened. “And I’d be proud to have a son like you.”
They grinned at each other, before Mr. Banks added, “Once upon a time, I wanted to have a dozen little babies. I came close too, after falling in love with the woman of my dreams. She was a Hawaiian princess, as pretty as a seashell. She rode side-saddle on horseback, played the ukulele, knew every constellation by name. We met at a moonlit luau one night, sometime after Pearl Harbor and before that fateful three-hour tour of the SS Minnow. I’d just washed ashore after my own schooner accident, sunburned and smelling like rum-soaked adventure that no man should ever speak of. She smelled like volcanoes and destiny,” he continued wistfully. “We danced under the palm trees. I almost asked her to marry me, but alas—her family forbade it. Said I was too unpredictable. Too untamed. And also, I was wearing someone else’s pants at the time. Long story.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So, what happened?”
“I left at dawn. Shirtless. Heartbroken. Sunburned beyond reason. But I’ve never forgotten her.”
Angus smiled and patted Mr. Banks on the shoulder. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to sow your wild seeds. But it doesn’t matterthat you’re not my dad. Because you’re my best friend, and that’s all that matters.
