Chapter Two
Madeline
It had been about six weeks since the breakup, and I was spending another morning next to the toilet, wondering if my breakfast was going to resurface.
Sofia and I both worked at an energy company, and luckily they had rigged me up a Skype line so I could work from home while I was sick. That was the nice thing about supervising dams. As long as I had video feed and a telephone, I could do almost everything from home.
Sofia came in. She was about to leave.
"Hey, have you called your doctor yet?"
"Yeah, I've got an appointment this afternoon."
"Good. We're all worried about you." I nodded my thanks, and she smiled. "Just make sure to tell her everything you need too."
"Yes ma'am."

"Extreme nausea?"
"Yes. I've also had a lot of cramping in my back and hips."
"Have you been extremely thirsty of late?" Dr. Jacobs asked, making a check on her clipboard.
"Yes."
She looked at her notes and then spoke. "Madeline, how long has it been since your last period?"
I sat there and thought about it.
And then the panic set in.
"Two months."
"Have you had sex in the past two months?"
It only takes one time...
"Yes."

I left the doctor's office wanting to cry.
I didn't know who to call. Sofia? Alfred? Dad? Papa?
My hand had dialed the number before I thought about it.
"Carlos Machado speaking."
"Hey Carlos."
"Oh, hey Maddie! How's it been? Haven't talked since... never mind. Everything okay?"
"Um, sorta."
Carlos's voice suddenly changed. "Do you need help? If you text me the address, I can be there in just a bit."
It took me a while to understand what he was implying. He'd rescued me from a dangerous situation once before and it hadn't been pretty.
"No, I'm not in danger. I just got out of a doctor's appointment and... can I come over? I need to talk to you about something."
"Yeah. I'll see you then."

Carlos
I need to talk to you about something.
Why is that one of the most terrifying sentences in the English language? And why did Maddie say it to me?
It feels like I've been sitting here for three hours when in fact it's just been about ten minutes. My apartment seems to be shrinking around me.
There's a knock at the door. "You can come in."
Maddie comes in, and she's looking like someone just cursed her family to eternal damnation. I pull out the chair next to mine and she sits.
"So, you were at the doctor?" I ask, and in an effort to keep calm, add. "Major needle phobia? Fear of men in white coats? Anything I need to know before we continue this therapy session?"
She gives me a glare, but it's one of those 'I find you annoying right now but also thank you for making the effort to cheer me up' glares.
So we sit in silence for a while, and finally she pulls out a paper. "Um, you know that night we weren't ever going to mention again?"
I nod.
She hands me a paper. "Gil and I, well, we hadn't done anything for more than a month before the breakup, and with the timing... Maybe it'd just be best for you to read it."
I open up the paper, and then read on.
When I'm finished, Maddie's shaking like a leaf and I wouldn't be surprised if I'm doing the same.
"Are you sure... are you sure about the timing?"
She nodded. "We were drunk, and... Gil and I had been tracking my cycle for birth control. I wasn't on the pill or anything."
I look at the paper again.
Six weeks along.
It had been six weeks, hadn't it?
I looked at her, and then asked. "What do you want to do?"
She looked at me in confusion. "Huh?"
"Maddie, do you... do you want to keep the baby?"
"I...I don't know..."
"Whatever you decide... I'll do what I can to help you..."
She looked at me and suddenly began to cry. I quickly pulled her into a hug.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." I whispered over and over.
I don't know how, but we eventually found our way to the bed, and I just held her until she fell asleep.

The internet can be a deep dark wormhole which one can fall into very easily.
I'm glad Maddie just asked me to google ways to tell my family i'm pregnant because some of the related searches from my own googling were concerning.
Maddie was actually most concerned by the related search how to tell my family i'm pregnant again.
Anyhow, we finally settled on one simple step.
Tell her papa Francis. He would willingly inform the rest of the family. (Actually, he'd probably tell them even if we didn't want him too.)
So, Maddie called her papa and father and invited them out to lunch.
"Do you want me to come along?"
She shook her head. "No, I need to do this alone. Also, my dad might react badly when he learns his first grandchild is due to a one-night stand. It's gonna be hard enough to explain Gil isn't the father."
I nodded and respected her decision. She'd told Sofia this morning on the condition that Sofia was to keep quiet until tomorrow morning.
"I don't need Al showing up in the middle of lunch with our dads to destroy things."
Sofia had agreed and then hugged and kissed Maddie. "I'm so excited for you, Maddie!"
In the midst of all this discussion these past two weeks, I still was unsure what my place was going to be in my child's life. I'd told Maddie I'd support her, whatever the decision.
At this point, I was expecting to be told that I was going to be paying child support and custody on the weekend. The past two weeks had been all about the baby, and while that was fine, I was beginning to wonder where Maddie and I fit into all of this.

Madeline
We were sitting at a nice little cafe with outdoor seating. Papa instantly felt right at home. A glass of wine in his hand, a croissant on a plate while we waited for our main orders to be cooked. Dad was sipping tea from a nice little cup, and I had a cup of decaf coffee.
"So, Madeline, how has it been going?" Dad asked.
"Oh, it's been okay. Sofia and I have been doing some work from home lately, but it's all good."
Papa eyed me with suspicion, but dad had been deflected for the moment.
Papa spoke next. "Anyone new in your life?"
Oh, thanks papa.
"Well, yes and no..."
"Oh?"
Curse the French and their romantic intuitiveness. Now dad was looking at me with interest.
"There's someone old reentering my life and someone new as well."
"Madeline, are you part of a groupe de trois?" Papa asked, and then winked.
Dad nearly spewed his tea and I felt my face turn scarlet. "Non non non!" I basically shouted back at papa. "That's not what I meant at all!"
He looked vaguely disappointed. This was going to get worse if I kept dancing around it.
"Dad, papa, I'm pregnant."
That time, dad did spew his tea and papa froze.
Once dad had recovered enough to turn and see papa's hand frozen in mid-air wrapped around his wineglass he kicked him under the table. That brought papa back to himself.
"Pregnant? Why Madeline, that's wonderful! Have you..."
"Who's the father?" Dad asked, cutting straight to the chase.
"Carlos."
That took them both by surprise.
"After Gil and I broke up, I ended up at his place. We accidentally... well, you know. He's been very supportive, and he's going to be a good father, so you don't have to worry about that."
"You're going to be a wonderful mother. And we've known Carlos almost as long as you have. I know he'll stay by your side." Papa said reassuringly.
Dad smiled, though it was a bit pained. Despite being gay, and having a gay son, he still believed very much in the ideal family unit, where you didn't have children (and hopefully sex) until married. "I'm glad you told us."
Papa was getting very excited. "Do you know what it is yet, mon fille? Are we going to have a petite fille or petit-fils?"
"I'm only about two months along."
"Oh, I wish you had told us earlier, Maddie." Papa exclaimed. "With the party only a few days away, we already bought all your presents. I could have given you the family bassinet!"
"Francis, you can still give her the family bassinet. It's not like something that can only be given away on a birthday."
Lunch came and went and papa was practically leaping up and down. "You must bring Carlos to the party. Does Alfred know yet? May I tell him?"
"No he doesn't. And actually, if you don't mind, please do tell him."
As I was getting ready to leave, dad pulled me aside.
"Madeline Bonnefoy-Kirkland, are you sure about him as a father? If you have any doubts, it would be best for you to raise the child on your own rather than pull him into it."
"So far dad, he hasn't given me any reason not to trust him."
Dad nodded, and then turned around. "I'd better go find your papa before he bankrupts us by buying everything baby-related he can."
"Good luck controlling him."
"Thanks. I'm going to need it."

That evening Alfred called.
"I need to talk to him." There was no doubt in my mind who him was.
"He's not here right now. I'm at my apartment, with my roommate, your sister-in-law."
"Maddie, I don't trust him with you or your baby."
"Alfred, it's his baby too. Also, I don't remember asking for your opinion."
He was miffed at that comment, but I heard Ivan shouting something in the background. "Oh, Ivan wants you to know that he plans on helping you decorate the nursery once it's closer to time."
"Great. I'd really appreciate the help when it comes down to that."
After a few moments of silence, I spoke again. "May I speak to Ivan for a bit?"
"Sure." Al said, frustrated, but allowed me to speak to his husband.
"Hello Madlin! How are you feeling?" Ivan asked cheerfully.
"Okay. A little stressed, but otherwise fine."
"I'm sorry to hear you're stressed. Is it work related?"
"No. Alfred related."
"Ah. That type of stress can be very common, da?"
I had to try not to laugh into the phone. "Yes, it can be. Can you calm him down?"
"I'll do my best." He was chuckling, but then his tone became more serious. "How is Carlos doing?"
"Okay. He's been helping where he can."
"Are you two going to move in together?"
I paused. "Haven't even thought about that."
"Those are the questions he wants to ask, but I'm forcing him to be polite. If you are bringing Carlos to the birthday party, however, you and him need to discuss it beforehand. We don't need a brawl between them again."
"Agreed. Thank you, Ivan."
"You're welcome, Madlin."

Translations
French
groupe de trois-threesome
Non- No
Mon fille- my daughter
Petite fille-granddaughter
Petit-fils-grandson

Russian
Madlin-Madeline
Da-Yes