Uncle or Lover

A month had passed since Vanessa had spoken to Lila about familial bonds that form when a baby joins a family, but Lila continued to struggle with the belief that life would give her a child.

This day, with the help of the Hawthorn-Morgan family, and with the help of Sebastian and Aisha, the nursery was finished.

At the end of the day, after everyone had left and she was alone, Lila stood at the doorway admiring the lovingly curated room, appreciating the mural across from where she stood. She was satisfied with the end result. The mural displayed classical caricatures of hot air balloons made of soft pink and beige panels in different designs and patterns. It completely changed her thoughts on the room decor, and ultimately it was decided that soft pink colored accents would be best, but the main color would be a calming cream.

Tom had taken it upon himself to gift Lila with a rocking chair. It was situated in the back right-side corner of the room, and next to it was an upright chest of drawers with a lamp on top. The source of light had a base of a gray, big-eyed baby elephant holding a pink blanket. A soft pink lampshade with cream-colored polka dots subdued the glare of the lightbulb.

On the other side of the room was a large dresser with a changing table on top.

Lila's eyes roved to the center of the room where there lay a large, oval fluffy pink area rug and right on top of it was an oval-shaped cream-colored crib with a hot air balloon mobile that matched the cartoons on the mural. This had been Alex's gift to the baby. He had mentioned he had a creative friend that could do anything she set her mind to.

As her chest filled with a non-descript hollow sensation while looking at the empty crib, Lila wondered if she was a fool to let things go this far; after all, Vanessa admitted they had never had a chance to study a woman who was given a child because men had always wanted to keep their offspring.

She still needed so much but she hesitated because of the uncertainty. She wanted to fill the dressers with tiny little baby clothes and, and she wanted to buy whatever other essentials a baby would need such as diapers, wipes and all the other items she was oblivious about, but she knew Chloe would be able to advise her on.

But was she a fool to hope? Would this room end up breaking her heart?

With a heavy heart, she was about to step inside the room to turn off the light when she heard the front door open. She heard newly familiar steps moving around the living room.

Which brought on another question mark in this unexpected trajectory.

Eric.

Lila leaned against the wall waiting to see his frame enter the hallway.

When he appeared, she stared at him questioningly.

Eric made his way toward her, stopping in front of the nursery doorway, looking in. "What do you think of the end results?" he asked, reaching for her arm and pulling her against him. He wrapped and arm across her shoulder, but his bespectacled eyes remained steadfast on the baby's room while her eyes remained on him. "I think we did good, yeah?" he answered his own question when she said nothing.

"Eric?" She spoke his name softly.

With one last look at the room, he turned to his attention to her. "Hmm?" he uttered.

He looked so at ease at that moment, that Lila almost didn't want to ruin the mood.

Almost.

"Assuming everything goes to plan, and I bring the baby home," she paused as she slightly pulled away from him to get a clearer look at his face. "What role do you plan on filling?"

He winced. "What do you mean?"

Lila took a step back from him, feeling the need to wrap her arms around herself. Her stomach was clenching, but there was too much at stake to put this off any longer. "Will you be her uncle, whom we see once in a while at family functions, or do you plan on being a father?"

Eric froze with her request for clarity as if he had to search for an answer.

With each passing silent second, Lila felt herself begin to grow more and more protective over the little girl.

"Things can't continue like this," she said sternly as she walked to her bedroom, going straight to the dresser. She began removing his neatly folded clothes from one of the drawers she had given him and placed the articles of clothing on the bed.

She knew it was a gamble. She knew there was a chance that in the end she may end up without the baby, and without him, but she had to do this while she hoped for the best possible outcome. "If I get this little girl," she spoke out loud until he joined her in the bedroom, "I have to do what is in her best interest and I am not going to confuse her by allowing you to act like my lover and her off-standish uncle."

She walked to her walk-in closet and pulled out his black leather overnight bag and one of her black suitcases with pink polka dots.

She began placing his items in the suitcase since it held more than his overnight bag. She repeated the action until his hands stopped her.

"Lila, stop," he urged her. "I want you," he told her. "Both of you." He pulled her wrist, maneuvering her body to face him. "I don't understand why because I've never wanted offspring before," he said, "but I want raise this one with you."