Episode 1026: Time

“Maybe that’ll be you someday,” Ava said, nudging her dad’s arm in time for him to see the kite take another nosedive.

Her father chuckled. “I’m more than a little past my prime for taking on diaper duty and playing catch. I regret that I missed out on your childhood, sweetheart, but when you’ve already got the best kid you become pretty at peace with the idea of only having one.”

Ava smiled at him and briefly rested her head on his shoulder then looked at him and said, “you and Sarette weren’t that old when you had me, you could probably still be a dad again, be there for all of it this time, if that’s an experience you want. Guys are lucky that way. Though to be honest, I actually meant maybe that’ll be you someday as a grandfather with your grandchild.”

“Wait, what?” Cal turned to her. “Are you telling me you’re pregnant?”

“No, no. I’ve just been noticing parents and their kids lately, especially at the store, it has me thinking that maybe I want that. I guess my clock is ticking or something, I don’t know, like I said it’s a lot easier for guys they can just take their time, wait for the exact right moment. But, I mean, Sebastian and I haven’t even seriously discussed it. Soon maybe, I don’t know, I just, I feel like maybe I’m ready.”

Her father quietly finished his ice cream while they walked further and finally he said, “I know with all my heart that you’ll be a fantastic mother, no one will be happier for you the day that happens. I don’t want to rain on your parade, but I have to ask, what about Sebastian? I like him, I honestly do, there’s no doubt in my mind how much he loves you. But before you decide to have a child with him, you need to ask yourself if he’d actually as ready for it as you are. We’ve had a lot of conversations, some of which happened fairly recently about his insecurities, about his upbringing, you’ve expressed doubts about your relationship surviving his issues and now you’re talking about bringing a child into the mix? You need to be sure those doubts are gone before you choose to have a child with him.”

“More and more my doubts are going away,” Ava said. “I see how he’s handling being around Xavier, that he’s keeping it together and I think that’s playing into me starting to feel like I’m ready, because I’m starting to feel like maybe he’s ready, too.”

Episode 1027: Clean