Daddy Unknown

Chapter 8

Moira and Harraël were on their way to meet up with his friends and have lunch. Today was also the day Moira had her fourth ultrasound, and Harraël was tagging along for the first time.

At Harraël's insistence, he was the one driving her car. Claiming that it was safer for her to sit next to the wheel instead of behind it, but she rolled her eyes at that. She knew she wouldn't endanger herself or the baby while driving as long as she buckled up correctly, moved away from the steering wheel and avoided leaning forward or driving long distances. She knew very well why he insisted on driving her car. It was a 1963 Volvo Amazon. And boys will be boys.

She'd always been a lover of old timers, so naturally, when she saw her dream car for sale for only $4000,-, she took her chance and bought it. It was a little battered, nothing some reparations and a new coating couldn't fix though. As a result, it looked as good as new.

Harraël leant forward and turned on the radio, keeping his eyes on the road while flicking between about a dozen stations.

"Just choose one, would you," Moira snapped, getting impatient at his indecisive little act.

"Someone's grumpy." He smirked, annoyingly.

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you."

"Yes, sir."

Guilt and shame washed through her, mixing with another foreign feeling. She sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry for being so cranky lately. It's just the hormones messing with me."

He shot her a look sideways, and briefly patted her knee. "It's alright, babe."

Recently they'd been spending more and more time together, as friends. They usually ate dinner at Moira's place. Since Harraël didn't even bother to go grocery shopping, but they mainly did it so that they could alternate between who would put dinner on the table. Just last week, they'd gone shopping for unisex baby clothes. Harraël hadn't been much help, constantly questioning if she was sure she was getting the right sizes, colors, etcetera. He had also turned to calling her 'babe' or 'sweetheart' which annoyed her at times, but he meant well so she let it slide.

You'd often find them cuddling on the couch as well, watching movies, talking or napping. It never went further than that, Moira made sure that nothing more than that ever happened.

And now, she was going to be meeting 'the boys'. Though Harraël had assured her that they were in fact, men.

"Whoa," Moira was ripped from her thoughts, her features lighting up as her fingers lightly, gingerly touched her protruding stomach. Her eyes connected with Harraël's, an excited smile upon her face. "It's Ollie again."

He admired her strength. Unlike his sister -who would be moaning about nothing at all 24/7-, Moira had never as much as complained about her pregnancy, even though at times he knew she was in pain. For example when they had to sit down for a bit because her feet were sore or when her back ached, but not once did she complain.

She hadn't even properly met her baby yet and was already a proud mother, like she was supposed to be. He couldn't help but feel proud of her in return, for handling all this the way she did. An independent woman, is what she was. And he really did admire her.

They arrived at the café, parked the car and walked inside. And to Moira's dread, Harraël's friends were already seated. Or at least she figured they were his friends since they were currently 'bro-hugging' one another. She'd been hoping they would be there first, to avoid awkward introductions. But as always, things didn't go as planned.

The first to stand up and introduce himself was a black-haired guy with piercing blue eyes and a tall build. "Isaac O'Hara." He said, squeezing her hand softly.