Paroled

Chapter 17

That weekend Opie and Eva went to lunch with Kenny and Ellie and although they had high hopes it was off to a rocky start. Donna dropped the kids off and decided to walk in with them, just to say hello, but it was much more tense than she expected.

"Maybe this was a bad idea," Donna said to herself as she approached Opie and Eva. The couple was sitting at a booth smiling dreamily at each other while they waited for the kids.

"Dad!" Ellie was slightly more excited than her brother but that wasn't saying much as Kenny was miserable.

They both hugged their father while Donna made the first move with Eva. "Congratulations," she said, shaking Eva's hand.

"Thank you," Eva said with genuine warmth. "I appreciate you letting me meet your children."

Donna pursed her lips and nodded. "You're welcome. I hope you guys have a good time, I'll be back to get them after lunch."

"Do you want to join us?" Eva blurted out and immediately regretted it.

"Oh no, I know you're trying to be nice, I appreciate but it's fine."

"No, really," Eva said, against instantly regretting it. "Only if you want to, of course." She couldn't stop herself and she couldn't figure out why she'd been so inviting.

"I mean, I guess it would be nice," Donna shrugged. "Besides by the time I got home I'd have to leave again probably."

"Yeah," Eva said, growing more annoyed with herself. "See?"

"Think Opie would mind?"

"I know he would," Donna said regretfully. "So, I'll pass this time but thank you for the offer. I know you're trying, Eva. Thank you."

Eva nodded with a subdued smile. "Guess I'll see you after lunch then."

"Mm hmm, have a good lunch." Donna gave the kids and Opie a quick wave goodbye before heading out and allowing Eva to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Dear God," Eva grumbled to herself.

"What?" Opie asked as he approached her.

"Nothing," she huffed. "Sorry, I was talking to Donna."

"Yeah, I saw. Did that go okay?"

Eva nodded. "Actually yeah, not too bad."

They quickly sat down to lunch and, much to Opie's surprise, had a pleasant meal. The kids were happy and Eva was so used working with kids before she got along well enough with Kenny and Ellie without any issue.

"Are you guys excited to have a baby brother?"

"Yeah!" Ellie said cheerfully. "Can I babysit?"

"Maybe when you're older," Opie chuckled.

"Is it gonna cry a lot?" Kenny asked, less interested in a baby than his sister.

"Probably," Eva laughed. "But don't worry, you won't have to deal with that, that'll be your dad's job."

Before they left Eva made a pit stop in the bathroom with Ellie, the growing baby made her bladder much smaller than usual. As they washed their hands another woman strolled in, pregnant but smaller than Eva, and caught their faces in the mirror.

"Eva?"

Eva turned to see Simone, a woman from her yoga class. "Hey! How weird is this?"

"Very!" She laughed. "Wait, do you have a daughter? I thought this one was your first?" Simone asked, rubbing Eva's belly.

"Oh no," Eva said, backing up to keep Simone from continuing to touch her, "This is my boyfriend's daughter Ellie. Ellie this is a friend of mine, Simone."

Simone and Ellie shook hands and Eva hurried her out of the bathroom and back to Opie. She liked the woman well enough but she was far from a fan of the touching and overly friendly behavior.

"Your mom is out front," Opie said to Ellie. "I'll see you on Wednesday, okay?"

"Okay," Ellie said, giving her father a bigger hug then when she arrived. "Love you!"

"I love you too, sweetie," Opie said with a smile. It was nice to have a normal, pleasant time with his kids and it made him more excited to be adding to his family.

"How was Kenny?" Eva asked as she and Opie sat back down to pay the check.

"Better, warming up I guess," Opie shrugged.

"Good," Eva said sweetly. "They're lovely, Ope. You've got two wonderful children."

"And another coming," he said with a cheesy grin.

"Speaking of our little dude," she said, touching her belly lovingly. "I've decided on a name and you only get to veto it if you truly hate it. Okay?"

"Okay," he said, worried about what would come out of her mouth next. "What is it?"

"Harrison Piermont Winston," Eva said excitedly. "Obviously we'd just call him Harry but he needs a proper full name."

"I don't hate it," Opie laughed. "Harry Piney Winston," he joked.

"Now that's a bad name," Eva laughed, watching as the waitress came back with her debit card. "Come on, I need a nap."

On their way out, hand in hand, Opie and Eva passed Simone as she left with takeout. She waved with a toothy grin but didn't stop.

"Who was that?" Opie asked suspiciously.

"Chick from yoga," Eva shrugged. "Weirdo but whatever. What are we doing now?"

"We could do some yoga," he suggested as she climbed into the passenger side of his pickup.

Eva looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You know we need to buy some stuff right? We're more than halfway there and we have nothing."

"What's he need?" He scoffed, clicking his seatbelt before driving off.

"A crib, a pack and play, a bassinet, clothes, diapers, a car seat, more clothes and more diapers and wipes and-

"Alright," he cut her off. "You wanna go buy the baby some clothes?"

"I do," she said excitedly.

"Salvation Army?"

"Funny," she slapped at his arm. "Let's just get some basics and then we can do some yoga," she winked.

Opie nodded and as they pulled up to a stop light he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"For what?" She asked, blushing a bit as he looked at her so lovingly.

"For getting over my bullshit, giving me a chance," he took her hand in his as the light flicked to green again.

Eva smiled, "It's been my pleasure."

They made quick eye contact and squeezed each other's hands before letting the moment end and returning to regular conversation. Eva was happy, she was also thankful she'd decided to dive in with Opie, and she could see their relationship lasting a long time. For the first time she wasn't scared either, now she was hopeful.