The soft hum of the engine filled the car as Grayson focused on the road, his hands steady on the wheel. Evelyn sat in the passenger seat, her gaze shifting out the window, lost in thought after their brief interaction with the pregnant woman at the mall. The encounter had left her with a lingering feeling of curiosity, but also an unshakable sense of something unresolved.
Grayson stole a quick glance at her, his curiosity piqued. "Everything okay?" he asked, his voice laced with concern.
Evelyn snapped out of her thoughts and smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, just thinking." She turned her attention to him, her voice casual. "You know, I bumped into someone today at the mall. A pregnant woman."
Grayson raised an eyebrow. "A pregnant woman? What happened?"
Evelyn hesitated, her fingers lightly tapping on her purse, as if searching for the right words. "It was strange, actually. She looked so... serene. Like she had her life all figured out." Her lips curled into a thoughtful smile. "I don’t know. There was just something about her that made me wonder."
Grayson could sense there was more beneath the surface, but he didn’t press her immediately. Instead, he kept his attention on the road, waiting for her to continue.
After a long silence, Evelyn spoke again, her voice softer now. "She was carrying her baby with such confidence. Like she was ready for everything it would bring. It made me think about... us, about our future. Maybe even about having kids one day."
Grayson’s eyes flickered over to her, intrigued. "Are you saying you’re considering it? Becoming a mom?"
Evelyn looked down at her hands, her mind swirling with conflicting emotions. "I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about it in depth. But when I saw her today, it was like a switch flipped in my mind. Maybe... maybe I’m open to the idea. But I still need time to think it through."
Grayson slowed the car as they approached a red light, his eyes never leaving her face. "You’ve always been so certain about everything, Evelyn. But this is different, isn’t it?"
She nodded slowly. "Yeah, it is. And maybe that’s why I need more time to figure it out. I’ve never been one to make decisions lightly. And this... well, this could change everything."
Grayson didn’t say anything at first. He simply reached over, taking her hand in his, his touch warm and reassuring. "Take all the time you need," he said, his voice gentle. "I’m not going anywhere. And when you’re ready, we’ll figure it out together."
Evelyn gave a soft sigh, feeling a mixture of relief and uncertainty wash over her. "Thank you, Grayson. I really appreciate that."
As the light turned green and Grayson accelerated, Evelyn sat back in her seat, her thoughts still drifting. She wasn’t ready to make any decisions yet, but a small part of her—deep down—wondered if she could someday embrace motherhood. She wasn’t sure when that would be, or even if it was what she truly wanted, but the thought was no longer as foreign as it once had been.
For now, she had time to figure it out. And in that moment, she realized that perhaps that was all she needed: time. Time to think, time to reflect, and time to understand what kind of future she wanted to build—both with Grayson and for herself...
At the same time, Grayson drove in silence, his mind replaying Evelyn’s words over and over. The soft hum of the car’s engine was almost a distant noise compared to the storm of thoughts swirling inside his head. Evelyn's mention of the pregnant woman at the mall had caught him off guard, but it wasn’t just the encounter itself that was bothering him—it was the way Evelyn had spoken about it. She seemed… distant, almost as if that fleeting interaction had triggered something deeper within her.
He tried to keep his eyes focused on the road, but his thoughts kept drifting back to her. The way her eyes had softened when she talked about the woman. The wistful tone in her voice. Grayson couldn’t help but wonder if it was more than just a passing thought for her. Was she starting to question their future? Was the idea of having a family something that was now on her radar—something that had never seemed to matter as much before?
Grayson had always been the practical one, the one who focused on the here and now, taking care of business and pushing forward. But this—this was different. This was about their lives, their future together. And he wasn’t sure where they stood on it anymore.
He glanced over at Evelyn, watching her stare out the window, her expression unreadable. He could sense the uncertainty in her, even though she hadn’t said it outright. Her words had been careful, measured, as though she wasn’t sure if she was ready to vocalize what she was feeling. And yet, she’d still said it—she was thinking about it. Thinking about the possibility of becoming a mother, of building a family with him.
Grayson ran his fingers along the steering wheel, his grip tightening slightly. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. A part of him wanted to push her, to ask her directly what she was truly feeling. But another part of him—perhaps the wiser part—knew that this was something she needed to figure out on her own, in her own time. He wasn’t going to rush her into making a decision that would change their lives forever.
But what if she wasn’t ready? What if she never would be?
He shook his head, trying to push the doubts away. No. He needed to be patient. He had always been patient with her, and if this was something that mattered to her, he’d give her the space she needed to figure it out. He just had to trust that when the time came, they would be on the same page.
Grayson glanced at her again, his heart tightening with a mix of love and uncertainty. Evelyn was his world. He would do anything for her. But this? This was something they needed to navigate together. He wasn’t sure where the road would lead, but he knew he wanted to walk it with her.