"Not ones that I could think of," he said evenly. "You're my best friend, remember? I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have by my side."
He kissed her cheek as they approached one woman with hazel eyes, a tanned complexion, and wavy light brown hair neatly braided. Her hands were on her hips as she regarded the ocean, a small frown on her face. "Bridget?" he asked as the girl turned to look at him. "Ah. Curnow. Hi," she began, pinching the bridge of her nose. She jabbed a finger towards the room next to her. "They're in there," she said. "I just had to get away from the arguing."
Jack sighed. "Let's go in." Inside the room, two men were arguing fiercely. "She loves me!" one said fiercely, a man with dark brown eyes and golden brown hair cut short. "I'm her boyfriend!" "You've been her boyfriend for a week," retorted the other, a man with blue eyes and sleek black hair. "I know that's a real achievement for you, but we were together for two years!"
"Oh boy," Avice muttered under her breath, trying not to let an amused grin cross her face. "This will be fun."
Jack squeezed her hand before clearing his throat. "Okay, okay," he said. "What's the situation here?" Bridget sighed. "Well, I'm pregnant," she said flatly. "I was with Damien-" She gestured to the black haired man. "-but we broke it off about one week ago. I've been seeing Nate since then. We actually used to date before I was with Damien, but we broke it off. Anyway, you know, they're very close together in time, so it's difficult for me to tell who the baby belongs to."
Bridget frowned. "No," she replied. "That's the problem. These two relationships are so close that I have no way to tell."
"Hm," she mumbled, tapping her chin. She looked up at Jack. "What do you think we should do, Watson?"
Jack gave her a sly smile. "I think we'll need to talk to each person individually," he said, addressing everyone. "Bridget, you're up first."
Bridget sighed and rolled her eyes. "You two," she said to the two men sternly. "No talking until I get back." They both nodded silently, and Jack stifled a laugh.
Bridget followed the two of them out into the deck, and Jack looked at Avice for a moment, wondering where to start. "So, Bridget," he began, "what are your suspicions?" She crossed her arms grumpily. "I'm fine with having the baby by myself," she said. "This is their problem."
She raised an eyebrow. "I suppose you are going to deal with it for however many years on your own without any support, then?"
"I could hardly call any input from the two of them 'support'," she retorted. "Honestly, I do like them, but I'm actually worried they may do more harm than good."
Her voice softened slightly, and she tilted her head. "I think it would be a better decision to figure out who it is."
