“Charles?” Ben frowned, not happy about the surprise visit. “He just visited three days ago.”

“He probably found a new birthing class for us,” Diana suggested, smiling.

Ben sighed. “We’ve had enough classes, Diana. It’s almost time for the baby.”

“Well, I like his company, Ben. His jokes cheer me up,” Diana replied.

There was another knock.

“Please check, Ben. It’s hard for me to get up,” she said.

Ben took off his apron. “Okay, but if it’s not Charles, I’m closing the door.”

Ben opened the door, and it was Charles! Diana’s muscular friend with red hair in a black suit, holding flowers.

“Surprise!” Charles greeted, walking in. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“You would know if you called before coming,” Ben muttered.

“Charles! You’re so dressed up,” Diana said, trying to stand.

Charles rushed to help her. “Easy there, Mom-to-be. Just wanted to check on my favorite pregnant friend,” he said.

Ben returned to the kitchen, rolling his eyes.

“Did I upset Ben?” Charles asked.

“He’s just grumpy today,” Diana reassured him.

Charles wasn’t convinced but changed the subject. “Let’s do something fun since I’m here.”

Suddenly, Diana felt a pain and sat back down.

“Are you okay?” Charles asked with concern. “Should I call Ben?”

“I’m fine. Just a little pain. Don’t worry,” Diana whispered, not wanting to alarm Ben over what might be a false alarm.

“The pain will pass,” she added, trying to reassure both Charles and herself.

Ben finished his meal and began setting the dining table. He called Diana and Charles to eat, noticing Diana seemed tired and sweaty.

“Are you okay?” Ben asked with concern.

“I’m fine, just a little tired,” Diana replied.

As they started eating, Charles joked, “What about me? As a visitor, can’t I get the princess treatment too?”

“Sure. Come back pregnant, and I’ll see what I can do,” Ben joked back, making Diana laugh.

Charles sensed Ben’s joke carried a bit of seriousness. He thought maybe he should visit less often after Diana had the baby.

Suddenly, Diana winced in pain.

“Diana, what’s wrong?” Ben and Charles asked together.

“It’s probably just indigestion,” Diana said but couldn’t finish her sentence due to intense pain.

“We’re going to the hospital,” Charles decided.

Ben quickly grabbed the hospital bags he’d kept ready for some time now and they all rushed to the car. Charles drove quickly while Ben comforted Diana.

“Don’t worry; you’ll feel better once we get to the hospital,” Ben told her, patting her back and wiping the sweat on her forehead.

“If the baby is coming, then I don’t think that’s how it works,” Diana managed to say through pain.

“You’ll be fine. I’m sure the doctors will—” Ben started.

“Ben, when we get to the hospital, I need you not to panic,” Diana interrupted him, her condition worsening.

Ben continued to comfort her as Charles drove them quickly to the hospital. They arrived, and Charles ran to the backseat to help Ben rush Diana in.

“I-I think something’s wrong,” Ben stammered the second Charles swung open the door. “She’s quieter and not responding,” he said, trying to stay calm while they helped Diana out of the car.

It was then Ben noticed that the back of her dress was soaked in blood. He had promised Diana he wouldn’t panic, but the situation was such that he couldn’t help himself.

“She’s nine months pregnant, but something’s wrong. She’s bleeding too much!” Ben hurriedly explained as he watched the doctor take over, directing a few nurses over at the same time.

As they placed Diana on a bed and began to wheel her into a room, both Charles and Ben followed closely behind her until they arrived at a border, where they were both asked to stop.

“Who is the husband?” the doctor in charge asked when he came out of Diana’s room and saw Ben and Charles standing side by side.

“I am,” Ben said, stepping forward, surprised to see Charles do the same.

“I’m almost family. How is she?” Charles asked with concern.

Ben focused on Diana. “Yes, how is my wife?”

“There are complications, but we’re treating her for blood loss. She might still have a natural delivery. Will you both be present?” the doctor asked.

Charles answered before Ben could speak, “Yes, both of us will be there.”

Both Ben and Charles knew that Charles always wanted to be there for Diana’s delivery.

Yes, Ben didn’t like how Charles got too intimate with Diana sometimes, hugging and kissing her, but Ben trusted Diana, and since Diana considered Charles only a close friend, Ben didn’t mind whenever Charles was around them.

In the delivery room, tensions between Ben and Charles faded as they supported Diana together. When her labor intensified, Charles fainted, leaving Ben to support Diana alone. Ben smiled a little, satisfied to be alone with his wife at the time she needed him the most.

After the birth, Ben was relieved but anxious. “How do you feel?” he asked Diana, wiping the sweat on her forehead.

“Exhausted. Where’s Charles?” Diana asked.

“He fainted, but he’ll be back soon,” Ben assured her.

As if on cue, Charles entered the room right then. “WHERE’S THE BABY!” he demanded.

Diana, half-joking, half-serious, scolded him. “You’re not even asking about the mother?”

“I’m sorry I missed the delivery,” Charles said, hugging her.

Soon, a nurse brought in the baby, and Ben reached the nurse first. “He looks just like you,” Ben told Diana.

“Oh, he does,” Charles agreed, trying to see the baby.

Diana took her baby, smiling. “He feels so tiny and looks just like his father,” she said to Ben, who couldn’t see the resemblance but remained silent.

He was just happy that Diana and the baby were safe until Charles stirred doubt with a remark about the baby’s resemblance to him.

“The baby looks more like me because of his red curly hair,” Charles said, grinning.

Diana touched her blonde hair, then Ben’s, puzzled. “Right. My mom also had blonde hair,” she mentioned.

Right then, a nurse entered, mistaking Charles for the father due to the baby’s hair. She asked him to sign some documents.

Charles quickly corrected her. “No, Ben is the father,” he pointed to Ben.

The nurse, surprised, tried to argue, but Diana cut her off. “Ben’s the father. Please give him the document and leave!”

As the nurse left, Diana turned to Ben. “I’m sorry, honey. She must—”

“It’s fine. The important thing is you and the baby are safe,” Ben reassured Diana.

Charles again joked about the baby looking like him, making Diana laugh, but Ben struggled to join in.

***

Days later, as they left the hospital, a man named Sam called out to Charles and Diana, recognizing Charles by his red hair.

“It’s been a long time since high school. Congratulations!” Sam said, looking at the baby. “With how inseparable the both of you were, I figured you were going to end up together regardless of the names people called you. I mean, who would ever have imagined that you were—”

“THAT’S ENOUGH SAM!” Charles yelled at the top of his voice in a way Ben had never seen before.

The Charles he knew was an easygoing guy who was always at the cusp of cracking a joke, yet he was boiling with overwhelming anger, doing his best to hold it in but failing horribly.

“That’s Ben, Diana’s husband, and that’s their baby!”

“Really?” Sam rudely continued taking a couple of steps forward, only to stop when he finally realized that if he said a little more, he might lose a few teeth.

“But that child has red hair.”

This time around, Diana could no longer keep quiet.

“You’re not welcome here. You’re still as rude and obnoxious as before,” Diana said before turning around to face Ben’s car.

“Ignore him. Let’s go!” Diana said, gently entering the car and urging Charles to do the same.

Ben had no idea what was happening, so he had no problems ignoring the stranger. He hopped into the driver’s seat, about to drive off, only to hear Sam, the man Diana and Charles knew from their past, yell from beside the car where he stood.

“No matter how hard you try to hide it, your secret will soon be out in the open!”

Ignoring him, they drove off in silence, tension hanging in the air. When they all returned to the house, Charles instantly said his goodbyes.

“Do you have to leave now?” Diana asked with a heavy trace of concern as she watched Charles kiss the baby before kissing her on the cheeks.

Charles intensely told Diana he needed some time alone, making Ben, who was nearby, feel excluded. Ben had always believed that Diana loved him more than she did Charles, but now he was unsure.

As Charles left, he kissed Diana’s head and waved at Ben. Once Charles was gone, Ben couldn’t hold back his question anymore.

“Do you love him?” Ben asked nervously.

“Of course. Charles is almost like family,” Diana replied quickly, hurting Ben deeply. He had hoped Diana’s feelings for Charles weren’t romantic.