I decide to go to Brooklyn after all. I need to talk to Mrs. Rossini. She's not exactly a mother figure, but she's like an honorary relative. And I need to talk to someone who's known me since before my mother died, when I was not much older than Billy is now.

Billy. With all the weird things about having an unexpected son, maybe the weirdest is that I didn't get to name him. Not that Billy is a bad name. But I don't know, it wouldn't have been my first choice. But I wasn't exactly consulted, about any of this, until now.

And, yeah, I could just walk away, say I didn't make any kind of commitment to his mother, any promise to him. But it's not his fault he was born, and to that woman. And someone has to take care of him now. OK, I guess I could pay the nanny, but that would be kind of weird, a housekeeper employing a nanny. And, although I obviously don't have anything against servants, I feel like he should be with family.

It's also strange to think of him as having been born by the time Angela and I drunkenly kissed. He was a baby when I thought about marrying old-fashioned Gina. I wonder what she would've thought if she knew. And, yeah, what the heck is Kathleen going to say?

I mean, it's not like I cheated on her. I didn't even know her back then. I was very single. But she's going to be surprised. Maybe not as shocked as Gina, and even Gina might've thought of it as "boys will be boys." Gina knew I had a wild side, although it's mostly been sleeping the past few years. OK, yeah, I fell into bed with Kathleen a few months ago, but I couldn't treat it like a one-night stand. She had a very different attitude than Trish B., and she wanted something very different from me, bed aside.

And, yeah, I know, it's not like I'm childless anyway. But there's a big difference between being the father of a college freshman and being the father of a kindergartner. Billy is going to need me a lot more than Sam does. Would Kathleen resent that? Not that she has a right to, really, but I could kind of understand. This isn't what she signed on for.

And what about Angela? She knew I slept with Trish but not the long-term consequences. Can I ask her to let my son share our home? That's a lot to ask, even of a woman as understanding as Angela. And I've put her through a lot. I know that.

Anyway, I drive to the old neighborhood and head to the Rossinis' fish market. She's got a partner now, a younger guy I found for her after her husband left her. There's nothing romantic going on except a little light flirting, but he's been good for the business and she can take time off. So when I show up and say I want to talk, she takes me home to feed me.

I wait till I've swallowed enough veal to make her happy. It sticks in my throat a little, but not as much as the words do. But I have to say this. "Mrs. Rossini, I've gotta talk to you about something big."

"Yeah, I figured. You want any dessert?"

"No thanks. Um, I'm just gonna say it straight out. I have a son."

"Oh my God! You got Angela pregnant!"

"No, no! I've never even touched Angela!" Well, OK, I've touched her, and kissed her, and shared a couple beds and hotel rooms with her. (I slept on the floor two out of three times.) But we've never made love. Not that the thought never crossed my mind of course. But Angela is my boss and she's classy and I, well, I care about her too much to risk losing what we have. OK, yeah, we lost some of it after I slept with Kathleen but she seems to have moved on from that. We're not what we were, but we're still sort of best friends.

"Oh, sorry. Ohhhh! It's that new girl, huh? The one from your Art class?"

I wonder how much she knows. I never directly told her about seeing Kathleen but she may've heard rumors. Or maybe Sam told her. I don't know. Sam and I haven't talked about it much. I feel funny about how I got together with Kathleen and it's not really something I can discuss with my daughter. Plus, sometimes I get the feeling like she wanted or maybe even still wants me to get together with Angela, and that ain't gonna happen. Not now.

"No, it's not Kathleen."

"Oh, right, you haven't been dating nine months yet."

"Right. Anyway, this was years ago, but I didn't know at the time. I mean that I got her pregnant. She didn't want me to know."

"And so she finally told you?"

"Not exactly." I explain about the car accident and a little about the conception.

"That poor girl! OK, so she doesn't sound like a very nice person, but no one deserves to die like that."
"Yeah. And, well, so her son, I mean our son, Billy, he's five now. And I wonder if I should raise him."
"Of course you should! How can you even question that?"

"Well, for one thing, I didn't plan on him."

"You didn't plan on Sam either."
"Yeah, but I was married to her mother. And I loved Marie. We wanted a kid but we kinda hoped we'd be older. But we were real happy to get Sam. Trish didn't want me to be part of Billy's life."
"Well, then she should've chosen someone else. And, OK, you didn't plan to get her pregnant, but you did take that risk and you have to live up to your responsibilities."

"Yeah, I know. It's just, well, I don't live on my own. I live with Angela. It's her house. I work for her."

"Angela loves kids! And she's your best friend."

"Yeah." I nod and swallow.

"Something else buggin' you, Tony?"

"Well, I don't know how Kathleen is gonna react."

"Hey, if she's got a problem with it, then that shows she's too selfish for you. Any good girlfriend would be thrilled to help."

I guess she's right, but it still seems a lot to ask.

"So what did Angela say?"

"She seemed to be in shock. I mean, this came out of nowhere, especially for her."
"Give her time. She's always come through for you before, hasn't she?"

I smile a little. "Yeah, she has."