Austin wasn't sorry that Casey stayed outside while Miller showed him the house. It gave him a chance to get a better read on the man who might become his landlord and also roommate.
Unlike Ben, Miller definitely wasn't allergic to babies. He kept smiling at Jeremiah, and that was good. A nice change of pace after Ben, for sure.
Miller seemed like a nice guy, soft-spoken, with a slight built, green eyes and chestnut brown hair. He was the same age as Austin, mid twenties, so it was impressive that he owned a big house like this.
His house had two stories and a walled in, overgrown garden. Right away Austin liked the old, solid look of the place. What worried him was being able to afford the rent. That's why he only wanted one room, but even that would be a challenge. Babies weren't cheap, and he had to think like a father who had a kid to support even if he didn't know yet if he was this baby's father.
As they were looking at the bedrooms upstairs, Austin confessed his worry to Miller. "I have to be honest with you. I'm not sure I can swing the rent. I'd have to see."
Miller frowned like he was thinking hard. "What if we made a deal? Casey said you were handy, and I need to fix up a bunch of things around the house. You saw the walkway. The whole garden needs to be brought under control and the inside needs work too."
"So I'd get a break on rent in exchange for helping you get the house in shape?" Austin had to admit that didn't sound like a bad deal.
"That's right. Would you be interested?"
Before he could answer, Austin heard the notification for a new email. He told himself it probably wasn't the paternity test results, but he couldn't ignore it. He had to check.
"Sorry," he said as he got his phone out. It was from the lab, and Austin quickly opened the email. The results were attached.
Austin was standing, holding the baby who was dozing on his shoulder. Starting to feel a little lightheaded, Austin couldn't read this standing up so he looked for a place to sit.
This news would decide everything. Even when he took a seat, he was frozen. He had to take a few deep breaths before he could open the attachment.
When he did finally open it, he didn't know what it said. Words he didn't know and numbers. What did it all mean?
"I can't understand this," he said helplessly. In the state he was in, he wouldn't be able to understand shampoo instructions.
"Something is wrong?" Miller asked, full of concern.
Austin didn't mean to worry him, but he couldn't get a hold of himself. "No, I..." He was about to call for Casey when he saw the explanation section. As he read it over a few times, he finally had it figured out. He... He couldn't breathe. "Oh my God. Oh my God."
"Are you OK?" Miller said looking even more worried.
"OK? I have a son. I mean, I'm a dad," he told Miller while trying to catch his breath. He then turned to the baby. "Did you hear that, Jeremiah? I'm your dad. Me."
Jeremiah scrunched up his face and balled up his fists.
"Oh, wow. Congratulations," Miller said with a big smile and his big, green eyes filled with tears.
Austin was teary eyed too. "Thanks. But I better have Casey look it over to make sure I read it right." He was sure he had, he just needed to hear it from someone who wasn't freaking out.
"So this is good news, right?" Miller asked as they went downstairs.
"Is it?" Austin said, still stunned. He just didn't know. He couldn't think.
"You had a big smile on your face, so I think you might be happy about this news," Miller told him.
"Oh. OK. I guess I need my brain to catch up with my face," Austin said, but it was his heart that held the answer.
In his heart, he knew that this was a good thing. If the test had gone the other way, he would have been sad, heartbroken. Even if having a kid made Austin's life more complicated, it was better than having to give him up. After only a few days, he was already attached to the little baby boy. His baby boy. His own little son.
"Here's Casey," Miller said as they saw her sitting in the living room.
"I was giving you guys some time to get to know each other," she said and Austin went over to her. She noticed his face and gave him a questioning look.
"Tell me I read that right." Austin gave her his phone then waited.
After a moment, she nodded. "You are the father." When she looked up from the phone, she gave Austin a sympathetic smile. "We'll talk about what's next once this news has time to settle."
"Right. I can't think straight right now," he admitted, but he noticed that she didn't congratulate him.
"Since we don't know when Diana is coming back or if she's on a permanent vacation, you need a new place to live," Casey pointed out. "That's the one thing we know."
"Right." There was no doubt any more that he would have to move out of Ben's place. Thinking about it, Austin got anxious. Would Miller go through with that deal he proposed and agree to have him move in. Looking at him, Austin told him, "I like the deal you offered. When do you think you'll have a decision?"
"I have a reference already. I mean Casey is vouching for you. You can move in when you're ready," Miller said simply.
Austin didn't expect to have it settled so fast, but it was a big relief. "Great, great. Hey, we have a place to live," Austin said to the baby then he thought about when to make the move. "Tomorrow is Saturday. I can move and then have Sunday to settle in and figure things out."
"That works for me," Miller said and he looked both nervous and kind of happy, which is pretty much how Austin felt. Except maybe he was more terrified than nervous.
"Are you going to work Monday?" Casey asked.
"If I can figure out what to do with Jeremiah," Austin told her. "There's a daycare Sandy recommended, but they have a waiting list."
"I'll ask around for you," Casey said.
"Thanks."
"This means you'll be living here," Casey said but Austin only blinked at her.
"Right. He's really mine. He's my kid," Austin said as the news hit him all over again.
"I guess you're still absorbing that you're a father," Casey told him and patted his arm.
"Yeah. It's a lot to take in." Austin took a shaky breath as he looked from her to Miller. His new landlord and roommate was smiling at him and the baby, and his smile made Austin smile too.