Happy Mother's day to all who are one or have one!
It's time to read the next set of chapters so let's read chapters 13 - 23 this week.
Here are some more questions for you Jen
What were Shay's motivations behind keeping her pregnancy a secret?
What made you decide to have Jake meet Nick prior to Shay seeing him again?
Jake has very particular personality traits, is he based on a particular child?
What made Nick accept his responsibiliti es as a parent so easily?
Shay's motivations for keeping her pregnancy a secret were simple - Nick was a one night stand and royally screwed her over (pun kinda intended). Shay might have a lot of self-esteem problems, but her pregnancy made her step up to the plate. I don't think she wanted to let go of the one p
erson who would love her unconditionall
y and share him with a guy who had just taken her heart and stomped on it.
I wanted Nick to meet Jake before he saw Shay because it really showed the dynamic between father and son. Both of them are energetic goons and you can see just how easily Nick clicks with his own son even before he's AWARE that Jake's his son. I also thought it made for a GREAT ending to the chapter when Shay rounds the corner and there's that moment of - 'Oh My God, could it be??'
Jake's personality is based on this one little boy I've had in my preschool storytime for the last two years. He's blonde, obsessed with dinosaurs (and talking), and just about the cutest little booger you've ever seen. I wanted Jake to have an outgoing personality to contrast with his mom's insecure personality. He really is the driving force - and he makes for some of the best comedic moments in the story.
Because Nick can be so childlike I just know he's going to be a good parent if and when it happens. I think if he was presented with that type of situation IRL, he does have the maturity now to step up to the plate. Besides, the way I've depicted Jake makes it hard NOT to love him (at least in my biased opinion...)