Sorry if I offended. Maybe my points came across harsh.
--Maybe "disdain" was not the right word. But you have been so "anti-kids" in these posts, I just wondered if the "anti-" is against kids, or against the thought of being responsible for one.
--I like your analogy with Harlan. I feel the same about Nessie.
--One interesting thing is how you used an impersonal pronoun to describe the kid ("it")
--Maybe not 100%, but I really think you have to "pressure-test" (a business term I was exposed to way too frequently this week) a relationship with mom + child. But again, I do think you, personally, could ace that--as long as you are sincerely interested in the kid. It is very difficult for a kid to accept "an intruder" into the family--no matter how old they are. They don't go off to college and never look back at their previous family experience--the one "you" are usurping. In terms of the mom waiting until the kid is 18, yeah, that takes pressure off, but keep in mind the quote "blood is thicker than water."
After all that, by all means go out and have a drink with Single Mom!!