Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 102(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 68(@300wpm)
So I drive down to the pharmacy and buy a pregnancy test, doing my best to avoid any and all eye contact with everyone in the store. Then, rather than driving home and using the bathroom there where I could potentially run into Ethan, I drive to the gym and use the locker room.
I honestly feel like I might have a heart attack as I take the test out of its package and go into the stall.
Pregnant!? What am I going to do if I’m pregnant? What is Ethan going to do? He’s trusted me to correctly take my birth control so he wouldn’t have to worry. And if this test comes up positive, I’m going to have to go to him and explain that something’s gone wrong.
I have to be the only girl who’s ever taken a pregnancy test at the gym before, but I go ahead and pee where I’m supposed to pee, and then wait the longest three minutes of my life leaning against the wall of the stall, eyes closed, head tilted up toward the ceiling, doing square breathing trying not to panic. Then I look down and see the life-changing news practically shouting up at me from the digital display:
Pregnant.
A cold chill rushes through me, like ice water has been flushed through my veins. I gulp down a deep breath and close my eyes.
“Ethan’s going to kill me.”
The drive home is the strangest experience of my life. It’s as though I’m on some kind of spiritual journey I was not prepared for. On the surface, I’m absolutely terrified, but beneath the fear, I can feel a hint of happiness bubbling up like a pot of water on simmer.
I’m going to be a mother…
It’s a blessing I can’t ignore, but a blessing masked by a terror that I now must go and share with Ethan. And who knows how he’s going to react?
When I get back, I see he’s finished up work and is probably up at the house. So I park and go inside and find him just coming out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, still slightly wet from a shower.
“Hey, I missed you.” He grins with that boyishly handsome smile that, under normal circumstances, would have a very different effect on me. But right now, I have something very important on my mind and can focus only on that.
“Ethan,” I say. “I need…I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure, baby,” he replies, gently caressing my cheek. “What is it?”
I hate to do it, but I take his wrist to stop his hand and give him one of those looks we girls know how to give that lets the guys know that we need them to be serious for a minute. Ethan gets it immediately, and his expression changes.
“What is it, baby? Is something wrong?”
“I think you better put some clothes on,” I tell him.
“All right.” I follow Ethan into the bedroom, where he quickly puts on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, my heart racing all the while. I must look like a mess because when he turns to me, he gives me a look of concern like he thinks I’m about to fall over. “Baby, what is it? Are you okay?”
“Ethan, I—” I take a deep breath as he comes over to me and takes me by the hands. Out of all the things I’ve done in my life, saying what I’m about to say is definitely going to be the hardest. Please don’t let him hate me for it. “Ethan, I’m pregnant.”
There’s a brief pause, but then to my utter shock and surprise, Ethan’s face twists into an enormous smile.
“That’s great!”
“That’s great?” I repeat, aghast. “I…I thought you’d be angry with me.”
“Angry?” Ethan laughs, sweeping me up into his arms and lifting me into the air. Automatically, I wrap my arms around his waist as a warm feeling fills me. “Are you kidding? If it wasn’t off-limits, I’d say we should crack open a bottle of champagne! Maybe some sparkling grape juice instead!?”
The relief that I feel is indescribable. I smile and can’t stop smiling as Ethan hugs me and starts kissing me all over, starting at my neck and covering my cheeks and finally finding my lips.
“I don’t understand how this is possible,” I laugh. “I’m on birth control. You must have super sperm or something!”
“Super sperm!” Ethan laughs.
“I mean, I can’t think of any other explanation!”
Ethan pulls me onto the bed and wraps me in his arms. It’s amazing just how small I feel in his grasp and how intense his eyes are when I stare into his gaze.
“I have one,” he says with a tone that seems to go right through me.
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “It’s that you and I are just so deeply in love that the universe knew that it was our destiny that you become pregnant.”