A wide smile breaks out across my face, and I do nothing to hide it. “It happened fast. And fucking hard.” I smirk. “But we’ve been through so much already. I suppose we just always snap back to one another when shit hits the fan. I’m fucking obsessed, Charles.”
He chuckles, clapping me on the back. “So romantic, mate.”
“You know it.” I wink, lifting my hand and ordering another round of drinks.
Nina
Is there a protocol for how I should be feeling?
A wife would be excited, right? She would be elated that she even needs to do a test. But the girlfriend? How is she supposed to feel as she pees on the little white stick?
They don’t put that on the box.
I feel stupid for feeling the way I do. A small ball of energy in my gut rears its head and tells me everything will be okay, and we have got this.
The wife in me, the woman I want to be in ten years, once I have achieved my dreams, she is excited. But the girlfriend who will be seen as a money-hungry whore to anyone who doesn’t know me, she is shitting it. She wants to run and not do a test at all.
Taking all four tests, I put them into the packet and wash my shaking hands. I go to the landing and take a deep breath before taking the stairs one step at a time.
“We have to wait for Meg. Our takeout is here.” Lucy bounces on her toes, her excitement evident.
“Calm down, you’re stressing me out.”
I wipe my forehead, feeling hot.
This is torture. I need the alarm to sound. I won’t be able to wait for Meg.
“Come sit down, Nina.” Scarlet smiles warmly.
“I can’t.” I fiddle with the end of the white stick, flip it over in the packet.
I don’t look, but I know if I pull it out, I will see the result.
My heart starts to pound, and my chest grows warm. Adrenaline is pumping through me.
I try to control my breathing. “Shit!”
“Stop panicking.” Lucy catches hold of my wrist and squeezes it tight.
I nod my head and close my eyes, counting to ten.
One, two, three, four, five, six?—
The elevator doors ping. Meg steps out, the takeout in one hand and an envelope in the other.
“Hurry up, will you!” Lucy hisses, letting my arm go.
“Sorry, there was this with the food at reception.”
She starts to pull open the envelope, and my timer chimes. I swallow thickly and pull out the test, looking down at the two lines that sit perfectly clear in the small square box.
“Oh my god,” Megan and I say in disbelief.
“No way!” Lucy jumps up and takes the test. “Fuck. Yes! Nina, oh my god, you’re pregnant!” She covers her face with her hands.
My gaze is fixed on Megan, though. Her face is pale, and her hands shake, the envelope clutched tight in her hand, and our takeout is spilling out of the bag at her feet.
I wonder when she dropped it. I never noticed.
