Ireallybelieve this could work.
“Thanks so much, Pete. We appreciate it,” Colt says, shaking his hand firmly.
“It’s my pleasure.” Pete hands Colt a business card. “Here’s my cell number. Call anytime if you have questions.”
We both rise to leave. I struggle awkwardly with my crutches—weeks later, and I still haven’t mastered them—but Colt is right there, steadying me without a word.
“Thanks again. We’ll be in touch soon,” Colt says, placing his hand firmly on my lower back, helping me walk out of the room.
Where I was once nervous and defeatist, now I’m filled with excitement and hope at the prospect of becoming parents.
Colt ambles with me to the car and opens the door. Before I can sit down, he suddenly cups my face in his hands and kisses me passionately. I grin against his lips at his unexpected move, kissing him back. When he finally pulls away, I smile up at him, my heart pounding in the best way.
“And what was that for?” I ask as he nuzzles his nose against mine.
“Because I love you,” he replies, then kisses me again, before placing my crutches in the back seat and helping me into the car.
“I love you too, you know that?” I say as he gently closes my door.
He sure seems like he’s in a great mood.
“Yeah, I know,” he says as he slides into his side and starts the engine. He immediately takes my hand, his grin wide and infectious. “I’m excited. This is going to be great. I can feel it.”
His good mood is contagious, and I find myself smiling right along with him.
“How would you feel about stopping by Johnny’s on the way home?” Colt asks as he pulls out of the lot. “I wanna tell him what’s going on. But if you’re not up to seeing Aston yet, I can call him when we get home.”
The thought of seeing Aston, surprisingly, fills me with hope. Where before the idea of not carrying my own child had gutted me, now it feels different.
I may not carryour child, but I will still haveour child. And that thought makes my heart soar.
“Sure, I wanna see Aston and Anna. I feel different somehow. Lighter. Like before, I was only sad about everything, but now…now I feel excited and hopeful at the chance of us having a baby. It’s weird.”
“It’s not weird. It’s called hope.” Colt reaches over, squeezing my hand. “I’m feeling it too. I can’t wait to start looking at the surrogacy agency to find the right one.”
His words make my smile grow, my heart swelling with love for this man.
“Me either. So, to Anna’s we go, then home to start our search,” I say as Colt pulls out onto the street.
We don’t think to ring ahead.
We’re too caught up, tossing around baby names, laughing over what gender we might have, dreaming of what our life could look like. It isn’t until we pull up outside Anna and Johnny’s that it even crosses our minds that it might be a bad time.
“Oh, crap, what if they’re busy?” Colt asks as we walk to the door.
I shrug. “If they are, we’ll leave and tell them another time,” I offer.
He nods and rings the bell.
A few seconds later, Johnny answers, his shirt covered in spit-up.
“Hey, guys. We weren’t expecting you today, were we?”
I shake my head, trying not to laugh at the sight of him.
“No, sorry for dropping by unannounced. We have some good news, and we wanted to share it with you both.”
“Well, come on in. Sorry about the mess. Anna’s just done a load of washing, there are bibs and throw-up towels everywhere,” he says, stepping aside.
