I walked over to the box and picked it up before shutting the door to my bathroom and locking it, just in case. Sitting down on the toilet, my chest felt like it was going to crack and turn to dust. I ripped the box open before I could talk myself out of doing it, and I was glad it was a pack of two. Setting one aside, I took the first one and placed it on the counter before setting a timer on my phone. The box said it was a six-minute wait time, which I already knew was going to feel like decades. There was nothing to distract me with, so I spent six excruciating minutes pacing my way back and forth across my bathroom.
Then my timer went off. I took a deep breath in and held it there as I picked the test up. The entire breath came out in one forced huff as I looked down at the word on the test.
Pregnant.
Tears rose and poked at the corners of my eyes and my throat tightened. I already knew that was the case, why was itsuddenlyso emotional?
Quickly, I took the second test and waited another six minutes, but the result was the same.
Pregnant.
I was pregnant with Giorgio Bonifacio’s baby.
My emotions were a kaleidoscope in my mind. I was frustrated for waiting so long to confirm it, scared about what it meant for my brothers and my father, but amongst them was a happiness I couldn’t describe. Giorgio meant something to me – no, he meant everything to me. The past few months we’d spent getting to know each other made me sure beyond a doubt that he was the one I wanted to be with. We were going to have a baby - to be a family. That made me happy.
If only I could get around the hurdles it was going to cause.
I wasn’t sure how long I sat in the bathroom on the floor, staring at my confirmed pregnancy tests. My hand settled over my stomach and I smiled. No matter what happened, I had to create a better life for my baby than I’d had. Though, with Giorgio as the father, I was already off to a better start. I’d need to tell him first, but I wascertainthat Giorgio was going to share my excitement, it was just a matter of figuring out the logistics.
“Nat? You in there?” Savio’s voice called across the door.
“Yeah!” I just barely managed to squeak without my emotions spilling out. “Be out in a second!”
“Okay…” he said. “I’ll wait.”
I stood up and looked at my face in the mirror, and of course, my emotions showed all over it. My makeup was running, my eyes were puffy and red, there was no way I was going to be able to hide that I’d been crying, not unless I could stand in there for an extra twenty minutes until it was gone, but Savio would suspect something was wrong before then.
I stashed the positive pregnancy tests under my sink and then opened the bathroom door and walked out. Savio immediately noticed the anguish on my face and stood up and ran over to me and set his hands on my arms.
“Hey,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I think I’m just…”
“No!” Savio thundered. He backed away and crossed his arms. “Who do you think I am, someone who didn’t grow up attached to your hip? Someone who isn’t your best friend? You’ve been keeping something from me for weeks now. Don’t lie to me. You’re the only one in this house that doesn’t do that.” He stepped back up to me and pushed a loose strand of my hair behind my ears. “Natalia, we always tell each other everything. Don’t you trust me?”
I glared up at him. “You’re keeping something fromme.”
He deflated a little. “Yeah.” He grabbed my hand and dragged me over to sit down on the couch I had sitting under one of my large windows. “Okay, so, if I come clean to you, will you come clean to me?”
The thought of saying the words out loud made me feel like I was going to be sick again, but I fought it back. I had to come clean eventually, better to start with someone IknewI could trust. “Okay.”
“I’m in love with Alessandra Bonifacio,” he said. “Romeo and Marcello know. Father doesn’t, at least not that he’s confirmed.”
“Romeo knows?” I said.
He nodded. “Yeah. Marcello is with Chiara as well, and you…?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m with Giorgio.”
“Is he hurting you? Why are you crying?” he asked, anger already growing.
“No, he would never,” I said, remembering the one time he threatened to kill me, and creatively choosing not to mention that. “There’s something else though.” I grabbed his hand and set it on my stomach. “You’re gonna be an uncle.”
Savio’s jaw dropped. “You’re pregnant!”
“Shhh, Savio!” I swatted his arm. “Where do you think we live?”
“Sorry,” he whispered. “Wow. Nat…” He looked up at me. “How do you feel? What did Giorgio say?”
