Now here I was, peeing on a stick.
I'd been deeply hurt when Joe had asked me to take it. The doctor had told me it was pretty much impossible for me. I had absolutely believed my chance had passed me by.
Deep down in my soul, though, I thought Joe might be right. Besides the nausea and fatigue, I felt fine. And the sick feeling wasn't there all the time. It was certain times of the day only.
I put the stick on the counter and considered sitting on the toilet to wait. I was used to being alone.
Why should this be any different?
But in my heart, I knew this was different. I had been alone so long, but I wasn't alone now. Joe was out there sitting and waiting, too. If it was positive, he was as much a part of this as I was.
Decision made, I opened the bathroom door and walked out to find Joe staring out the sliding glass window. I settled into his right side, and his arm automatically gripped my hip to pull me close.
"What did it show?"
"It's not ready yet. It says to wait fifteen minutes before you look at it, so…"
"So we're waiting."
My head settled onto his shoulder.
"Yeah, we're waiting."
Comfortable quiet settled over us for a while until I broke the silence to clarify something.
"If it's positive, I'm keeping it, Joe. If you're not interested, then I'll do it on my own."
He squeezed my hip and patted my ass. "Of course, we're keeping it."
I got one more pat on the ass, this time more firm to get my attention.
"Did you forget already that I'm not going anywhere? We just agreed on it last night."
I had not forgotten, but I'd been skeptical about how seriously he meant it. Rubbing the sting on my ass cheek, I figured he was very serious.
"I remember. I just needed to say it out loud. Not have it only implied."
"That's good. I want us to really talk about everything, so we're never blindsided." I looked at the clock on my phone. "I think it's about time."
We looked at each other, then walked into the bathroom together. Reading the results was easy. A bright pink plus sign screamed out the results clear across the room.
Joe took his hand from my waist, then walked over to pick up the test and bring it back to me. His hand shook when he held it out in front of me. "It's positive."
I took the test from him to look at it once more. "Yeah, it's positive."
"Are you happy about the results, Pres?"
"I haven't had a chance to process it yet."
I thought about what was happening and opened up to someone for the first time since my parents had died and my life had fallen apart.
"I'm gonna be a dad. I have a baby inside me, growing bigger every day."
My hand went to rest on my belly, attempting to feel the life there even though I knew it was too early. Joe moved behind me and enveloped me in his strong arms. His hands rested protectively over mine. "We're going to be the best parents this kid could ever want."
Looking at our hands intertwined, I wondered aloud. "What about us, Joe? What are we going to do? What are we going to be to each other?"
Preston's quiet question held both trepidation as well as hope in his tone.
