With the way I’ve been fucking her no one would ever think that now.
Is this what true happiness feels like? I would give anything to live in this feeling. It’s bright and beautiful just like my wife. The mother of my child, maybe.
Fuck, I hope so.
A horn honks and I blink myself back to reality. Check the coast is clear I start to drive myself home to the woman who has consumed my entire existance the last six weeks that I lost all track of time.
Guess that’s what love does to a man.
Love? I slam on the brake and straighten out the truck when I fishtail to a stop. When the fuck did I fall in love with my wife? Was it when she confronted me naked on our wedding night? Or when she almost burned the cabin down to surprise me with breakfast?
No, it was when I realized that I wouldn’t trade a single day I’ve had with her for anything in the universe.
I punch the gas and climb the steep mountain in a rush to get her back into my arms, where she belongs. It starts to snow again when I’m halfway home, and I try to remember if there was enough firewood inside. I pull into the carport and park the truck, running to grab some when I find Rosario covered in a throw blanket by the pile of wood.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Anger surges through me as she straightens up and glares at me.
“Don’t curse at me! I was getting wood. The door locked behind me, and I was huddling to stay warm until you got back, but I heard him crying. Come help me!” Him?
I glance at where she’s pointing and see a tiny set of eyes looking back at me.
“Is that a baby fox?” She lifts a piece of wood and snatches the little thing up into her arms.
“Shh, it’s ok little one. He’s so scared. I bet you’re hungry too, huh?” She wraps the wild animal in the blanket and then walks to the back door and waits for me to unlock it.
“Rosario how long have you been out here? It’s dangerously cold!” I turn the key, and she shrugs.
“Not long, twenty minutes maybe. I was warm enough. Stop freiting the cold helped with my nausea.” Her nose is bright red, but other than that, she seems fine.
She takes the throw blanket off her shoulders and reveals the snowpants, boots, and a heavy sweater under it. She pulls off her hat and gloves, and I sigh in relief.
“It was reckless.” I sigh thinnking about how that simple action might have gone terribly wrong.
She needs to think of the baby now!
The one I need to make her aware of. I stomp back out to the truck to grab the groceries as she takes the baby snowfox to the fireplace to warm up. By the time I’m done, she’s made the thing a little bed out of a box and pillow and has a bowl of water set next to it.
“You can’t keep him, Rosey,” I say softly as I start unpacking the stuff I brought home.
“Just for the night. Maybe his mama will come back for him.” She looks at me hopefully, but I know that the chances are slim now that he smells like humans.
“What’s this?” She’s holding up the box of pregnancy tests with a look of shock on her face.
I watch while a dozen emotions run through her, and then suddenly she dashes for the bathroom. I listen for the sound of her vomiting, but it doesn’t come. Two minutes later, she comes out holding a test in her hand like it’s a live bomb.
“You took it?” She nods and bites her lip.
“It said results in three minutes.” She places it on the kitchen counter and backs away.
I set the kitchen timer, and we both stare at the thing as we wait.
“What if I’m not. Cheese and crackers, what am I? I don’t,” I come around and pull her into a hug.
“We try again, or we love the child we created. Either way, this is the best fucking Christmas Eve I’ve ever had, so thank you for sharing it with me.” She stardles and gasps but before she can asy anything the timer beeps.
I reach for the test, and we both look at the screen.
Positive.
