I swallow down the lump in my throat as I look at him. “If you bring me food,” I say in a whisper, “that will always help.”
Chapter 17
Michael
“If you bring me food.” Her voice drops to a whisper, and my whole body tingles. “That will always help.” She winks, and I can’t help the smile that fills my face.
“Duly noted,” I say, and my thumb rubs her cheek. When she came out of the bathroom this morning, she looked gorgeous. I wanted to hug her and kiss her lips, but I knew that I had to tread carefully.
My phone pings, and I look down and see that it’s from my father.
Dad: Landing in thirty. We will come right over.
Me: I’ll be waiting.
“There are so many questions I want to ask, but my parents are landing in thirty minutes.”
“Are you going to pick them up at the airport?” she asks, and I just shake my head. I have yet to tell her who I am, so I’m not ready to tell her about my family.
“No, I have a car getting them,” I reply. “I’m nervous,” I admit to her. “I called my dad yesterday to tell him, and I swear I almost cried.”
“I know how you feel,” she says. “When I found out.” She swallows. “It took twenty-five tests to convince me. Then it took a week of shock, and I thought they were all wrong until my stomach lurched and I almost threw up while singing ‘Row Row Row Your Boat’ in the middle of class.” She shakes her head and chuckles. “When the doctor confirmed it, I cried for four days straight from Thursday to Sunday.” My hand flies to hold hers. “Closed all the curtains and did nothing for four days but lie on the couch and then the bed. It was a yo-yo. I snapped out of it when Julia came over and threatened to call the health inspector.”
My heart sinks when I think about her going through that without me. She must have been petrified. “Well, I’m here.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it instead of reaching over and kissing her lips. What if she doesn’t want to have a relationship with me? My heart speeds up when I think about this.
“You should go,” she says. “The last thing I want you to be is late.” She points down at her stomach. “This is changing everything.”
“Not changing. Making us better.”
“Good one.” She points the fork at me. “Now go.”
“I’ll call you after,” I say.
“Does your father own a gun?” she asks. “He might shoot you in the ass.”
“More like my mother,” I answer her. “My father, I think will be okay, but my mother…” I shake my head. “Time will tell.”
“Godspeed, Michael.” She laughs, and I walk out without kissing her face. I jog out of her condo and make one phone call.
It takes me four minutes to order it, and then I call her. She answers after one ring. “You literally just left,” she says, laughing.
“You are going to get a delivery in the next two hours,” I inform her.
“Of what?” she asks, shocked.
“It’s a surprise,” I say. Hanging up the phone, I’m smiling to myself. She is either going to hate it or love it. I mean, it’s a fifty-fifty chance. I just hope she doesn’t think I’m overstepping. But in time, she will learn I need to take care of her and the baby.
I park my car just as my dad sends me a text
Dad: Landed early, be there in ten.
I get into the elevator, and my leg starts to shake with nervousness. I walk into the house and try to sit on the couch, and when that fails, I pace the white floor, going over my speech in my head.
I put my hands on my hips and tilt my head back and sigh. I’m about to pace again when I hear a knock on the door, and I suddenly feel like I’m sixteen years old again and I just smashed my mother’s new truck that was a week old. Another knock comes, this time harder, and my heart speeds up so much it echoes in my ears. This time, the knock is more like pounding, and my feet move on their own. “Here goes nothing,” I say. Pulling open the door, I see my parents standing there with my uncle Matthew behind them.
My eyes go back to my mother whose eyes are red as she puts on a fake smile, and I can tell she’s been crying. “Hey.” She comes in and gives me a hug, and it’s tighter than any hug she’s ever given me. I can feel her tears through my T-shirt. I put my hands around her shoulders and look at my dad, who just shrugs at me. His eyes look red also, and I want to kick myself for worrying them so much. Maybe I should have just FaceTimed them.