The doctor knocked before he came inside. He handed me a small yellow envelope. “I’ll leave you to open this in private.” He walked out again.
I held out the envelope to her. “Would you like to do the honors, baby?”
She took it, ripped through the tape, and pulled out the thick piece of paper.
In the doctor’s handwriting was our answer.
Boy.
“Oh my god…” Her hand started to shake as she held the paper. “We’re having a boy…” Her eyes watered before she looked at me.
My hand cupped her face, feeling a slight pain in my chest as I looked at her reaction, seeing how happy she was, feeling how happy she was. I saw a love there that I never saw in Valerie. “Yeah…we are.”
She dropped the paper and hugged me. “I’m so happy.”
I held her against me, my head resting on hers. “I’m happy too. Derek will have a brother. He’ll be really excited about that.”
She pulled away and looked at the paper again. “I bet he’ll be perfect. Aww, I wish he were here now…”
I rubbed the back of her neck. “He’ll be here before you know it. He’ll be screaming and crying, and you’ll be wishing you were still pregnant.”
She chuckled, her eyes still wet. “I deal with whiny clients all the time, so I’m not scared.” She grabbed her purse and slipped the paper inside, so she could keep it. “I’m really happy we’re having a boy, but…I guess I also kinda wanted to have a girl. I didn’t really know how I felt until I saw the word on the page.”
My fingers moved her hair out of her face, gently pinning it behind her neck so I could see the side of her face. Then I slowly turned her toward me. “We’ll try for a girl next time.”
Twenty
Deacon
We sat together at the table, having dinner as usual. Cleo had cravings for other things besides my standard cooking, so tonight, we had spaghetti with meatballs. Pasta and heavily processed meats weren’t a part of my diet, but I made the compromise because I wasn’t on my own anymore.
I had a family now.
“This is awesome.” Derek sliced into his meatball and ate it before spinning his fork around his pasta. He had sauce all over his face.
I pointed my fork at his face. “Derek.”
He grabbed his napkin and wiped his lips before returning it to his lap.
Cleo drank her water then looked at me, like she was anxious for me to tell him.
I was a bit anxious too. “Derek, there’s something Cleo and I want to talk to you about.”
“Yeah?” he asked. “Is it about the field trip next week? Are you coming too?”
“No,” I said. “It’s about something else.”
He spun his fork in his pasta but didn’t take a bite. He just played with his food as he waited for the news.
I had no idea how to tell him this. I hadn’t rehearsed this conversation in my head. Telling Derek he would have a sibling was something I’d never anticipated. I’d always assumed he would be the only child I ever had. “Cleo is pregnant, which means you’re going to have a little brother soon.”
“No way!” Derek dropped his fork, making a loud clatter against the dish. “Seriously? A brother?”
I smiled at his enthusiasm. “Yes. A brother.”
“That’s so cool.” Derek turned to Cleo. “I’m the only person in my class who doesn’t have any brothers or sisters. Now, I do!”
Cleo smiled. “It’s very exciting. Your father and I are so happy about it. We’re glad you are too.”
“But wait,” Derek said. “You guys aren’t married…”
I knew his school was a bit pretentious, teaching him how to do everything the textbook way, but I didn’t want him believing that nonsense. “You don’t have to be married to have a child. Marriage is an idea civilization created. It’s not true in nature. Animals mate for life, and they aren’t married, right?”
“Yeah,” Derek said. “True.”
“So, if you ever meet someone who has a child without being married, there’s nothing wrong with it.” I didn’t want Derek being one of those obnoxious trust-fund babies who judged other people. If that was the kind of attitude he was being taught in school, I needed to correct it.
“So, you and Cleo are like penguins?” he asked. “Or cardinals?”
“Exactly.” I didn’t look at Cleo’s face, but I was sure she was disappointed we weren’t married. That was important to her, and she’d made it clear to me. But I wasn’t going to ask her to marry me just because she was pregnant. I had already planned on doing it…I just hadn’t decided on how. With Valerie, I never proposed. It was a simple conversation, and then she picked out the ring. So this felt like the first time for me…and I didn’t want it to be some simple conversation.