With those three words, he stopped all my momentum. Just like that, he changed all my plans. My eyes grew wide as I stared down at him, unable to believe it could be true.
“You... You are?” I asked, biting my lip, terrified it was a huge, cruel joke.
He beamed up at me, his eyes shining with a million tears. “Of course I am. How could I not be? Abby, we’re going to have a baby.” The word seemed to hit him hard, as powerful as it was unfamiliar. A wave of realization shook through him, freezing him from head to toe before his radiant smile relaxed into something gentler, something tender, something completely overwhelming. “A baby,” he said again, liking the word more and more. “I’m going to be a father and I’ve never been happier.”
His arms opened, and I slid into them without another word, careful not to place any weight on his bandaged ribs. Despite the fact that we were in a hospital and that I’d just seen the man I loved thrown int
o the air by a taxi, I’d never been happier than I was in that single, perfect moment.
“I’m going to be a hands-on type of dad. No nannies! I’m going to do all those late night feedings and burp the baby...and I’ll even change diapers!”
“Even when the baby’s screaming at the top of his or her mini-lungs and kicking?”
“Yes! I’m going to be this baby’s role model and hero. Which means I’m going to have to change. It’s time to grow up. I realize that. I’m going to be the dad I never had in my life. I’ve heard it all goes by so quickly, and I want to enjoy every single moment.”
“Me too. Our baby is going to be so loved and cherished.”
“Three months already?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at me.
I glanced up with a little smile, watching the wonders of parenthood transform him right there before my very eyes. “Yep. I have an ultrasound scheduled for next week,” thrilled that I now wouldn’t have to attend it alone.
“I will be there every step of the way,” he said.
I kissed his lips.
“And the flu?” he said suddenly. “You didn’t really have the flu.”
I shook my head, cuddling into him. “Actually, at first, I thought I did.” A sudden peal of nervous laughter burst out of me. “I couldn’t believe you didn’t catch it too. Now I know that what I have isn’t contagious.”
Nick smiled, then held me delicately against him, his magical eyes lost in thought. “Do we know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” he asked quietly.
“No.” I twisted up to look at him. “Do you want to know?”
He paused, considering the question for the first time. “I’m not sure. Do you want to know?”
I grinned. “I’m not sure either. And I do love surprises!”
“It’ll be a surprise like no other. And who doesn’t love a good mystery?”
For a while, we just lay there, slowly recovering from the aftershock of all that had happened between us and to us, both of us saying silent prayers of thanks that we’d survived what could have been the world’s most catastrophic day and making tentative, hopeful plans for the future.
A future for all three of us...
“You’ve given me the greatest gift anyone has ever given me,” he said.
I squeezed his hand. “And you’ve done the same for me.”
“This is a magical moment I’ll never forget. Our love has sculpted a brand-new soul. Do you think our beautiful baby will look like me...or like you? Will he or she have your nose, my eyes, or your laugh?”
I laughed as a tear slipped down my cheek. “I guess time will tell. And let’s just hope she doesn’t get my Dumbo ears.”
“You do not have big ears!”
I laughed.
He touched my stomach. “Hey, little one, I’m your daddy, and I love you and your mommy so much.”
The emotion in his voice was so tender, so touching, totally melting my heart.