Love You Too: PART TWENTY SIX

-TIFFANY-

"What date is it today?" I asked, looking across at Nate who was sat up reading The New York Times.
I always had this problem when I wasn't in the city: I never knew what day of the week it was or what date it was, but I knew it was July.
"Look at the front of the newspaper, it's this really cool feature that's always been there, and it tells you the date it was published! Crazy or what?" he said sarcastically, which was greeted by one of my sarcastic looks.
"Oh haha" I said, applauding slowly like a seal would at a zoo. I glanced at the front page and read the date. That's odd. It's July 26th, meaning that not only is my birthday in a week, but prom was 4 weeks ago.
"How long ago was prom?" I asked Nate, making sure I wasn't going senile.
"Umm.. About 4 weeks or so. Why?"
"No reason, I'm sure it's nothing" I said, reverting my attention to this month's Vogue magazine.
"No," he said, shifting closer to me "What is it?"
"Well, it's probably not, I'm probably just a little off because of the coma and everything, so don't get your hopes up or get stressed; but I think I'm late. Like, seriously late. It happened a week or so before prom and it's now been roughly 5 weeks... Should I be worried?"
There was silence for a second, and Nate opened his mouth, struggling to form the right word in his mouth. After a few more awkward seconds of silence, he broke out into a smile.
"We'd better get down to the pharmacy then, hadn't we?" he said, tossing the bed sheets to one side and leaping out of bed. He came over to my side of the bed and picked me up, cradling me, kissing me and kissing me and kissing me. "I love you!" he said, a glimmer in his eyes that I'd never seen before.
"I love you too, but please don't get your hopes up. I don't want to crush them" I said, placing a hand on his cheek.
"I'll go and get you a test, you stay right here" he said, laying me back down on the bed and handing me back my magazine. He threw a hoody over a pair of swimming shorts, and as he left he looked me deep in the eyes and planted a single kiss on my lips, resting his hand on my stomach as he did. "I'll be back as soon as I can" he said, sprinting out the bedroom and grabbing his keys off the bedside table as he went. I could see him taking the stairs in twos, and I heard him jump the last set as he landed with a thud on the wooden floor beneath.
He slammed the front door, carefully locking it, and the next thing I heard was the sound of his car screeching down the road, revving as it went, in the direction of the main town.
I rested my head back down, and I felt my heart racing. His excitement was contagious, but somehow, excitement wasn't my first emotion. I was happy, but scared. If the test came back positive, my life would completely change. What would I do about school? What would I do about living arrangements? Nate and I weren't even married, was my child going to grow up in a broken home? What if the two of us ended our relationship? Okay, I couldn't see that happening, but there's always the possibility. I knew that money wouldn't be an issue, and that supporting this child wouldn't be an issue, but Nate would have to get a job, which would mean him sacrificing his education too. What would we do in the future with such little education and a baby?
But then I thought about the baby. I imagined holding it in my arms for the first time, the feeling that something is relying on you more than anything. I thought about Nate sitting with the baby in his arms as I lay on a hospital bed, shortly after giving birth. I thought about how inseparable the child and I would be, and how secure he or she would make Nate and I's relationship.
I felt myself lay my magazine to the side, and place both hands on my tiny stomach. I imagined what might be growing inside of me right now, and I thought about the possibilities this child would have in life, about it's future. It brought a tear to my eye, and I soon realised that I was crying. I didn't know why, but perhaps the thought of this new life was too much for one morning.
I heard a car pull up at the front door again, and the door unlocking. Footsteps thudded quickly up to where I was laying, and as I quickly wiped away the tears that were dribbling down my face, the door swung violently open.
In the doorway was Nate, his face beaming and proud, as he held the box in his hands.
"I think I might have a speeding ticket" he said, as he sat down next to me.
"You were very quick" I said, taking the box from him, and heading into the bathroom to use it. He followed me like a lost puppy, but I turned just as I'd gone through the door, and I kissed him once on the lips, closing the door slowly behind me, so he had time to move backwards.
I sat down for a second and gathered the thoughts I'd had before he'd come back. I did what Mollie recommended, and I counted the pros and the cons, and realised they were all square; there was no difference between them. I closed my eyes and I prayed. I don't normally pray, but now was one of those desperate times. I prayed to my aunt, that whatever decision this test made was the right one, and that she'd make sure it was the right one. I opened my eyes and looked up to the ceiling. I knew she was watching over me, and I wanted her to know that I was thinking about her whilst this was happening.
When I emerged from the bathroom, test in hand, he hurried over to me from his position on the bed. He'd had his head in his hands, nervously anticipating the result.
"Well? What does it say?" he said, standing in front of me, hands clasped together. It looked like he'd been praying too, but I knew that wasn't the case.
"Give it three minutes" I said, smiling a little.
I sat down on the bed next to where he'd been sat, and I put the test in my lap, making sure the screen was facing down. That way, I knew I'd be the first to know.
"Tiffany, I just want to say that if this is positive, then it'll make me the happiest man alive. And I know men say that all the time, but you have no idea how much this means to me. You're everything to me, and to have this child as a reminder of our love would be amazing." he put his arm around me, before beginning again "I could teach him to play baseball at a batting cage, and we could go and see the Yankees as a family. We could come down here all the time and spend the day on the beach, swimming and just enjoying ourselves"
"What if it's a girl?" I added
"If she's even a little bit like you she'll be absolutely perfect."
I made sure my breathing was deep, as I realised the three minutes were up. I didn't want to go and faint in possibly one of the most memorable moments of my life.
I turned to Nate and whispered, "I think it's time". He kissed me one last time, a deep kiss that rocked my mere existence, it convinced me that this was the man i wanted to be with, and the man I wanted to have a child with.
I felt my heart begin to race even faster than it had this morning, as I reached down towards the test that was in my lap. I could feel the excitement and nerves radiating off Nate, and as I lifted it up, everything ran in slow motion. I turned the test over and I felt my heart leap, my stomach turned and my head raced. It felt like I'd just been at that stage of a roller coaster when you've travelled uphill slowly, and you're waiting at the top of the large hill, knowing that any second now you'll drop down. Well that drop came as I turned it over.
I wasn't sure if Nate had really seen it, as he seemed emotionless. He was neither devastated nor amazed, but then again neither was I. It took both of us a few agonisingly long seconds to let the result sink in, but when it had, Nate exploded.
"We are having a baby" he said, gaining in speed and volume as he repeated those five words, "We are having a baby. We are having a baby. Tiffany! We're having a baby!" he said, wrapping his arms around me, and kissing my head repeatedly.
I couldn't help but notice the sunlight that was now piercing through the window, and I looked up to where it was coming from. I knew my aunt had made that decision for us, and that it was the right one in her eyes. I couldn't help but feel that part of her was being reborn in the form of this baby, and that she was smiling down on us now from heaven, in the form of the sun, beating down on my face, guiding me in the right direction.