Molly’s eyes lazily watched Barrett’s naked body dart across the apartment like a dog with the zoomies.
Reaching out to still him, Chastity felt a laugh bubble up in her own chest despite her simultaneous wash of terror.
His eyes widened, smile wiped away in an instant as her tears registered. “Oh, no, no, no. Please, Chastity… tell me you want tokeepit.”
After a moment, she nodded.
“Yes!” Barrett screamed, fist pumping toward the sky. He snatched up Smoky and held her in the air, hollering, “I’m gonna be a Daddy!”
Chastity looked down at his butt, at the tattoo of the bumble bee in a ghost costume on his firm cheek, and laughed through the tears. With parents like them, their child would certainly bewild.
Barrett placed the cat on the bed and scooped Chastity in his arms. “It’s gonna be a boy. I can feel it!”
“Barrett!”
“I’ll love itwhateverit is!” The smile on his face was the biggest and brightest she’d ever seen in her life. “We’re enrolling it in karate, especially if it’s a girl. She’s gonna be a dude-magnet.”
“Let’s not enroll our child in anything just yet. One thing at a time.”
He blurted a joyful exclamation of sounds again and then clutched her arms in his hands. “This baby is going to be a part of youandme.”
Her expression turned gravely serious. “That’s what I’m worried about.”
“Ouch. Okay, no offense taken, I guess,” he said in a mocking tone, head bobbling with attitude.
She elbowed him gently in the ribs. “Not the part aboutyou. I meant… what if she turns out likeme?”
“What do you mean?” He paused. “Sassy and drop-dead gorgeous?”
“What if she’s…bipolar?” Her voice wavered with concern, hands drifting down to her still-flat stomach.
“You meanhe’s,” he joked. Then, his expression softened. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear that had loosened from her multi-colored ponytail. “Then… nothing. I will loveher-him-it, just like I loveyou. And who better to help our child through it than a mom who has dealt with the same thing head-on?”
He tipped her chin up and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. “You’re brave. You’re a badass. And you don’t take shit from anyone. I’d be proud to watch our child grow up just like you.”
“Thank you.” She sniffled.
“Baby, I’m fuckingcrazyabout you.” He wrapped his arms around her, feeling the entirety of his world — his past, present, and future -- all encompassed in them.
“I love you,” she whispered into his neck, feeling anxiety give way to slight relief and even a little excitement. “If this anything like us, we’re gonna have our hands full.” She joked.
Molly sauntered over to Smoky’s side. The contented animals stood, watching their enamored owners start a whole new adventure.
For the first time since she could remember, Chastity was surrounded by love and acceptance. The world spun in a way that finally made sense to her, some greater plan at play finally taking shape before her amber eyes.
Barrett knelt down to kiss her stomach, and Chasity giggled. Lifting her shirt, he spoke to her stomach. “Hello in there. I’m Barrett, but you can call me Daddy. I know we don’t know each other, but I want you to know that I already love you, and I can’twaitto meet you.”
