Page 57 of Not Your Romeo
Sean Morgan
Fuck. I swiped toward the red, unwilling to upset Ro with business talk. I opted to text him instead.
Doctor speaking with us. Ro is pregnant. Can’t risk upsetting her by discussing things. Will call soon.
I set the phone screen down on my leg and focused on the conversations at hand.
“When can I go home?” Ro eagerly asked, staking claim to my now empty hand.
“Well, we’d like to monitor you for another day or two. If all goes well, we can talk about discharging you before the weekend arrives.”
She groaned and the phone vibrated. I picked it up with my free hand.
Sincerely? That’s great news. We’ll talk soon.
I laid it back down, not bothering to reply.
“Perfect,” I answered the doctor, earning myself a glare from Ro. I shrugged, and tried to make it sound like an important delay. “I’ll be doing the cooking for a while. It’ll give me time to stock up on hot dogs and microwavable dinners.”
That I.V. in her hand didn’t save me from a back smack to the gut.
“I do not eat hotdogs.” She extended her finger and kept it like a toll bar across my chest until I nodded my agreement.
“Alright, we’ll talk more later,” the doctor advised before hurrying from the room.
“I was teasing, I make amazing pork and beans from the can.” I tried to keep her upbeat.
“Zig,” she said my name like it was past time for me to be serious.
When I looked at her for some clue of what had changed, she let out an exhaustive breath, “What are we gonna do?”
I studied her face, still somewhat lost. “About what?”
The way her face fell told me about what. “The baby?” I laughed, “What the fuck do you mean? You do realize, I’m not some high school punk who suddenly has to figure out a house and job, right? I mean I fucked up last time, but it wasn’t that rough. This time it’s cool.”
“It’s not cool.” She flung the words at me, and I shot my arms out in a plea for her to stay calm.
“Easy, babe. What–? Yeah, things are messy a little, but–they’ll smooth out. We’ll take care of it. I promise. I’m going to head down to the clubhouse now and put things in order. I want you to get some rest, this is our chance to do it right, and we will.”
I kissed her forehead. When she tried to protest, I dropped the next kiss on her mouth and held firm until she shut up.
“Rest,” I repeated, when I lifted my mouth from hers.
She huffed and closed her eyes. I smoothed the hair off her face and took my leave.
I was on a mission, but I still tapped the nurse’s station on my way past, “I’ll be a phone call away.”
“Understood.” The nurse nodded.
I liked that one, even if I didn’t know what the blue meant. She was good with Ro.
I made my way down to the Savages’ clubhouse, and thankfully, Henny had everyone gathered by the time I got there.
“Ziggy,” Griz stressed my name and hauled me into a side hug when I stepped inside. “I hear your ol’ lady is awake now?”
“She is,” I assured him, with a relieved smile.
“Fuck, yeah.” He nodded, patting my shoulder as we stepped into the back room.
