“I’ll just take a photo and send it to them. That’s easier.”
Sachi’s brow wrinkles in confusion. “What do you mean send a picture? Don’t you have to find it yourself and add it to the cart?”
“Not when you pay for full service,” I tell her.
Danika gives her friend a thin smile. “Tommy employs a service that cleans, shops, and even cooks for us—they’re kind of like estate managers. It’s pretty amazing.”
“Oh man. That sounds like a sweet gig—way better than Instacart. I wonder if they’re hiring.”
I can’t help but chuckle. Sachi’s mind is a mystery to me, but she’s entertaining. I’ll give her that. “No other additions? You haven’t ever asked for any female products,” I point out somewhat awkwardly. I know women don’t always have periodsin perfect cycles, but she hasn’t had one since we met. I figure she’s due.
“I brought some stuff with me, and since all the stress from the past month threw off my cycle, I haven’t needed any.”
“Stress can do that?” I ask, genuinely curious.
Sachi’s brows rise. “Yeah, but so can having unprotected sex.” She gives her friend a knowing look.
Danika looks from her friend to me and back. “Surely not.”
“How long’s it been?” asks Sachi.
Dani pauses to think. “My last period started … I guess six weeks ago?”
Sachi gapes at Dani. “You’re two weeks late and never thought to check?”
I’m watching the conversation unfold like it’s on television because it feels surreal. I knew there was a chance she could get pregnant, but not necessarily probable. Only thirty percent of women get pregnant in the first month of trying. I looked it up.
“I had a lot on my mind.” Dani shrugs impishly. “You don’t really think…”
“I think you should find out for sure. That’s what I think,” Sachi says in no uncertain terms.
“I’ll go,” I blurt. Both women look at me wide-eyed. “You two stay here.” The words are an afterthought. I’m halfway to the door before I know what I’m doing. My wife might be pregnant, and I need to know for sure. Now.
I’m not gone ten minutes before I sweep back into the apartment with a plastic sack full of tests.
“Did you buyallof them?” Sachi asks incredulously.
“Two of each. I wasn’t sure which was best.” And I don’t want to fuck this up. I’ve never felt so damn on edge in my life.
Dani stands and takes the bag from me. “Well, no time like the present, I guess.” She starts to walk away, but I snag her armand spin her back around for a kiss—deep and enduring, just like my love for her.
“Whatever the result, I love you, and everything is going to be wonderful,” I tell her in a rush, and I truly believe it because as long as we have one another, that’s all that matters.
Relief softens her features. “Thank you, Tommy.”
I watch anxiously as she walks away, leaving Sachi and me to stare blankly at one another.
“Well, I did not see this coming today,” she says with a smirk.
“That makes two of us.” Thinking about kids theoretically is totally different from knowing one is on the way. The reality of it hits me like a Mack truck. The disorder. The chaos. The poop.
I could be a father soon.
The overwhelming surge of fear eases with the mental image of Danika round with my child. I’m not doing this alone. She’ll be by my side, helping me adjust to a new normal. Suddenly, I’m overcome with a ferocious protectiveness that I didn’t know was possible. We haven’t even confirmed if she’s pregnant, yet I can say with confidence that I would sell my soul for that baby.
What is taking her so long?
She hasn’t been gone five minutes, but it feels like an eternity. Finally, she returns from the bathroom, wide green eyes locking onto mine. She nods.
