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“Every dance with you is special, Viper. You should know that by now.”
“I do, but I feel like we’ve taken a while and gone through a lot to get here.”
“It’s been the hardest and best journey of my life so far. I’m just glad I get to do it with you, Dylan.”
Eli leans in pressing his soft, warm lips to mine. Everything about him makes me feel weak. The way he speaks, the way he moves, the way he thinks, and especially, the way he loves. “Elijah…”
“Mmmm. You said my full name. Am I in trouble?”
“It depends on what you define as trouble. I talked to Jill a couple of days ago. I asked to change a few things, scale back.”
“Okay. What does that mean?”
His hands anchor at my lower back and near the base of my neck as we sway. I know my face will give everything away in a flash, so I stare at his chest and start to play with the flowers pinned to the lapel of his tuxedo. “It means I’m doing my last performance show for a while. I’m going to work more behind the scenes.”
“Okay. Wow. Um. You were so happy. Rehearsals were the right amount, ALITE fit perfectly, even Skye was thinking about upping your profile. What happened?” I can’t contain my smile. It grows wider with each passing second. Also, the tears soon follow. “Hey. Look, if this isn’t what you want, we change it. All I want is for you to be happy.”
“I couldn’t be happier. I’m pregnant. Eli, you’re going to be a father.”
Elijah
What did she say?
This can’t be real. This can’t be happening.
Our song is still filling the world around us. A gentle breeze from the shore just beyond the tree line washes in and coats this moment with its cool touch.
“Say that again. I won’t believe it unless you say it again,” I tell her.
“Eli, I’m pregnant. I wanted to wait to tell you, just in case something happened. Just until I was sure.”
“How long have you known?”
“Well, I hoped for a couple of weeks. I knew that being late once for me wasn’t a big deal, but then when it was three and four weeks past, I took a test, then another, and another. I think I took four alone then one with Hayley. I wanted to be sure of what I saw.”
I tilt my head to the side just a bit. “Hayley knows?”
“I picked her up for her last dress fitting a couple of weeks ago and you know your sister. She knew immediately that something was on my mind. I needed to talk to someone about it. She started clapping and jumping up and down while dragging me down the block to the drugstore. We came back and took that last test. The two pink lines were so dark. I went to see my doctor and she confirmed it with a blood test. Remember when I told you last week I had the flu? It wasn’t the flu.”
I stop us from moving completely. My hands begin smoothing the wispy waves away from her face. Now that I know, how could I not have known? She’s been more tired and more hungry than usual, especially the last couple weeks. Her hips are a little fuller and I couldn’t be more okay with that than I am. Her cheeks have had this special flush to them. She is just more beautiful than ever.
“A baby? Our baby.” My thoughts melt into a smile. I lean in and rub my nose along hers before I kiss her forehead and then her perfect full lips.
“I thought you might be mad at me for keeping it from you. I asked Hayley if I could tell you here. I didn’t want to steal her thunder, but I knew you’d notice I wasn’t drinking at a party. It’s one thing to refuse when we’re at home. Are you happy?”
I look down at where her belly would be under the draping skirt on her dress. I leave my hands on her hips but rub my thumbs over where our child grows. “Dylan, my heart could explode. I’ve imagined this moment for over a decade. I thought I knew how I would react to being told my wife is pregnant. Not in my wildest dreams did I think it would be like this. How do you feel? I need to hear it honestly.”
“Eli, I thought I would be so scared I wouldn’t know what to do. I do know. You teach me every day, being with Mikey teaches me. When he called for his mom tonight, I don’t know, something inside me burst. I can’t wait to have a little boy or girl say that and mean me.”
“Our baby.” I carefully lift Dylan off the ground into my arms, holding her like the precious being that she is. My hands encapsulate her neck and cradle her lower back. We begin to dance again.
We started this dance nearly three years ago in a nightclub. It was Goose and Viper. Now Dylan’s giving us the next generation of the Sawyer family. Three hearts now beat as…one.
The End
