She stared at me, wide-eyed. “That’s the weirdest thing a boyfriend has ever said to me.”
“Weirder than trying to convert you to a cult?”
“You got me there, but that’s a seriously low bar.”
I handed the box back to her. “Since things have already gotten weird, may I ask when you have to pee on the stick?”
“Tomorrow. First pee of the morning.”
I needed to defuse the tension in the room. I smiled as I said, “It's been a big couple of weeks for you. First, peeing in the woods, next on a stick, after that—”
“We agreed, no more weird.” She set the box on the nightstand and switched off the light. “You're really okay with this?” she whispered.
I did another self-check. Pulse steady. Body relaxed. Heart full. “Yeah, I really am. You?”
“I don't know yet.” She curled against me, right where she belonged. “I'll let you know after I’ve peed on the stick.”
26
SAVANNAH
Iwoke up at 6:30 a.m. with a very full bladder. The last thing I wanted to do was empty it over a pregnancy test. I squeezed my legs together, rolled over onto my opposite side, and huddled under the covers.
“Hey.” Ben sat down on the bed beside me.
I turned in his direction. He was fully dressed in clean clothes, meaning he’d gotten up and showered and changed in his own room. And he’d come back to hold my hand while I found out whether my life was about to change forever. Again. Not that I’d decided what I’d do if I was pregnant. But the idea didn’t seem nearly as terrifying today as it had yesterday in the medical bay.
“Is it go-time?” Ben asked.
I smiled. “I see what you did there.”
He smiled back. “I think you’re stalling. Don’t make me bring you a cup of chamomile tea to get your ass in gear.”
“Fine.” I threw back the covers. “But I’m going in alone. Despite the recent developments in my pee habits, I’m drawing a firm line on this one.”
I took the box with me. A few minutes later, I emerged with the stick and a paper towel. I laid the paper towel on thenightstand and placed the stick on top of it. I backed up and stared at it.
Ben stood beside me. “What are we waiting for?” he whispered.
“Oh, you don’t know how this works?” Men really could be clueless. Not that I’d done this before, but at least I’d read the instructions. “It takes a few minutes for the pee to reach the indicator.” I pointed to the clear window. “If the test detects pregnancy hormones, the word pregnant will show up in there.”
Another minute went by. “That should be enough time.” I picked up the stick. We both stared at it.
Not Pregnant
“Good,” I said. “This is a good thing.”
He rubbed my back. “And also a little sad, at least for me.”
I didn’t know whether I felt the same way, but I did appreciate hearing it. “Thank you for saying you loved the idea of having a baby with me. It made me feel less alone.”
“You’renotalone anymore, Sav.” He pulled me into a hug. “I have PT with Wheeler in fifteen minutes, but I can push it out if you need me to stay.”
“No, I’m fine. Like I said, this is good. Having a child should be an intentional choice.”
“We still might need a blood test.”
“Again, no making plans—”
