I grabbed one of each pregnancy test. Before we left, we also filled the cart up with sour candy and dill pickle chips. My mouth watered when I spotted them. That was probably all the confirmation I needed. But Ducane deserved to experience this the way it was supposed to happen — together, waiting, not knowing — and after everything he’d given me, I wasn’t about to take that from him.
Neither of us said much the rest of the ride.
I was in my head, not necessarily sad or worried, just feeling a mixed bag of emotions. I really wanted this for him, for us. Even in the midst of fear, I wanted this with him.
We made it in and Cadence had caught her second wind. Pizza was ordered, movies turned on, and the couch housed all of us laughing as we watchedThePrincess Diarieswith Cadence.
Night had fallen, and we couldn’t keep avoiding the nagging question much longer. After feeding Cadence, bath time, story time, and “Let me tell you all about Miss Lola’ time, Cadence was out cold before we finished the last page of her book.
I pulled her bedroom door closed as quietly as I could and made my way down the hall.
I found Ducane waiting for me in the bathroom, already sitting on the edge of the tub, all the tests laid out on the counter like he was a surgeon.
“You scared?” he asked, quietly.
“Terrified,” I said, leaning against him and lacing my fingers through his over my stomach. “You?”
“Nah.” He pressed a kiss below my ear. “Whatever they say, I already know what I want. I just feel grateful to be here with you.”
“And if it’s not?”
“Then we keep practicing and try again.” His thumb moved slowly against my hand. “I ain’t in a rush, Skye.”
We shared a kiss, and I inhaled deeply before opening the first test.
He stood while I did what I needed to do, standing close enough that I could feel him at my back the whole time. When I set the last test face down on the counter, he pulled me straight into his lap on the closed toilet lid, both arms wrapped around my waist, his chin hooked over my shoulder.
“I want you happy, Skye. Whether that be working with me or at school. I want to support you in whatever way I can.”
“I am happy, Ducane.”
“Good, so what’s the future hold for Skye Simmons?”
“Graduating from school, and then you can hire me for the communications side of the entertainment industry.”
He looked up at me with a smile. “I don’t believe you’d give up the sky, Skye, but if you do, the job is yours.”
“School starts back again for me soon; I don’t know how I’ll find balance.”
“We’ll do it together.”
We shared a kiss, the type of kiss that led us here in the first place, until the timer went off.
“You gotta look. I can’t do it,” I said, standing and moving back. Ducane stood and pulled me into his body. He turned the first one over, then the next, until the counter was lined with overwhelming confirmation.
“Baby, we’re pregnant,” he muttered, scooping me up in his arms so tight I fought to breathe. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how happy I am and how much I love you.”
“I love you too, and this is just proof of how far we’ve both come. You for…”
“Not tonight, not ever again. We are moving forward. What happened in the past is staying in the past. I never want to talk about that shit ever again.”
He stepped back and turned the bath on. The bathroom filled with the smell of lavender. It instantly relaxed my shoulders. Ducane came closer, removed my clothing, and helped me into the bathtub. I reclined back and let my shoulders drop. It was perfect.
“Open,” he said, dangling a sour worm. I opened my mouth and giggled.
“Why do I love this?
Silence took over the bathroom for a minute.
