AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She tries to hide her anxiety behind her harsh words, but I can see it for what it really is. Alize is worried about her capabilities. Sometimes, I forget she’s just eighteen.
“Hey, you’re not doing this alone,” I say, running a finger along her cheekbone toward her nose. “I’m here, sweetheart. And I promise you that I’ll take care of you and the baby. We’re a family now. Everything will be fine. We’ll figure it out together.”
Alize starts crying, leaning into my chest. I hold her as she sobs, feeling myself getting a little choked up. The truth of the matter is that I have no fucking clue how we’re going to do this. It’s not like either of us have a good example of what a loving, nurturing family is. But I know we’ll figure it out.
There’s nobody else I would rather figure it out with, either.
“We’ll give them the best,” I say. “We’re already so much better than our parents were. It’s a new experience, but I know we can handle it together.”
“You promise?”
“I promise. I’m looking forward to it all, Alize.”
“Even when I start looking like I’m smuggling a watermelon under my shirt?” She’s pouting, her eyes damp with tears as she wipes some of them away with her palm. My chest clenches a little bit because she looks so perfect.
“Especially then.” I let go over her cheeks and pick her up, walking over to the bed with her. “I’m looking forward to helping you put your shoes on when you can’t see your toes anymore. To waking up in the middle of the night to drive halfway across town to get you some disgusting-looking snack combination because you’re cranky from cravings. I’m going to be at all your appointments, too.” I set her down on the bed.
I’ve earned a laugh from her and it’s like music to my ears.
“You’re ridiculous,” she giggles.
“Yes, but my girl is pregnant and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.” I ghost my hand over her stomach. There’s still no sign that there’s a baby in there. “And junior.”
Another giggle. “Junior? What if it’s a girl?”
“Juniors can be girls too,” I say.
Alize shakes her head, putting her hand over the one I have on her belly. “I’m not naming our child Alexander. No.”
“Why not?” I say, feigning indignation. In truth, what their name will be doesn’t matter to me. I just want them to grow up happy and healthy.
“I’ve always thought it was a little gauche to give kids the exact same name as their parents, or even of some dead uncle they never met.” She bristles, her lip curling. “It’s like there’s no room to make the name yours, you know? You’re just the third or fourth iteration of the name some dead guy chose a few generations ago.”
She’s so passionate about this that it puts a smile on my face. “You know it’s common to name kids after older relatives in my family. I’m named after one of my mum’s grandfathers.”
“So, that’s what you want to do?” Alize deflates a little.
I move to sit on the edge of the bed beside her, and she shuffles over to give me space. The mattress creaks under my weight, and I prop my feet up on the bed frame.
“Not necessarily,” I say. “I would want their name to mean something special. I think you’re right that a lot of thought should go into it.”
Alize looks away from me, her gaze settling on our joined hands.
“My mother named me,” she says softly. “I’ve never met her, and I know nothing about her, but she left me this name and sometimes it makes me feel closer to her.” She sucks in a shaky breath, and I swear I see her eyes getting misty. Fuck. Here I thought this conversation would be light. “It means joyful. It’s crazy but I finally think I understand why she would give me a name like that, because of the way I feel right now about our baby.” I go to gather into my arms, but she stops me with a hand on my arm. “I want to give our baby a name like that, so if something happens to me in childbirth, they—”
“Bloody hell, Alize,” I snap, cutting her off. “Don’t say that.” I’m angrier than I want to be, but I can’t bear to hear her say shit like that. Not at a time like this. “That’s not going to happen. Nothing is going to happen to you. You’re going to be there to watch them grow up, to tell them why you chose that name for them.”
She bites her lip, looking sorrowful. I reach out to smooth my thumb over her plump bottom lip.
“Hey,” I say softly. “Remember what I said? Everything will be fine. I’ll make sure of it. You’ll have the best doctors. What happened to your mum isn’t going to happen to you.”
There’s a lump in my throat as I speak. I really wish she hadn’t put that thought in my head now, because I’m going to be worried about it all the time.
Tomorrow, I’m going to find the best doctor—what are they called, obstetricians?—in this goddamn country and take her to see them. There’s no way in hell I’m losing Alize or our baby.
“The family doctor told me everything’s fine.”
I narrow my eyes at her, trying to understand. It takes me a second. She must have realised when she went to see the doctor. “He knows?”
