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“No.” I shook my head. “My dad can do math. He’s going to figure it out when the baby shows up a few months earlier than it should, assuming we got married tomorrow.”
“Alright.” He nodded. “Shotgun wedding it is.”
“The wedding doesn’t matter,” I said. “All that matters is us being together for the rest of our lives, raising our children.”
He nodded eagerly. “Works for me. We need to start preparing the nursery, and picking out names, and I think we need to look for a house. We need a yard with a fence and a swing set. And we need a dog.”
Remembering the woman I saw in the park, I shook my head. “You can get a dog. A trained dog. No puppies. I can’t do a puppy and a baby.”
He frowned. “Okay.”
“But first a house with a fenced backyard for the dog,” I said.
“I’ll call a relator,” he said.
“I don’t think we need to do that right this minute.” I giggled.
“This is happening,” he breathed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s really happening. And I beat Leo.”
“What?”
“I’m going to be a dad before Leo.” He grinned. “I knocked you up before he got Caroline.”
“You make it sound like a competition,” I said.
“I can’t wait to tell him,” he said. “He’s going to lose his mind.”
We spent the rest of the night talking about our future as a family. We talked about the kind of parents we wanted to be, the kind of life we wanted to give our child, and the adventures we wanted to have together. It was as if the pregnancy had opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us, and we were both eager to explore it.
As we lay in bed that night, my head on his chest and his arms wrapped around me, I felt a sense of peace and contentment that I had never felt before. For the first time in my life, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. With him, and our unborn child, I felt like I had everything I needed. I let my mind wander to thoughts of my future with the man I love. It was a feeling of excitement and anticipation mixed with a touch of nervousness.
I imagined us living in a cozy house, surrounded by a lush garden, our home filled with warmth and laughter. We’d have a dog running around, wagging its tail with joy. In this future, I saw us waking up each day with smiles on our faces, the sound of the birds outside our window greeting us. We’d sit at the breakfast table, sipping our coffee, chatting about everything and nothing.
I could see us traveling the world together, exploring new cultures, trying new foods, and making unforgettable memories with our little family. We’d hold hands as we watched sunsets over the ocean, and dance in the rain as if no one was watching. I would write when I had time between raising the children we would have.
I imagined us growing old together, still holding hands, still making each other laugh. We’d sit on the porch swing, watching the world go by, content in each other’s company. We would have grandchildren over on Christmas morning and have big backyard barbecues with Caroline and Leo and their brood. We would talk about the old times and make our grandkids crazy with all of our stories. We would set an example of true love and encourage them to fight to reach it for themselves.
And as we drifted off to sleep, the only sound in the room the gentle rise and fall of our breathing, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of overwhelming love and gratitude for the man lying beside me. There really was something pretty amazing about getting to marry your best friend and starting a family. I knew he was going to be a good daddy. He was going to spoil our children rotten, but I didn’t mind.
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