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“I hope that’s not an indication of how bad my lovemaking skills are.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment. “Well, it wasn’t last time…”
“Huh?”
“The last time I was sick during a run, it wasn’t because of having bad sex.”
It took a few seconds for the meaning of her words to sink in. “No, it wasn’t, was it?” I grinned, catching on to her meaning. The last time she had thrown up during our jog, she had found out she was pregnant.
She smiled hesitantly at me. “Come on,” I said, putting my hand against the small of her back. “Let’s get you home and put that stash of pregnancy tests in our bathroom to good use.”
Back at the house, while we waited for the test to do its thing, I thought about how we were in a much better place now than before—how much stronger we were as a couple and how ready we were to be parents. I prayed fate would be kind to Jess this time around. She was desperate to be a mom, and I knew she would make a great one.
I heard a sniff, distracting me from my thoughts, and I looked across to Jess to see a tear rolling down her cheek before she smiled. I looked down at the test in her hand and saw that it was positive.
“You’re going to be a mom,” I said to her as she broke down in tears and I hugged her to me. I smiled in relief as I rested my hand on her belly, thinking of the new life that was inside her.
This was going to be a new start for us both. We had come full circle and we were ready to have this baby together. “Things will work out this time, Jess—I have a good feeling about it.”
“Me too,” she smiled.
If positive thinking counted for anything, I knew that this pregnancy was going to be surrounded by it. “I can’t wait to start this new chapter of our lives together, Jess. You’re the love of my life and I can’t wait for us to have a family together.”
“I can’t wait either,” she said, reaching up with her arms and kissing me.
***
After an appointment with Dr. Chiara to confirm the pregnancy, the next appointment was at the twelve-week mark for the initial scan.
“How’s the morning sickness this time around, Jessica?”
“It wasn’t so good during the first month, but it seems to have settled down since then.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Does it mean that you have more energy?”
“Yes, I definitely have more energy. This is what I hoped being pregnant would be like. I’ve been able to keep up with my running and yoga, and both help to keep me in a positive frame of mind.”
Jessica was certainly glowing, and that glow intensified even more when we saw the scan of our baby for the first time. Dr. Chiara printed out photos and I couldn’t stop looking at them even after we had left the appointment.
After the scan, Jessica convinced me to go shopping with her. “Any excuse to shop,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“We’ll be doing a lot of shopping now for the baby, so you better get used to it,” she said firmly. “And the lilac flat pumps you got me are a godsend now that I’m pregnant.” She looked down at her shoes and smiled. “I can’t see myself ever going back to heels, even once this pregnancy is over.”
I allowed myself to be dragged into a baby boutique. Whereas normally I would head for the couches designated for the bored husbands to sit upon, today I wanted to go around the store with Jessica in her joy—because it was our joy. It was our child.
And all I wanted was for her to be happy.
She picked up a pair of white booties with a little bear’s face and ears on each foot. “These are adorable,” she declared.
“But completely useless. They’ll stay on the baby’s feet for no more than two minutes before they come off with all the wriggling and kicking babies do. They’ll be no use in keeping the baby’s toes warm.”
“They’re not to keep the baby’s toes warm.” Jess looked me in the eye. “They’re to make the baby look cute.”
I knew I wasn’t going to win this argument. “Let’s add them to the pile of purchases,” I conceded. “What about this?” I asked, pulling a stuffed fluffy lion down from the shelf.
“I think a lion isn’t really what you get for a newborn baby. Normally they like animals like a stuffed rabbit or a teddy bear.”
“Maybe we could have jungle themed nursery?” I suggested.
