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Gina shakes her head. “I don’t get into your business, Drew.”
I take a deep breath. “Thanks.”
It can’t be an emergency if it wasn’t enough to pull me out of my meeting. Everything should be fine. Right?
I go to my office and find Dana sitting at the edge of my desk. When she sees me, her eyes go wide, almost like she’s surprised I’m in my own office. And her face is beet red.
“Hey, is everything okay?” I ask.
Her fingers are curled around the desk edge, tense and white. “I…”
Dana doesn’t finish her sentence. I stare at her, waiting for her to speak. Waiting for her to come to me. “What’s wrong?” I ask as I cautiously approach her.
Her lips twist. I know that face. It’s the face she makes when she’s about to cry.
“Hey, baby, what’s going on?” I touch her cheek softly.
Dana twists her face out of my hand. “God, I don’t know how to say it.”
I feel the world crashing down around me. My mind reels with a bunch of worst case scenarios, things she might say that will make my life shatter to pieces. She can’t do it anymore. She met someone else. I’m not what she expected. Dana’s about to break my heart.
I won’t give her a reason to. I’ll be strong. I have to be. “It’s just me, D. Just me.”
Her eyes tremor up to mine. “I think I might be pregnant.”
That wasn’t in my list. I’m not even sure I understood her correctly. Maybe this is a fever dream. “W-what?”
“I said I think I might be…” Dana’s lips lift just enough to let me know that this is safe. This is okay. “I got sick when I was out with Kira for lunch and–”
“You weren’t feeling well this morning,” I say. The pieces are falling together. They fit.
“It’s not a lot to go off of, but I just have this hunch.”
I need to sit down. But I’m not going to let her see how weak I feel inside. “Did you take a test?”
“No. The second I realized, I came right here. Poor Kira is eating enough Greek food to feed a small family.”
I gulp. Small family.
“Would you come with me? To the doctor? They were able to fit me in at four, and I just can’t do this without you.”
My chest expands. Dana needs me. Just as much as I need her.
“I know it’s scary, but–”
“It’s not,” I say, my voice crinkling softly. “I mean, it is, but…”
Our eyes meet. I never saw myself as a father. Not for lack of wanting, but I never believed I would be fit for the role. However, Dana has changed everything.
She can change that feeling too.
“I know it’s so fast. Too fast, but–” Dana starts to stutter.
“No, it’s perfect. It’s all going to be–hey, come here.” I draw her into my arms and press my cheek against her temple. “I’m not going anywhere, Dana. Whatever happens.”
Her arms slide around me, tight and unyielding. “You mean it?”
“Duh, D.”
