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Noah
Six Years Later
“Did the permits come through for the place on Tropicana?” Brazen asks me about our newest purchase awaiting renovation.
But my mind isn’t on business. Still, I play along. “Yeah, they came through late yesterday afternoon.”
We’ve been in our new office for about a year now. It’s big and full of windows, and the ocean laps at the shore outside the window on my right. Excitement grows inside my stomach as the waves come in and out with the tide.
I was only nineteen when we got engaged, and after a long engagement, Brazen and I have been married for two years. With each day that has passed, I love him more, and our bond strengthens.
“Noah? Are you listening to me?” He breaks my distraction.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Whatever it was, I missed it.
“Something on your mind?” he asks me with a hint of worry.
“Yeah, actually, there is.”
He pushes aside the papers he’s been poring over and gives me his full attention. “What’s going on? Is it work? Did something happen with the Orange Grove sale?”
Business has been great, really good. We’re juggling multiple properties at a time, and Brazen has a crew of men underneath him. My distraction today isn’t over work. Moving through our joined office, I open the drawer of my desk and pull out a neatly wrapped box. The pink and blue ribbons tangle, tickling my fingers.
“It isn’t Orange Grove, and there isn’t anything wrong.” I hold out the gift for him to take. “I got you this.” I chew on my lip, anxious to see his face when he sees what’s inside.
Brazen eyes me with a hint of mischief.
“Go on, and open it,” I encourage.
Time moves in slow motion as the colorful ribbons are dropped to the floor. The white wrapping paper is removed with careful precision when I want him to just rip it away.
Come on! Come on! Will it ruin the moment if I scream at him to hurry up?
I can’t wait to see his face. His handsome face that always looks at me with so much love.
Finally, the box is free of its wrapping, and Brazen stares in awe. “Are you … what are you telling me here, Noah?” His voice rises in pitch, and his eyes light up with elation.
“I’m late, very late. I didn’t want to find out for sure without you, but I think we’re pregnant.”
Without even knowing for sure, Brazen lifts me into his arms, and his holler echoes through the spacious office. I excitedly laugh into his neck at his over-the-top response.
“What are we waiting for?” Brazen sets me to the floor and considerately but hastily urges me toward the bathroom.
My feet trip as he holds on to my shoulders.
“Brazen!” I can’t stop laughing. “I don’t need to pee.”
“Hang on.” He leaves me inside the bathroom as I shake my head over his rush. When he returns, he has three bottles of water in his hands. “Drink these.”
“All of them?” I give him a look to tell him that he’s nuts.
“Yeah, or however many until you have to pee. I can get more.” He unscrews the cap of one and pushes it at me.
I take a large sip through a smile. It’s hard to keep the water down while he watches me so intently. Brazen already has the next bottle ready to go before I finish the first, but I hold up my hand.
“No, no more water. I’m good.”
“It worked? You need to go?” He’s opening up the box as he waits for my answer.
