AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“If you’re sure?”
Alana nods.
I offer her a hand to stand up. As we reached our bags by the door, I make sure to grab all of them.
“Hey, those are mine,” Alana protests. “I’ll take them.”
“No, you won’t,” I say fiercely. “Not while you’re feeling unwell. You just concentrate on your stomach. We’ll get you to the store and then to the airport, alright? It won’t be long before we’re home and you can relax completely. I promise it’s not going to be stressful. I’ll take care of everything, okay?”
“Okay,” she says with a relieved smile.
The journey to the airport is stressful, although Alana doesn’t throw up again. Once we buy the crackers, she seems a lot better, and there are no problems on the plane – even though she closes her eyes and tilts her head back while we take off as if she’s queasy again.
It seems as though she returns more to her normal self as the day goes on, and by the time the long journey is over, and we are in a car on the way through the highlands to get back to Barnbraw, she seems a lot better.
I have my doubts, though. Worries.
And a tiny suspicion right at the back of my mind that I’m not quite sure I want to pay attention to, just in case I turn out to be wrong.
We retreat to separate rooms for most of the evening. Despite the long journey home, I have plenty to take care of when we arrive – and I insist that Alana sit down on the sofa as soon as we arrive and not move again.
I unpack our things and put our clothes away or in the laundry hamper. I then arrange the souvenirs Alana picked out for her family on a table ready to be wrapped and dealt with by the pile of mail that is waiting on a table by the front door.
When I’m done and return to the sofa to ask Alana if she wants to eat before bed or if she’s tired enough to go straight to sleep I find that she’s no longer there.
I sigh to myself.
She is going to be the death of me, making me worry like this.
“Alana?” I call out.
“In the kitchen,” she shouts back, her voice a little distant but audible.
I move through the hall and find her standing at the counter, leaning over it with her arms in front of her. Curiously, it looks like something is within the arc of her arms, mostly hidden by her long blonde hair.
“Why aren’t you resting?” I ask, pretending to be cross even though I’m really just worried.
Alana lifts her head and smiles.
“I had Hamish bring me something,” she says. “I texted him from the airport. He was kind enough to have it ready not long after we got back, and I just got it ready to show you.”
“What is it?” I ask, wondering where this is going. We have everything we could possibly need. After all, we only just got back from our honeymoon with suitcases full of gifts and souvenirs.
Alana leans back, moving her hands and hair out of the way, and then I see it.
A pregnancy test is sitting on a napkin.
I know in my heart of hearts that it’s true, but I can’t stop myself from stealing a closer look.
Two lines cross over one another to form a plus sign.
Positive.
“You’re…,” I say, unable to finish the sentence in my awe.
“Having morning sickness, yes,” Alana says with a chuckle. “I’m pregnant”
A chuckle that turns into a shriek when I lift her off the ground and spin her around in sheer joy, overwhelmed with the new knowledge that is sinking into my heart.
