The Truth About Ever After (12 page)

“Eric,
pregnant women aren’t totally fragile. We can pretty much do everything just
the same as always.”

He
frowned a little. “That’s precious cargo you’re carrying there. I just want to
make sure you’re both healthy.” He reached a hand down and spread it over my
tummy. The simple motion brought a rush of warmth to my chest. He could be so
sweet, my husband.

“What
do you want it to be?” I whispered, placing my hand over his. “Boy or girl?”

“I
don’t know,” he said, rubbing my skin through the thin fabric of my t-shirt.
“Guess it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s healthy.” He looked up at me and
grinned. “Bet you want a girl. So you can go nuts with the pink and the
glittery stuff.”

“A
girl would be fun,” I agreed. “But so would a boy.” I leaned over and put my
head on his shoulder. “I can picture you with a boy.
A blond
little thing just like you.
Running around the yard playing with a
ball.”

“I’d
teach him to be a baseball player,” Eric said. “None of that hockey junk
like
his Uncle Matt.”

“I
can’t wait to tell Jen and Matt,” I said. “Oh, wouldn’t it be awesome if they
got pregnant soon too? Then the cousins could grow up together.”

“That
would be pretty cool,” he agreed. “It was great being so close in age with
Jeff. Especially when we were kids.”

“Did
Matty
play with you guys?” I asked, picturing a
little towheaded Eric running around his parents’ house.

“Sometimes,
when we were younger. He usually bossed us around. He always wanted to pretend
he was a police officer and we had to take turns being the bad guy and the girl
he rescued.”

I
burst into laughter. “What a mean big brother.”

“You’re
telling me.” But I could hear the smile in his voice.

“I
hope we have at least two kids,” I said, thinking of how many times I had
wished for a baby sister to play with. “I don’t want our baby to be an only
child.”

“At
least two,” he agreed.

***

When
it was finally time for my first pre-natal visit, I was so excited I could
barely sit still in the car.

“You’re
doing that jumping thing, Kiki,” Eric said, a warning note in his voice. “We’ve
talked about the jumping thing.”

“I
can’t help it!” I squealed, not caring one bit that I had once promised him I
would refrain from jumping around “like a puppy” when I was in his
car—not that it was something I did regularly, or anything. “Eric, do you
understand that we might get to hear the heartbeat today? Do you know how
awesome that will be?”

He
reached over to take my hand, brushing his fingers across my palm. The action
had the effect of calming me, which I’m sure was his intention. “It would be
really cool. But you know it’s still really early and they might not be able to
show us yet. The baby book said you
can’t
always hear
a heartbeat at ten weeks. Don’t go getting all disappointed.”

I
rolled my eyes. Eric just had no idea.
Nothing
about this baby could make me feel disappointed. If we couldn’t hear the
heartbeat today, it would just be something else to look forward to.

We
arrived at the doctor’s office right on time for our appointment. Eric had
driven at a snail’s pace, a practice he had picked up whenever I was in the car
in the weeks since I had taken the pregnancy test, and we only just made it to
the appointment in time.

A
very nice nurse led us back to an exam room where I was instructed to put on a
paper dress and lay on the exam table. Eric helped me up and we waited in
silence for a few moments.

“This
is weird,” he finally said, his voice low.

“Why
are you whispering?” I asked.

“I
don’t know,” he whispered back. “I feel like I’m in the library or something.”

I
snorted and the doctor entered the room before I could respond. “Mr. and Mrs.
Thompson,” she said warmly, holding out her hand for us each in turn. “So good
to meet you.”

Dr.
Bishop didn’t waste much time with chitchat, instead jumping right into her
list of questions. How far along did I think I was? What was my diet like?
Any morning sickness?
Did I drink, smoke,
take
mind-altering drugs?

When
she was finished she instructed me to lie back on the table.

“We’ll
do an ultrasound now,” she said, “which will allow us to get some measurements
and give you a better idea of your due date.” She smiled at me again. “And we
might be able to hear the heartbeat, though it sounds like it’s probably
early.”

Eric
held my hand as the doctor squirted some goo on my belly and began to move the
ultrasound wand around. I stared at the static on the screen, mentally urging
it to turn into something I could recognize.

“Ah,”
Dr. Bishop said suddenly. “I think we do have a heartbeat.”

She
turned a knob on the screen and a steady, rapid pulsing noise suddenly filled
the room. “Oh, my,” I whispered, immediately feeling tears in my eyes. “Wow.”

“That’s
pretty awesome,”
Eric
said, his voice sounding a
little shaky. I wondered if he was freaking out, but I couldn’t seem stop
looking at the screen long enough to check.

“Everything
looks pretty good,” Dr. Bishop said. “I’m going to put your due date at
September tenth. It’s really important that you stick to your diet now, and
don’t forget to keep taking your folic acid. I have a list of things you can
try for the nausea. And you can always call us if you have any concerns.”

I
hoped Eric was paying attention to what she was saying, because I was having a
hard time focusing on anything except for the little blob on the monitor. We
were having a baby. Like, for real. That little smudge right there was going to
grow and grow until I was holding it in my arms.

“Any
questions?”

I
finally managed to tear my eyes away from the screen. The doctor gave me a
knowing smile. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah.”
I sniffed a little. “
Really
cool.”

“I
want to see you again in six weeks,” she said, writing something on a piece of
paper. “You can get dressed and take this out to reception.”

She
shook our hands once more and left the room, leaving Eric and me alone.

We
were silent for a moment, just staring at each other. Eric’s eyes were wide
with some emotion I couldn’t quite place.

“You
doing okay there, Papa?’ I asked.

“Yeah,”
he breathed. “I mean
,
that was crazy, right? Awesome,
but crazy.”

I
laughed a little. “Yeah, pretty crazy. It’s hard to believe…”

“That
it’s real? That’s what I kept thinking. That’s our baby.”

“I know,” I sad, reaching out and
grabbing his hand.
“I
can’t believe it.”

Suddenly
he leaned over to kiss me. “Let’s get out of here,” he said against my mouth.
“I want to go celebrate.”

I
laughed at his eagerness. “Okay,” I said, sitting up and reaching for my shirt.
“What do you want to do?”

“I
don’t know,” he said. “Something. Anything. We need to, like, honor this
occasion.”

I
tried to hide my grin as I bent to do the buttons on my shirt.
Eric, talking about the need to honor occasions?
He must be
more affected by this pregnancy than I had realized.

Once
we were back in the car, Eric pulled out his phone. “What are you doing?”

“I’m
calling into work for the rest of the day,” he said. “No way am I leaving you
now.”

I
leaned back into my seat, feeling even happier than I had this morning. How was
that possible?

“Let’s
go to Greenfield Village,” he said suddenly, turning to me with an excited look
on his face. “We haven’t done that in ages.”

“Greenfield
Village, eh?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. “How very sentimental of
you.”

He
just grinned at me and put the car into gear. “Greenfield Village it is.”

Chapter Twelve

The
day that Eric proposed was, up until that point, the best day of my life.

It
started off just like any other normal Tuesday. I overslept, which meant my
morning consisted of frantic running around, trying to find an outfit and get
my makeup done. By the time I made it downstairs, both of my parents had
already left the house. I grabbed a muffin from the counter, filled up my thermos
with coffee, and managed to get out the door only five minutes later than
normal.

But
I never made it to my car. Because standing on my front porch was Eric, holding
a single daisy in one hand and a large white envelope in the other.

“What
are you doing here?” I asked, immediately breaking into a smile. It had been a
mere eight hours since I had seen him last, and already I missed him. I truly
had it bad for this man.

“Got
a surprise for you,” he said, returning my grin.

“Sweetie,
it’s not exactly the best time,” I said, looking down at my watch and feeling
disappointed. I loved surprises. “I’m running late already—”

“You’re
not going to work today,” Eric interrupted, his grin growing larger. “You’re
playing hooky.”

“I
can’t—”

“Sure
you can. I talked to your boss, who happens to be a close friend.” He winked at
me and I giggled.
My boss, of course, being my dad.
“We’re all set to go.”

“Go
where?”

“You
tell me.” Eric handed me the envelope. “You’re in charge here; I’m just the
driver.”

I
took the envelope, giving him a questioning look. Beneath my confusion, I was
feeling the beginning stirrings of excitement. What game was this?

“Open
the envelope,” he urged.

I
ripped into the heavy paper and found a single typed page.
Go to the place where we first shared breakfast. There you will find
your next clue.

“What
is this?” I asked, grinning at him.

“A
game,” he said, smiling back.

“Like
a scavenger hunt?”

“Yup.
Just like a scavenger hunt.
Wanna
play?”

I
felt excitement bubble up inside me. This was so unlike Eric, to plan something
like this. Not that he was boring or anything
like
that. But he was usually so much more laid back, a go-along-for-the-ride kind
of guy.

It’s for you
, I realized.
He knows you’ll like it, whether it’s his kind of thing or not.
The
realization made my heart beat faster. I loved him so much.

“Of
course!” I said, reaching out to take his hand. “Of course I want to play.
Let’s go!”

We
climbed into Eric’s truck and he pulled out of the driveway, heading toward the
highway. I smelled my daisy, feeling happy and excited. On one of our earliest
dates I had mentioned to Eric that daisies were my favorite flower. I had woken
up the next morning to a massive bouquet of them delivered to the house. He had
always remembered how much I loved daisies.

“So
tell me where to go,” Eric said. “You’re in charge. Did you figure it out?”

“Of
course,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I know exactly where to go. The diner on
Eleven Mile, in Royal Oak.”

He
turned to me briefly and smiled, before directing his attention to the road.
“If you say so.”

It
only took us about fifteen minutes to reach the diner. It was a smallish place,
with a very dedicated clientele. The parking lot was completely packed with the
breakfast crowd. I assumed we would have to wait for a table to open up, but
the hostess smiled at us the moment we walked in and led us to a booth. As Eric
took my jacket I noticed a little sign on the table.
Reserved
. In the center of the table was a small vase containing a
single
daisy.

“You
made reservations?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at Eric. “At a diner? I didn’t
think a place like this even
took
reservations.”

“Special
exception,” he said, sliding into the booth across from me. “Just for you. That
flower’s yours, by the way.”

I
knew I was grinning like an idiot, but I just couldn’t help myself. This had to
be one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me. And who knew what
would come next?

“What
are you having?” I asked Eric, looking around for a menu.

“I
actually ordered already,” he said, a little sheepishly. “Hope you don’t mind.”
I looked at him quizzically. “Trust me,” he continued. I decided to drop it and
go with the flow. To be honest, I felt way too excited to eat anyhow.

A
moment later the waitress arrived with our plates. Eric had ordered us each a
heaping serving of pancakes with sides of bacon and two hot chocolates. I
looked at him in surprise.