Page 16 of Double the Fun
He looks down at where I left the test sitting on the sink. “How long are we supposed to wait?”
“Uh, I think it said three minutes, but it might be longer since we didn’t take it early in the morning.”
He holds it up showing me the little screen. “It’s…It’s not been three minutes.”
It’s barely been one.
“Maybe I did it wrong. There were two in there. Let me take the other one.”
I double-check the instructions and this time follow them like I might be defusing an atomic bomb and these instructions are the step-by-step way to do it without setting it off. I wash my hands yet again and open the door. Before I even sit down on the bed, Colm is looking at the test.
“Uh, babe.” He holds it up and shows me that this one has also come up positive.
“Oh my God!” The room shifts and I have to close my eyes to not pass out.
“Hey. Hey, sweetheart, take it easy. Deep breaths. In and out.”
“What am I going to do?” Tears spill over the side of my eyes and trail down my cheeks.
“Uh, you are going to calm down and focus on growing our little human.” He comes over to the bed and picks me up to sit me in his lap. “You are going to let me handle everything.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I hop off his lap and try to back away from him. How is he thinking of ‘handling’ things?
“That’s supposed to mean…” he gives me a pointed look and pulls me back to him yet again, “you can’t get stressed or worked up. It’s not good for the baby.”
“How do you know what’s good for the baby?”
“I read some stuff on the internet while you napped.”
His hand drops to my belly, the skin there jumping at the contact. Why is it that anytime Colm touches me, my body thinks it’s ‘go time’? “What are we going to do, Colm?”
He picks me up and I wind up on my back as he comes up over me. “We are going to find a doctor -hopefully the same one your sister will use, whoever that might be. Then we are going to focus on keeping you healthy and happy for the next nine months while you let me take care of you.”
“But…Colm…you’re the fun twin. You’re not serious about…anything. Not about me, or this baby, or…”
I burst out crying so hard I can barely see Colm who is right above me. Colm holds me until I am all cried out, every so often he drops kisses on my mouth and down my neck. Finally, I stop and allow him to wipe the tears from my eyes.
“Baby, I realize I have a reputation for being the fun twin but listen, where you are concerned…” he takes my hand in his and looks deep into my eyes, “I am very, very serious.”
I look down and see that he has pushed a ring on my finger. A big, glittery ring. I hold my hand closer to my face and try to make sense of what is going on.
“Is…Is this a…?”
“I want you to marry me, to be my wife, the mother of my children, and the one thing in this world that I am drop-dead serious about.” He drops kisses on my hand with every…hope.
I swallow down my own hope, too afraid to let it bloom too big, “Are you asking me this because of the baby? Is this just because you are trying to be responsible?”
“Are you asking me if I’m just marrying you because you’re pregnant with my child?”
I gnaw on my lips and nod. I have to know, even if the answer isn’t something that I’m going to like.
“I bought that ring the same day I had these made.” He holds up a ring of keys and places them in my hands. “They’re keys to the house, the cars, and the tattoo shop. I had them made about two weeks ago.”
“What?”
He smiles at me and nods. “Yep, two weeks ago. I’ve just been trying to…ease you into moving in with me. I thought if I got you to agree to us living together then I could work on you saying yes when I asked you to marry me.”
“You mean…you want me to marry you?”