Love From The Net

Zack pulled out her chair for her and she sat. Zack did the same for Mrs. Webster, even though she protested against sharing breakfast with the newlyweds. He eventually talked her into joining them, even if she only enjoyed a cup of tea and a couple of slices of toast with strawberry jam. They ate and talked about the wedding and the reception, and just enjoyed each other's company.

An hour later, Zack and Amanda left the kitchen so Mrs. Webster could clean up. They went to Zack's office and sat by the table to open their gifts. Zack suggested opening the cards last, and Amanda thought that a good idea. She grabbed a pen and some paper from the top right desk drawer to use for listing the gifts and the gift-givers to make it easier to write the Thank You cards later that afternoon. They began opening gifts, and Amanda listed each one on the paper.

By the time they were finished with the last package, they had received several blankets and quilts, a few small appliances, a large photo album for their wedding pictures, some towels for the bathrooms, and a set of crystal glassware. They then opened the cards and received $750 in cash, four gift cards, and several gift certificates to local stores and businesses.

They had a total of 58 Thank You cards to write, but decided to do them on their computers, as it would be much faster. So later that afternoon, after lunch and a love session in the pool, they sat at their computers typing out and printing up the Thank You cards, Zack doing half, and Amanda doing half. An hour and a half later, they both emerged from their offices with Thank You cards in hand, ready to be mailed. Zack took the ones that Amanda had done and, with his as well, took them to the mailbox at the end of the driveway so the mail man would pick them up the next morning. Fifteen minutes later, he came back through the front door, a single long-stemmed red rose in his hand. He gave it to Amanda with a gentlemanly bow and she accepted it with a smile.

13.

Four months later, Zack was sitting in his office balancing the bank accounts when Amanda came in carrying a large box tied with a red bow. He glanced up with a smile and said, "Hello beautiful, what have you got there?"

She smiled back and said, "Hello handsome, it's a present for you. Come over here to the sofa and open it, Zack." He put down his pen and rose from his chair, walking around the desk to sit beside her on the sofa. He gave her a quick kiss before untying the ribbon and removing the top. He lifted out a few sheets of tissue paper to find another smaller box, also tied with a bow, a green one this time. This second box was about the size of a shoe box. He untied that bow and removed the lid and tissue paper to find another even smaller box.

He looked at her with cocked eyebrow, and asked, "What are you doing, trying to hide a good surprise, babe?"

She giggled and said, "Oh just open it! That's the last one, I promise." He took the smallest box out of the shoe box and noticed it was tied with two ribbons, one pink, one light blue. This box was the size of a postcard and somewhat flat, like what a necklace or a wallet would come in when bought at the store. He untied the ribbons, and lifted the lid. He removed the single piece of light green tissue paper to find a black and white photo beneath it. He removed the photo and looked at it real hard, trying to guess what it was supposed to be. He turned it upside down and sideways, but still could not make heads nor tails of the photo. He turned to Amanda and she had a huge smile on her face.

"What is this a photo of, baby?" he asked, confused.

"That's what it is, hun!" she laughed.

"What? I don't get it, babe." he said.

"It's a baby, Zack! You're going to be a daddy!! I'm pregnant!!" she said happily. He dropped the photo and box and swiftly pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight and kissing her over and over again. They both had tears running down their cheeks, but didn't seem to notice. He stopped kissing and hugging her long enough to pick up the photo, which was in reality, an ultrasound picture of the baby in Amanda's tummy. He gently raised her shirt to place his hand over her lower stomach over where the baby rested safely within her and he closed his eyes. Two large tears squeezed out between his eyelids and trickled down his cheeks.

Amanda heard him whisper over and over again, "I'm going to be a father. I'm going to be a father. I'm going to be a father."

Amanda took his hand in hers and kissed his palm. She said, "Zack honey, you are going to be a wonderful father to this baby, and to any other babies we have. I love you so much! Let's go back upstairs to bed, my love."

And that's exactly what they did. They spent the rest of the afternoon in bed making love and talking about the baby, and coming up with names. Six months later, Amanda gave birth to a beautiful baby girl which they named Miranda Lynn Hudson. They were a very happy family, and a few years later in the spring, a little boy joined the family in Zackary Michael Hudson Jr. Both children were spoiled and adored by their loving parents and everyone in the household. Mrs. Webster became their official grandma and they all lived happily ever after.

The end.