We Did a Good Thing Ch. 02

"Water," she groaned hoarsely as if she'd been rescued from a desert.

An hour passed. Stacie sat at the kitchen table tracing letters and numbers with a stylus on her Digi-Tab, practicing her handwriting.

"Come on," Brenda urged. "This is as much on you as it is me."

I stood outside the door to the toilet. I heard her release her water for a few seconds, then stop, then resume. The toilet flushed. She emerged and handed me the capped test.

"I can't watch. You do it," she said before she began washing her hands.

I watched the digital e-Ink display. The "smart countdown" indicator flashed. The word "Pregnant" appeared in the tiny window after ninety seconds.

"I'm going to be a daddy," I whimpered. I was fully willing to release my tears, and I did.

The mother of my future child dropped the hand towel she was using on the floor right where she stood. I handed the test to her so she could see the result herself.

She cried joyous-sounding tears. I cried with her. "What are we going to tell Stacie?"

"Oh," Brenda gasped, wiping the tears I'd failed to kiss away from her cheeks. "I … I think we should wait a few months before we tell anyone."

"Why? I'm anxious to see what she thinks."

"I am, too, but … if things go wrong, it usually happens in the first trimester."

"Oh. Did … uh, has that happ⁠—"

"No, but I'm five years older now, you know?"

"You're only thirty-two. You're ripe and prime."

"Ripe? Did you just say I'm ripe ?"

I grinned. "You know what? I've never made love to a pregnant woman."

My wife yanked her phone out of her pocket, dialed a number, and put it on speaker.

"Hey, April! Can we ask you for a huge favor? Would you mind looking after Stacie for a couple of hours? Something has come up Todd and I need to attend to."

"You must be reading my mind, Brenda, because Dale and I are trying to clean out the garage so we can park in it before the weather gets here. Chloe is sort of in the way … yes. Yes. Please bring her over so she can keep her busy."

"We're on our way. Ten minutes," I said as calmly as I could while my wife fiddled with what had come up. It was in my jeans.

Chloe met Stacie in the garage of the Harris home. Dale looked at us, put his palms together in front of his face, and mouthed thank you quite clearly while April shooed the two girls inside the house. She waved as we backed out of their driveway.

"Hon, I just did the math."

"What math?" I asked as I began the drive back to our house.

"I think it was at the Grant wedding."

"What was?" I asked, hyper-focused on driving safely and expeditiously.

"Given the timing of everything, I'm pretty darned sure it was the night before Rob and Brandi's wedding."

"How can you be sure?"

"That night was right in the middle of my cycle. With everything going on the days before and after, we not once did the ee-ah-ee-ah ," she comically honked in tempo with a pointing and retreating forefinger, "but we sure did there!"

I almost hit a parked car because I was laughing so hard.

"I love coinkidinks ," I said, pulling into our garage.

"Even though I already am, make like you're trying to get me pregnant."

"Ooh." I grinned. "I like a challenge!"

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