“Do you have the entire floor?” she asked, stepping across the threshold.
“Yes. This is all me,” he said, closing the door behind them. “Go on. Walk around and make yourself at home.”
She looked back at him. The word home made her smile again. Going in his office to check his messages, he left her to formulate her own opinion about his little kingdom.
No one normally called him at home unless it was an emergency, but he checked his phone to find that he had one urgent message. He pushed the button and closed the door behind him.
“Hunter, it’s your mother,” the voice said. “I haven’t seen you in weeks, and I’m worried. Why won’t you let me see your face? What is happening? I don’t care what it is; I want to hear from you. And Mother’s Day is next Sunday. I hope that whatever you’ve been up to that you’ll come and spend the day with your mother. We are still your family, you know. I expect a call soon. I love you.”
Hunter growled at the nagging voice that pulled him back to his anchor. Having already spoken to Hanna earlier that afternoon, he knew what was happening. He was being set up by them all. Only he would not allow any of them to mess up what he had in the next room.
Stacey was the only thing in his life that was giving him some balance, and in very important and distinct ways, she had given him closure with Corina. Now the family was back to meddling, the same as they had done with his dead wife. He had to figure out a way to solve this problem before it became one. Hanging up the phone, he went back out to find Stacey.
Hunter had a very warm and inviting home with a Greco-Roman theme throughout. Everything was masterfully designed and reeked of privilege and prestige. The first thing that Stacey noticed outside of his interior was that it was extremely clean, just the way that she liked it. She knew instantly based up on his habits at her house that he had to have a maid, because Hunter was hopelessly messy.
The living room and dining room were under high wooden, vaulted ceilings with large-leaf ceiling fans and receding lights. Below were antique wood tables and furniture that Stacey assumed had Greek or Roman origins because of the columns and intricate iron.
The walls were painted in a muted beige and on each wall were photos of Greece and old painting of beautiful Greek women and men. The floors were shining with mahogany wood and elaborate rugs. In the corners were vases and statues much like her African ones.
His kitchen was very modern with stainless steel appliances, gray and black granite tops and more Greek statues and paintings. The hallways were faux painted in a marble design decorated with Danaides of Argos art.
She stopped and looked at the elaborate console table right before she entered his bedroom. A picture of his wife sat by the lamp. Picking it up, she studied Corina. She was a beautiful woman with classic Greek features. Dark curly hair lined her olive-toned face and larger aquiline nose. Her deep set eyes were wide and bright and her high cheek bones complimented her full lips and pearly white teeth.
Stacey ran her hand over the picture and looked back at Hunter, who watched her quietly. “She was beautiful,” she whispered. “I can see why you miss her.”
Hunter walked up and took the picture. Setting it down, he took her hand. “You’re beautiful. I can see why I love you.”
Leading her into the bedroom, Stacey saw which room was the selling point of the upscale condo. The lofty room was painted in a slate marble design. A king-sized bed with a beautiful slate blue and chocolate brown comforter reflected his discriminating taste. The large bay windows were covered in expensive royal empire tailored curtains. And in the corners were stone-carved lamps and large marble lions.
“Do you like it?” Hunter asked as he slipped his arms around her.
“I love it. It’s you,” she said, wanting to crawl into his bed.
“Maybe it could be us,” he said, unbuckling the belt on her jeans. He intended to finish what she started back at her place.
Stacey turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips lingered at his before she ducked in for another of his sweet kisses. “We have way too much sex,” she said giggling.
He kissed her again, sucking at her bottom lip. “I am a doctor, and I can assure you that there is no such thing as too much sex for healthy adjusted couples,” he said, pulling her to the bed.
“Speaking of which, I need to take my birth control. I forgot it earlier.”
“Do you take it at the same time every day?” he asked, still holding her tight.
“It’s hard enough just to remember to take it at all,” she said, going to her purse. She pulled out her packet and slipped a pill in her mouth. “Do you have some water?”
“Sure,” Hunter said, standing up. He ran to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water and paused. Walking back into the bedroom, he passed her the water and opened his planner on his desk. “I’ve noticed that your breasts are just a tad bit fuller, and you’ve had the very slightest change in mood. When was the last day of your cycle?”
Stacey swallowed the pill and pulled out her cell phone to look at her calendar. “It was thirty-five days ago, but if you read my file, and I know that you did, you’ll see that I have irregular cycles. I’m sure it’s coming.”
Hunter bit his lip. They had not used a condom since they started their relationship. In fact, even the first time that he was with her, he had not pulled out. He knew that it was stupid then, but he still did it. It was because of his own actions that he was suddenly suspicious of her small changes. Plus, her pattern of taking her pills would only create more of a chance. He had done everything to get her pregnant whether it was consciously or subconsciously. Maybe he had now succeeded.
Walking over to her, he raised her shirt and looked at her breasts again. He wasn’t crazy; they were larger, but that was not what tipped him off. It was more of a gut feeling, an uh oh, look what you did feeling in himself. Sitting back down on the bed, he chuckled a little. She could kill him for what he was about to say, or she could be ecstatic. There was a fifty/fifty chance either way.
“Stacey,” he said in the sweetest voice he could muster. “Baby…”
“Yeah?” she said, taking off her shirt completely.
“Don’t freak out, but I think that we’re pregnant.”
Chapter Nine
It took him nearly half an hour to get back from the pharmacy in the rain. Soaked, he came running in the condo with a small plastic bag clutched in his hand and a wide grin. The look on his face was sheer excitement. Going into the bathroom with her, he unsheathed the box from its plastic wrapping and perched up on the countertop beside her.
Stacey, who had not said one word since he had broken the news to her, quickly took it and pulled her pants down. Sitting on the toilet, she looked over at him.
“This really would be more accurate first thing in the morning,” he explained.
“I can’t wait that long, and I can’t do this with you watching,” she snapped.
Hunter gaffed. “I’m a…”
“Doctor! I know, you’ve said that like a hundred friggin times,” she said as the urine began to trickle down. She stuck the stick in the urine stream.
Hunter stood up and walked over to her. “Don’t be scared.”
“Don’t be scared?” she asked mortified. “I could be ppppregnant.” The words seemed too surreal for her to digest. “Just this afternoon, I found out that we were living together, and tonight, I find out that I could possibly be pregnant, and you tell me not to be scared?”
Hunter took the white stick from her and slipped the cover over it. Sitting it on the sink, he pulled his pants up, crouched down and watched it. It only took seconds to confirm his suspicions.
Pregnant. His green eyes lit up as he looked over at her.
Stacey leaned over and looked at the test. Her eyes bucked and her pouty mouth flew open. “Oh my God!” she said, jumping up off the toilet. Urine splashed against the toilet seat. Turning with her butt exposed, she waded toilet paper in her
hand and wiped herself and toilet off quickly then flushed.
“Baby, calm…” he grabbed her. “Calm down.”
Stacey couldn’t decide if she wanted to cry or laugh. Completely confused, she cried with a smile on her face. Hunter hugged her tight and soothed her. “There, there,” he said, kissing her forehead. “It’s okay.”
“We’re pregnant,” she said, shaking her head. “What does that mean?” Her pants had fallen back down to her ankles.
“It means that we’re going to have a baby,” he said, pulling her face up from his chest. Kissing her again, he nuzzled his nose in her hair.
Stacey reached for the counter but felt herself nearly tip over. Holding her up, Hunter pulled her pants up and snapped them close. Walking her out to the bedroom, he sat her down on the bed and stood in between her legs. His eyes were beaming with pride, but she looked completely taken aback.
“What have we done?” she asked, trying to keep from hyperventilating.
“It looks like we just stop moving slowish,” he said, lying beside her on the bed. Putting his head back on the pillow, he looked up at the ceiling fan and took a deep breath. “Wow.”
“You can say that again,” Stacey said, putting her hands over her face.
“I hope that it’s a boy,” Hunter said absently. “But I’ll take a girl.”
Stacey looked over at him and laughed. He laughed too. This was incredible. A wave of emotion swept through both of them.
“You realize that we have a lot to talk about, right,” she said, moving past her initial response. Touching her stomach, she looked down in amazement. There was a real baby inside of her.
“Can we talk after we finish what we started?” he asked, running his hand over her jeans.
“And you still want to have sex?” she asked, frowning at him.
“Why wouldn’t I? It’s safer than it’s ever been now.”
Stacey chuckled. “You’re impossible. You’ve got me out in the rain driving around the city pregnant and you want to have sex?”
Hunter pulled off his shirt and hovered over her. “Basically.”
***
The rain had finally stopped by the time that Hunter and Stacey had finished making love for the second time that night. This time had been more passionate than ever before. Hunter had kissed every inch of her body, including her precious belly. Holding her now in his embrace, they lay in bed talking about what would be for their future.
“We don’t have to rush into marriage or anything,” Stacey said, looking up at him.
“Right,” Hunter said, biting his lip. That was his next suggestion. “But we don’t have to not get married, just because we fell in love so quickly.” He looked down at her and raised his brow. “It’s a thought.”
Stacey didn’t know exactly what he meant by that. She had learned that many of the things that Hunter said were cryptic in nature. “What about our families? Does your family even know about me?”
“Sort of,” he said, clenching his jaw. “What about your dad?” He had to change the subject. His mother’s voice was creeping into his head at just the mention of family.
“When he’s sober, we talk about you. He seemed to be indifferent about your race. He just wanted to make sure that I was happy.”
Hunter knew that Stacey’s father was an old jazz man who had spent his life supporting her through his work in the bars. After her mother had passed, he had fallen into deep depression and had gotten drunk every day for over twenty years. He lived by himself now in Harlem off his meager savings and the money that she sent back to him every month. But he never took nearly as much as Stacey would have liked for him to. Whenever, she sent more than he needed, he always sent it back.
“What do you mean by your family sort of knows about me?” Stacey backtracked.
“My sister told them about you at dinner last Sunday.”
“Why didn’t you tell them?” She sat up and put her head on his chest. Was he ashamed of them? If so, that dog wouldn’t hunt.
Hunter debated whether or not to tell the future mother of his child and the love of his life that his family was prejudice. However, he knew that the conversation was coming whether he liked it or not.
“I haven’t told them, because I’m angry with them. Things haven’t been the same since Corina died.” He sighed. “She wasn’t good enough for my mom and dad, because she wasn’t from a particular type of family.”
“But she was Greek.” Stacey didn’t understand.
“Yeah, she was Greek, but she wasn’t wealthy enough. In fact, she wasn’t wealthy at all. She did it all on student loans and partial scholarships.”
“But she was a doctor?”
“Yeah, but she wasn’t from the right side of the tracks. They didn’t really approve of her until after she graduated from med school, and in truth they didn’t hold her in high regard until she was a fallen patriot. Then we were the attention of the Greek community and with all of the concern, they had to change their tune.”
Stacey knew what that meant. “Your family is not going to ever approve of me.”
He sat up instantly. Pulling her close to him, he moved her wiry hair from her face. “I don’t need their approval. I don’t need it,” he said, shaking his head. “This is about us, not them.”
Stacey was silent. She wasn’t sure if he was saying it for her or for himself. “It doesn’t matter that I’m wealthy. I’m black, Hunter. That is not going to change, and even if it could, I wouldn’t change it. I’m proud to be who I am, just like you. However, you have to face the fact that it could present a problem with your family.”
“If you were the poorest woman in America, it wouldn’t matter to me. I love you. My family has no bearing on this relationship.”
She searched his face for even the slightest weakness but found none. He was absolutely, positively sincere. “Well, are you going to tell them about the baby?”
“Of course, I am,” he said quickly. “I’m not ashamed of us.”
“Good,” she said, pulling herself to the edge of the bed. “I still want to meet them.”
He looked over at her. “You do? Even after I told you that they are horrible?”
Stacey laughed. “Every family is horrible. I’m sure that yours is no worse than my own. Yes, I want to meet them. I want them to know that I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. Plus, I want to meet this mother of yours.”
Hunter liked that Stacey had no problem standing her ground. “Okay. How about Mother’s Day? My mother has summoned me to dinner. I’d like nothing more than to show up with you.”
Stacey wasn’t expecting to meet them that soon. She was quickly made to eat her own words. Swallowing hard, she stood up naked and nodded his way. “Fine. It’s a date. Do we have to drive?”
“Well, if you want to ride bike there, we can always leave tonight, and maybe we’ll make it there by Sunday. That’s if the whole car thing stopped working for you.”
Grabbing a pillow, she threw it at him and laughed. “Ha ha, smartass.”
Chapter Ten
Every day since her first ride, Hunter had found a reason to take Stacey somewhere to get her out of her house, and while the anxiety had not left yet, it was slowly easing. Tonight, after hours, Hunter had taken her to his office and performed their first prenatal visit.
It was strange to be back in the office again, because this time, knowing the doctor so intimately, everything was dramatically different. Stacey paid closer attention to the modern design of the clinic, the many accolades, awards, honors, organizations and degrees on the walls. She also watched his careful care of her, treating her as though she was made of gold.
“Okay, you’re good to go,” he said, pulling off his gloves. Throwing them in the garbage can, he leaned against the wall and simply glowed. Finally, he was doing this procedure for his own kid. She didn’t know how long he had wanted this. He had been different since the moment he had discovered their little secret, as if he had found t
he cure to his own cancer. Looking at her now, he silently admired the trusting smile that she gave as she got dressed.
“So we have a little less than nine months,” she said, slipping on her jeans.
“Yep.” He looked at the floor and smiled. “Have you thought of names yet?”
“No, I haven’t been able to wrap my mind around things yet.”
Hunter knew that Stacey had been different. In some ways, she was distant as if always preoccupied in thought, yet in some ways, she had become clingy, not that he minded.
At night, she would curl up to him and sleep wrapped up in his embrace. During the day, she sat in front of her computer and typed away. In the evenings, they made plans and talked about hopes and dreams that would shortly come to fruition with the birth of their first child. But in all, what he truly desired was to know if she wanted any of this.
Finding Opa! Page 9