“Well actually I’m not that hungry, I’ll just grab a bagel from the cafeteria,” she said quickly leaving not wanting to give him time to question her. She knew that if he found out about her upset stomach, he’d want to put her on bed rest and will assist on taking her to the doctor.
Ethan frowned after her wondering what she was hiding from him, he knew that she was hiding something, but he just hadn’t figured it out just yet, but he would.
*****
As the weeks went on Regina continued to wake with the queasiness, but fortunately she hadn’t been throwing up. She was able to get down a couple bites of food in effort to keep Ethan from becoming suspicious and worrying about her heath. Luckily today was the last day of school as spring break started the following week and she promised to sleep late and enjoy the reprieve.
“I called your uncle and asked that he bring in a substitute for you today,” Ethan said as he entered the bedroom.
Regina frowned and went to sit up, but had to quickly ease back down when the room began to spin.
“What are you talking about Ethan, why would you call Uncle Kenneth and tell him I needed a substitute?” She demanded, or tried to lying flat on her back.
“You have been feeling sick for the last couple of weeks and I really don’t appreciate the fact that you’ve been keeping it from me. Now I’ve called your doctor’s office and we have an appointment at ten this morning so you just lay there and I’ll wake you up when its time for you to get up and get dressed.” He stopped her protest with a kiss and by the time she’d recovered from the kiss he was gone.
She wanted to be mad at him, but she knew that he was right, something was wrong and she needed to go to the doctor to find out what was going on.
*****
“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you worrying,” she confessed as they drove to her doctor’s appointment.
“I know baby and that is why I’m not mad, but I am a little worried because you haven’t been eating like you should especially in the mornings.” Regina leaned over and kissed him before they climbed out and headed into the doctor’s office.
Regina held his hand tightly dragging him with her back when the nurse called her name. He waited while her blood pressure was checked along with her temperature and then she was weighed. The nurse took them to an exam room assuring them that the doctor would be there momentarily.
There was a quick knock on the door before it opened and a petite brunette walked in. “Well Regina it seems that we haven’t seen you since your last yearly check up. Is everything going okay?”
“Yes Dr. Rhodes, I think everything is fine except I’ve been feeling really tired as of late and…”she paused because what she was about to reveal would surely upset Ethan.
“What else has been going on?” Dr. Rhodes asked as she listened to her chest instructing her to take deep breaths.
“I’ve been feeling queasy in the mornings when I get up,” she confessed glancing at Ethan who only frowned.
“Have you been throwing up?” Dr. Rhodes asked.
“Well I’ve only thrown up once,” she confessed again glancing at Ethan.
Dr. Rhodes glanced over at the handsome young man leaning against the wall and she could tell that he was extremely worried. “Have you noticed any changes in your body? Any soreness of your breasts?” Dr Rhodes kept firing questions as she finished her examination. “Okay I think I have an idea of what is going on, but there is one last thing that I want to check.”
Regina glanced over at Ethan and held out her hand to him and wasn’t disappointed when he walked over and took her hand in his before leaning down and giving her a quick kiss.
When the doctor returned, he was about to step away, but she stopped him, “You are fine where you are.” She said smiling as she flipped switches on the monitor that she’d wheeled in. They watched as she covered Regina’s lower body before lifting the gown revealing her stomach. “Okay now this is going to be a little cold, but it won’t last long.”
Regina gasped when the glob of gel hit her stomach the doctor was right, it was cold, but when she began to spread it over her stomach it began to warm up. They watched in silence as Dr Rhodes picked up the wand and began running it over her stomach and as soon as it made contact the sound of galloping horses filled the room.
“Just as I thought, you are going to be a mommy.” At her announcement, Ethan let out a loud whoop and pumped his fist in the air, before leaning down and kissing Regina on the lips.
Dr. Rhodes smiled, “I’ll give you guys a few minutes alone and when you’re dressed the nurse will bring you to my office.”
“Honey, please tell me that you are happy about this,” Ethan asked once they were alone.
Regina forced her eyes to focus on his and what she saw there filled her with such hope and joy, “I can tell that you are happy about it,” she commented chuckling. “I’m happy about it also Ethan, but I was a little worried about how you would feel about us having a baby.”
Ethan sighed knowing that it was because he was still having a problem with telling her how he felt. “It’s my fault honey for keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself, but if you will be patient with me a little longer I promise to explain everything there’s something that I want to show you once we leave here and then I’ll explain.” Regina pulled his mouth down to hers for a deep kiss. Ethan helped her dress before they followed the nurse to the doctor’s office.
*****
“Are you going to be alright without being able to dance for a while?” Ethan asked as they drove away from the doctor’s office. She noticed that instead of heading home, he hopped onto the highway heading towards the outskirts of town.
“Yes I’m okay with not being able to dance and even if Dr. Rhodes wouldn’t have said anything, I would have cut it out anyway. I don’t want anything to happen to our baby.” She responded placing their joined hands on her stomach. “Honey, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise, but I can promise that you’ll love it…at least I hope you will.” After a while Ethan glanced over and noticed that Regina had dozed off and the fact that she wasn’t sick any longer terrified him as now he knew that their baby she was carrying was the cause of it. He lifted her hand to his mouth giving her a nipping kiss, her eyes fluttered open and she smiled and his breath caught in his chest. “We are almost at the surprise.”
“I’m sorry I dozed off, but I don’t think I have any say in the matter any longer.” She looked out the window just as they turned off of the highway near a sign that read Miller’s Crossing, and she’d remembered hearing about a new sub development on the outskirts of town. She watched as Ethan entered a code into the keypad that activated the iron gates and in an instant the gates opened. The road was smooth and graced with well manicured lawns on either side. She wasn’t sure if it just the fact that she was here with Ethan or what, but there was a great feeling of welcome and of coming home.
Ethan smiled having felt her body relax and he knew that she felt the same way he had as soon as he’d driven through the gates.
A block away from the home he pulled the truck to the side of the road, “Now I want you to cover your eyes with your hands and no peaking. I want you to keep them covered until I tell you to uncover them.” Regina nodded agreement and did as he’d asked. Ethan pulled back onto the road and drove to the home he’d had built with his Regina in mind.
He parked in the driveway and cut off the engine, “Keep those eyes covered.” He instructed before he climbed out of the truck and went around to the passenger side to help her out. He placed her on her feet and headed up the driveway to the wide wraparound porch. At the base of the stair, he told her to uncover her eyes.
Regina let out a loud gasp at the beautiful split level Victorian style house that she stood before. “Whose house is this?” She asked.
“I’ll tell you in a bit, let me show you around,” he opened the front door and ushered her into a huge foyer wit
h vaulted ceiling and floor to ceiling glass windows that allowed plenty of sunlight to filter in. He led her through the foyer and down to the first room just left of the foyer and there was a huge sunken family room in calm and soothing colors, it also sported floor to ceiling windows. Neither of them said anything during the tour of the first floor and on to the second floor, where he showed her all five bedrooms each one of them having their own private balcony.
“Now there is one more room that I was saving for last and until we went to your doctors’ visit this morning, it was the second most important room. Now I don’t think it will be as important at the moment, but I think that you will like it.”
Regina could tell he was nervous and she placed his hand on his to soothe him.
“Baby, just show me,” she instructed. With a nod he took her hand and led her back downstairs towards the back of the house where down the hall just past the kitchen to a set of double doors. Turning around to face her Ethan gave her a big kiss before he stepped away from the door and allowed her to open it.
Regina’s hands covered her mouth in astonishment as her eyes took in the sight of the huge dance studio with deeply polished floors. It was twice the size of the one that she had added on to her place.
“So what do you think?” Ethan asked.
“Ethan who’s house is this?” She asked instead.
He started to say something, but changed his mind, “Lets get you some where so you can sit and I’ll explain.”
Regina was about to protest, but sensed his nervousness and decided not to as he had to work himself up to it and she would allow him to do it, because it seemed very important to him. He led her to the kitchen where he pulled out a chair for her to take a seat and once she was seated he began to pace.
“I know that you know that I love you…well maybe you don’t know, because I don’t think I’ve ever just said the words to you, but I do love you with everything within me. I try and show you every time we make love, but now I realize that that isn’t always enough.”
He took a breath before continuing, “I think I fell in love with you when we took the girls to the zoo, I remember waking up that night staring down at you snuggled up against me and for the first time in my life I felt content. That had never happened to me before and at first it scared the hell out of me. And then when I almost lost you I realized that my life would be over if I ever lost you without telling you how I felt, but every time I tried, the words would get lodged in my throat and I’d chicken out.”
“You’re doing a great job right now.” Regina commented drawing his attention back to her, “but you still haven’t told me who this house belongs to.”
Ethan kneeled before her taking her hands in his. “When I started the plans for this place I thought long and hard about it before I took the first step in building it. I worried that you think I’d discounted all the work that you’ve done and all the sacrifices you made in order to purchase your place on your own, without having to rely upon your trust fund or family name, but I figured we could keep that house and either rent it out or save it for the kids when they decided to move out on their own, it could be like a starter house for them. I’ll sell my place and put that money into a trust fund for the kids. I know this place is kind of away from town and you may not like that it’s so far away from your family, but…”
Regina cupped his face and captured his mouth with hers halting his words. “You and the baby that I carry are my family and as long as you and I are together that is home to me.”
“Are you sure love?” He asked staring into her eyes.
“Yes Ethan, I love you with all my heart and you’ve given me the special gift of a child that we’ve created together, a child made from the love we share and in my book there isn’t anything else that could be more precious to me.”
“Then does this mean that you are going to make an honest man out of me and marry me?” He asked as he slipped the ring he’d purchased over a month ago on to her third finger.
Regina stared down at the white gold diamond ring that sparkled up at her. She looked up into Ethan’s eyes and saw so much love and patients and fear staring back at her. He was worried that she would say no, but he still found the courage to ask.
“Yes, you big lug head, I’ll marry you and make you an honest man, besides I can’t let you walk around unattached or your little assistant may get the nerve to try and make a move on you.”
*****
“So when can we move in?” Regina asked later that night as they lay in bed her head resting on his shoulder his arms wrapped around her.
“We have to decide what furniture to take and what to leave or if you want we can buy all new furniture and just leave everything here except for our clothes. Do you want to sell the houses or keep them for the kids?”
“I think we should keep them it’s not like we need the money and knowing my family and yours no matter how many kids we have your parents and mine are going to automatically set up trust funds for them. Hell I’m sure that as soon as we tell them tomorrow about me being pregnant they are going to set everything up.”
Ethan laughed knowing that she was right. His parents had done the exact same thing when Madeline had informed them that she was pregnant.
“Okay, we will keep the houses and we will leave the furnishings here and tomorrow we can go shopping for furniture for the house and we can plan a house warming party inviting all the family and we can give them the good news about the baby all at once.”
Regina laughed, “Are you crazy? Your parents along with mine would kill us if we made them wait that long and besides they know too many people and I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t know already that we were at the doctor’s office today. Now I think we should go visit my parents first and then yours to let them know the good news first and then we can have the house warming party to inform the rest of our family.”
“You’re idea sounds safer so we’ll make the rounds tomorrow before we start furniture shopping and hopefully it can be delivered within the week and we can be moved in by next weekend.”
*****
Joe sat on the edge of the bed listening to Shana’s deep breathing feeling empty, which is something that he’d never felt when he’d been with Regina. That simple thought had him wondering why in the hell he’d ever cheated on her in the first place. It wasn’t that she didn’t fulfill him, she did that and more, but there had always been a weakness within him that anytime another female pranced before him offering the goodies he was just too weak to turn them down. Then again maybe it had been the fact that he got a thrill out of fucking someone else behind her back, but now he could admit that even when he did he had to pretend the person that he was fucking was Regina in order to really get off.
Hell he’d had to do it again tonight, to pretend it was Regina he was pounding into and not Shana and he’d damn near screamed Regina’s name as he came. Now here he sat wide awake feeling empty and wondering what Regina was doing and how he could get her away from that white boy. He was determined to figure something out, hell it wasn’t as if anything was going to last between them so he’d just bide his time and when the white boy dumped her he’d be there to pick up the pieces.
*****
They found Regina’s parents sitting out on the back patio, her mother knitting while her father read the paper. “Hi mom, hi dad,” Regina called out as they entered.
Keith and Stephanie looked up when they heard their daughter call out both stood and hugged her and Ethan.
“We came to give you guys the good news,” Regina said taking Ethan’s hand in hers.
“Two pieces of good news that is,” Ethan added. Keith looked at his wife with a smile before looking back at the young couple standing before them. Regina held out her left hand to show them the ring, “I asked your daughter to marry me and she said yes.” Ethan informed them.
Stephanie screamed and pulled her daughter and Ethan into her arms kissing them both. Keith step
ped forward and hugged them both when his wife released them. “What is the second piece of good news?” Keith asked.
“You two are going to be grandparents, we found out yesterday that we are pregnant.”
Stephanie covered her face and started crying, Regina looked at her dad and he smiled and shook his head.
“Don’t worry you two she is just so happy that she is going to be a grandmother.” At his words her mother nodded as she hugged Regina to her.
“My baby is going to be a mommy,” she whispered through her tears.
Once she had her emotions under control she hugged Ethan again thanking him for making her baby so happy. “Now that I’ve gotten myself somewhat under control, tell us what you guys are planning on doing about the living arrangement.”
Ethan and Regina laughed at the question. They informed them of the new house and the plan to furnish and move. They visited for another thirty minutes before they made it to Ethan’s parents’ house to share the great news with them.
*****
Ethan wasn’t surprised that his mother was just as emotional as Regina’s when she found out about the baby. Unfortunately it took Lola a little longer to recover and while they told them about the house, she refused to let go of Regina.
“I am so happy for you two,” Lola exclaimed again hugging Regina as more tears slid down her face. “Now all we have to do is finish the preparations for the wedding.”
Ethan and Regina frowned at her as she used her husband’s handkerchief to wipe her face.
“Mom what do you mean, finish the preparations? I just asked Regina to marry me.” Ethan asked puzzled.
“Stephanie and I decided to start planning after the incident and Regina was in the hospital. We stood in the doorway when she’d asked you to sing to her and we knew then that you two would be married so we started meeting with caterers and the works. We knew that it was only a matter of time before you worked up the nerve to ask her.”
Anderson laughed at the look on his son’s face and he had to admit that his wife and Keith’s wife had been right. When his wife started crying again he went to her, “You kids go on and don’t worry she did the same thing when Maddie told us when she was pregnant and be prepared that she’ll do it again when you guys have the second and third. You guys run along and get your furniture shopping done.” He instructed after giving his new daughter-in-law a kiss goodbye.
Beginnings Page 19