by Kimmy Love
“I’m pregnant!” she blurted out. She felt herself lift out of her body before she could stop herself from saying it. She was instantly relieved, but only momentarily as an entirely new wave of anxiety swept over her body.
“I’m sorry, what?” Oscar seemed like he didn’t hear her at first.
“I’m pregnant. It’s yours, and before you say anything that would make me really freak out, I’m keeping it.” Tessa just needed to lay everything out there and pull the truth off like a Band-Aid. Oscar stared off into space completely silent. Tessa couldn’t hear anything other than the sausage crackling on the stove. Oscar finally broke the silence.
“Not to be too ignorant about it all, but we like just—like less than 12 hours ago. Doesn’t it take a bit to know?” he replied confusedly.
“Not from this time. From the first time. You know, our first night?” she said, trying to help him understand.
“And you’re sure? About everything?” he asked. Tessa knew what he meant.
“Yes, of course. I already went to the doctor. I heard the heartbeat and everything. I just had my ten-week checkup.” Tessa went to her purse on the counter and grabbed an ultrasound picture from her wallet. She handed it to Oscar.
“Oh my god,” he said. She couldn’t gauge whether that was an excited or terrified response. Probably a mix of both. He walked towards the balcony and stepped onto the patio. Tessa gave him a minute but then followed. She had never been on the patio, but the sight was breathtaking. Oscar was leaning on the brick wall overlooking the street below them. It was much farther down than Tessa’s balcony. He still had the ultrasound picture in his hand but wasn’t looking at it. He was very deep in thought.
Tessa thought about what she had just done. This was one of the most powerful men in the country, probably world, and she just told him she was turning him into a father. She didn’t handle the news easily either. She took several pregnancy tests before she made her first doctor’s appointment. Even when he told her she was, in fact, pregnant, she thought maybe there was just a language barrier. There wasn’t.
She didn’t know how Oscar was going to react, but this wasn’t necessarily one of the ways she had hoped he would. It also wasn’t the worst reaction that she had imagined. She just wished he would say something. Maybe he was waiting for her to say something. She walked over to him and put her hand on his back. He didn’t even move. His skin was warm and smooth. She rubbed her hand up and down his back and leaned in close to him.
She looked down at what he was looking at. The street was busy and filled with people rushing around. All these people were babies at one point. They all had mothers that grew them in their bodies and had to tell their fathers at one point that they were going to have their baby. How did they react? Were they silent like Oscar?
Some of them were probably excited and screamed with joy when they heard they were going to be dads. Maybe some of these women couldn’t even tell the man they were pregnant. She just wished she knew what Oscar was thinking. Did he have these thoughts like Tessa?
“This doesn’t have to mean anything to you if you don’t want it to. I’m okay with doing this on my own. You only have to be as involved as you want.” Tessa knew that wasn’t true. She would be absolutely devastated if Oscar wanted no part in this baby. She still didn’t want to see him leap over the edge, kick her out of his apartment, or lose it in any other way, so she was trying to calm him down. He turned his head towards her and just investigated her eyes.
Tessa was normally pretty good at figuring out what a person was thinking just by the way that they looked at her, but Tessa had no idea what Oscar could possibly have going through his brain now. His brows were mostly relaxed, and his crystal blue eyes looked clearer than ever. She wanted to lean in and kiss his soft lips, but she knew that it probably wasn’t the best time to do that. Suddenly, she heard a loud beeping go off inside.
“The sausage!” Oscar ran inside, and Tessa followed. The sausage was burning and smoking, setting the alarm off. Oscar grabbed the pan, but the handle was hot. He quickly threw it down and screamed, grabbing his hand after. He ran to the sink and let it run under the water. Tessa had never seen him upset before.
“Can I get you something?” Tessa asked concerned. He shook his head at her. “I’m sorry I should have stayed with it.” Tessa didn’t feel responsible for the burning sausage, but she just didn’t want to see Oscar upset anymore. She grabbed some ice out of the freezer and wrapped it in a towel. She grabbed Oscar’s hand and made him hold the makeshift ice pack. “It’s going to be okay, Oscar.” She realized that was the first time she had really called him by his name.
“I’m not even divorced yet,” Oscar said, keeping his head down and holding his hand, Tessa’s wrapped around them. “Lydia will probably never sign the papers.”
“That’s okay, I don’t care about that,” Tessa said. She did care, but knew it wasn’t completely Oscar’s fault the divorce was being dragged out.
“I’m in the middle of opening the store,” Oscar replied.
“We can make it work,” Tessa responded, desperately trying to get him to have the positive reaction she was hoping for the entire time. He turned around and set his ice pack inside the sink, leaning over and looking down like he had on the balcony. Tessa suddenly realized he was trying to be nice and give her reasons he couldn’t be in the baby’s life. She felt like he was turning her down, and she wanted to throw up all over again. “I’ll just go.” She turned around to grab her things, hoping that Oscar would follow her. He didn’t.
She walked into his room and started picking the clothes up off the floor that Oscar had spent all night taking off. She looked over at the dresser that Oscar had kept his reminders in. She felt a tear run down her cheek. This was the last time she was going to cry over Oscar, she promised herself and her baby that much.
Obviously, money wasn’t the issue that stressed out Oscar. The divorce didn’t even matter as much, either. What was it about Tessa that made him not want her to have his baby? She finished collecting her things and turned around. Oscar was standing in the doorway.
“You’re going to have my baby?” he asked, looking less like a zombie than he did just minutes ago. Tessa shook her head.
“You want to have my baby?” he asked again, this time emphasizing “want.” He started to smile. Tessa shook her head too, giving a little smile back. Oscar ran towards her and kissed her, long and hard just like he always did. Every time their lips touched, it felt to Tessa like the first time. “That’s the most amazing thing anyone has ever told me,” he said, leaning in for more.
“Really?” Tessa said, fighting through sad tears that were being pushed away by happy ones.
“Yes!” he said, grabbing her face and kissing her all over. He kissed down to her belly and hugged her stomach, giving it a few kisses as well. “You’re having my baby!”
They kissed again. Tessa realized that Oscar had the perfect reaction to the news. She held him close, feeling his heartbeat, knowing her baby’s was there as well.
Chapter8
Tessa looked down at the street below her on her Athens’s balcony. The people seemed so close, like she could reach out and grab the top of their heads if she wanted. She leaned a bit over the edge but felt her stomach bump into the side. She was growing quickly, and her mind didn’t catch up to her changing body as fast as the baby grew.
She put her hand over her stomach. She had entered her second trimester but still wasn’t showing much. If she wore super tight leggings, you could see a little bump appear. She took a deep breath in. She was past the morning sickness and started to feel great.
“I think I have everything. You ready to go?” Oscar peeked his head out of the doorway. They had slowly been moving Tessa into his apartment ever since she announced her pregnancy. They hadn’t slept apart a night since. She had just finished packing up her last bag, the final step in officially moving out of Maria’s apartment.
“I
wish she was here, so I could say goodbye,” Tessa said, feeling herself tear up. She had only been in Greece for a week before her pregnancy, but it certainly felt like home.
“I also found something else you might be interested in taking with you?” Oscar said, holding up the diamond necklace he had sent to her. “Nice to know what you think of my gifts. I found it under your bed in a tangled ball,” he teased.
“Oh no! I’m sorry. I ripped it off the night we were supposed to go out. You can imagine I was pretty upset,” Tessa replied.
“Yeah, I guess I deserved that. So, do you want it back now?” he asked. Tessa shook her head and he walked towards her, setting down what he was holding and straightened out the necklace. He walked up behind her and put it on, kissing her neck once he clasped it shut. “It looks just as amazing on you as I thought it would. I’m just sorry that I waited so long to see it on.”
They kissed one final time on that balcony and decided to head out the door and down to the car. This city had truly changed her life. She and Oscar headed out the door and made their way to the car waiting for them. When they got in, Tessa really started to cry.
“You’re going to see her again! Don’t cry!” Oscar took off his seatbelt and scooched to the middle to comfort Tessa. Though she had moved out of Maria’s, she wasn’t going all the way home to New York just yet. “You guys will probably get brunch together this weekend!” Oscar teased, trying to comfort her.
“I know, I know. I’ve just been so emotional lately.” Tessa collected herself and looked out the window. Just when the crying stopped, she instantly started again. Oscar couldn’t help but snicker a little bit at how emotional his girlfriend had become.
Oscar was officially calling Tessa his girlfriend. They had been mostly living together for almost a month, so Tessa couldn’t help but get caught going in and out occasionally. When he was forced to confront rumors, he had no problem telling everyone that she was his beautiful girlfriend. He did, however, have a little trouble revealing that she also happened to carry his child.
Tessa feared that when they spent more time together, she might discover they weren’t as compatible. Though they hadn’t been together as long as some couples who decided to have children together dated, she did feel much more comfortable around him then when they first started dating. Each and every day, she felt closer and closer to Oscar. How could the process not be accelerated when part of him was growing inside her? Despite their rapid romance, he still had yet to tell everyone that she was expecting. They were expecting.
They had far passed the time that it was safe to break the news that Tessa was pregnant. He still hadn’t revealed to anyone beyond his assistant that she was carrying his child. Of course, not everyone would take the news lightly. Oscar lost his mother when he was a child to breast cancer. His father passed away when he was in college after having a serious heart attack. As an only child, there wasn’t much family to introduce, something that Tessa liked. Though she was close to her mother and sister, she didn’t have much family to introduce beyond that. Still, he had plenty of people that would have been interested in the news that she was expecting.
Tessa still tried to remain positive about their relationship. When they were together, she never felt so loved by anyone. He was always reminding her how stunning she was and how much she meant to him. He had also revealed that he loved her after their fifth night together. They were just laying in bed when he leaned over and whispered, “I think I love you.”
She responded only by kissing him. The next morning, when he left for a meeting, he told her he loved her before giving her a kiss. She said the same thing back and they hadn’t stopped since. Every time he would roll over in bed, he’d squeeze her close and tell her he loved her. When they stopped to grab food or gas, when he got out of the car, he would lean in for a kiss and tell her he loved her. He never missed an opportunity to make her feel like the most important woman in the world.
Still, he kept the pregnancy a secret. They had finally made their way back to the apartment. It was getting dark outside. Since Tessa found out she was pregnant, she would get more and more tired closer to sunset every day. She was ready to crawl into bed and forget about having to say goodbye to Maria. They made their way up the elevator and into the apartment. Tessa headed straight to bed, stripped down, and crawled under the sheets.
“I’ll be right in, I’m going to shower,” Oscar said as he walked into the bathroom. Tessa didn’t respond. She was feeling a bit in a lower energy mood. Her emotions certainly got the best of her so far through her pregnancy. Oscar finished quick and crawled into bed, hugging Tessa from behind.
“You’re so warm! My shower was cold this time for some reason.” He kissed Tessa’s neck and cheek. She didn’t respond.
“What’s wrong, beautiful?” he asked. Tessa didn’t know how to respond. She just wasn’t feeling quite herself.
“Is it that we had to leave Maria’s? I told you, baby, we’ll be back soon!” Oscar said. She shook her head no.
“I’m sorry. Are you still mad I missed the appointment? I promise that will be the only one I miss.” Oscar had missed a checkup after an accident happened on the sight of the factory.
“No, just feeling gloomy today I guess,” Tessa responded. With how good Oscar made her feel every day, Tessa couldn’t help but emotionally crash every once in a while. Her emotions were like a swinging pendulum. The further up they swung, the harder they hit when they came back down.
No one was as understanding with her emotions as Oscar was. She had dated people and just been friends with others in the past who didn’t understand Tessa’s emotional imbalances. Sometimes, she just wouldn’t feel like being a person that day, and some people took that personally.
They would be offended if she didn’t talk or was especially quiet and would push her until she was forced to fight them off. Jade was the best at instigating. Not Oscar though, he always knew how to turn Tessa’s mood right around. It was this quality that made her so sure that being in his arms right at that moment was the right place to be.
“I know what will cheer you up!” he said excitedly.
“What,” Tessa groaned, sometimes nervous for what trick he pulled. His jokes weren’t always cute. Most of the time they worked, but one time, he tickled her so hard she peed a little, an embarrassing secret she still hadn’t revealed to him. Instead, she let him go to bed confused that night thinking she was just really mad that he tickled her.
“Want to read some names?” Oscar said, pulling out a book of baby names.
“Yes please!” Tessa said excitedly, sitting up. Oscar sat next to her as well, clearing his throat. They had managed to make their way through four other baby books by now, still not finding one that they liked for their child, boy or girl.
“Okay, today we’re on the M’s,” Oscar stated. They had managed to find a book that carried especially “unique” baby names.
“Marlowe,” Oscar said.
“Mar who?” Tessa teased.
“Miriam,” he responded.
“We’re naming a baby not my grandma.” She laughed. Oscar did too.
“Mustin,” Oscar responded.
“Like Dustin but only for musty people?” Tessa laughed.
“Maple,” Oscar said while fighting back laughter.
“I do like my syrup,” Tessa teased. The both laughed hard. “We’re never going to find the right name,” she said, laughing through tears.
“Let’s just name it ‘baby,’” Oscar teased.
“Perfect!” Tessa laughed. Oscar leaned in to kiss her, setting down the book and grabbing her face instead. He pulled her in close, kissing her hard. “We still have time. The perfect name will come to us.” He kissed her again.
Tessa leaned back down into the pillows, pulling Oscar on top of her. He pulled his shirt off and tossed the blankets over them both, causing the baby name book to fall to the floor.
*****
Tessa woke up to fin
d an empty bed. Oscar went to work every day, Monday to Friday. The store and factory were still being built, but he made sure to oversee construction on both properties daily to make sure everything ran smoothly. This was certainly something most billionaires wouldn’t do for their companies. Tessa crawled out of bed and made her way into the bathroom. She felt heavier than she did the night before, growing by the second.
When she stood in front of the mirror, she saw a piece of paper taped right on it. It was a love note from Oscar reminding her how gorgeous she was. She only dreamed of a man making her feel this good throughout her life. She never thought she would be so lucky to actually carry his baby!
She looked in the mirror. She certainly didn’t feel gorgeous. She was teased so often in school for being black. Some kids would ask if her skin was dirty and she just needed a bath. Others told her that her lips and nose were too big, or that her hair was gross and “nappy.” Tessa knew that what these kids said was wrong and terrible, but she couldn’t help but still feel ugly every so often when she looked at herself in the mirror. Oscar never once made her feel any way like this, however. He was always staring at her, telling her she was the most stunning woman on the planet. She believed every word he said, too.
When she finished in the bathroom, she walked out and slipped on one of Oscar’s old work button-ups. He had so many that her first shirt of choice was usually this. He had given her her own credit card to buy whatever she wanted for herself or the baby, but she didn’t feel right about it. She used the card to buy things for the baby, like clothing and other supplies. She didn’t feel right using it on herself, however. She wanted to prove that she didn’t need his money and could handle herself on her own. She did need some new clothes, as hers were becoming way too tight. She slipped on some shorts as well and headed across the apartment to the guest bedroom.