Promises, Love and Baby

by Jessica Wood

  I knew Chloe had already confirmed her pregnancy with her doctor, but for some reason, that didn’t cause me to return the box back to the shelf. As odd as it sounded, I wanted to feel that agony—and probably, thrill—the lady had described when she and her husband had been waiting for the pregnancy test to come up positive. I knew that I wouldn’t feel that real anxiousness of waiting to know, but I still wanted to see the pregnancy test results for myself—to hold it in my own hands and know my life was about to change.

  “I’ll just get one for fun,” I justified to myself. “What’s the harm?”

  I took a closer look at the box in my hand. It was a box of Accu-Clear Pregnancy. “I like the sound of that name.”

  I scanned the description. “Over 99% accurate,” I read. “Wow, it only takes two minutes to see the result. That’s fast.”

  Happy with the pregnancy test I’d grabbed, I was about to turn and head to the checkout area when some words on another box on the shelf caught my attention.

  “#1 OB/GYN Recommended.”

  Oh, maybe I should get this one instead if it’s the one doctors recommend? I reached for the box of e.p.t. Early Pregnancy Test with my free hand and compared it with the box of Accu-Clear Pregnancy in the other hand while balancing the bouquet of flowers between my arms.

  But before I could decide between the two, another pregnancy test on the shelf caught my eye.

  “Oh wow, this one only takes one minute for the results.” I grabbed a box of First Response.

  And then I reached for yet another box—the Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test. Hmm this one is digital and will say ‘Pregnant’ or “Not Pregnant’ right on it! That’s pretty cool. This would make a nice photo op we can share with our friends on Facebook and Instagram.

  Deciding to go with the Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test, I was about to put back the other boxes when I suddenly noticed that this digital pregnancy test would take three minutes before the results showed up.

  That seems a lot longer compared to the rest.

  I stared at the boxes piled in my hands, trying to pick the best one.

  What’s the harm of getting more than one? I thought to myself when I couldn’t decide which one to get.

  In less than a minute, I was balancing the large bouquet of flowers and four boxes of different pregnancy tests in my hands. I really should have gotten a basket, I thought as I carefully walked to the front checkout.

  When I unloaded the pregnancy tests and flowers onto the conveyor belt, the lady standing in front of me in line turned back and looked over at me. Then her eyes quickly glanced down at my items. When they landed on the stacks of pregnancy tests, she looked up at me with curiosity. She just smiled, but from the amusement in her eyes, I could tell she thought this was funny.

  “My wife just told me she’s pregnant,” I explained. “I just want to see for myself.” As soon as the words came out, I knew they came out wrong. It sounded as if I didn’t trust my wife.

  “Well,” she responded before I could explain myself, “I’m sure you’ll know for sure after tonight if you plan to use all those pregnancy tests.” She stifled a giggle as she stared back down at the boxes.

  I let out a friendly chuckle and scratched my head sheepishly. “Yeah, I got a little carried away. I’m just so excited to be a dad. I mean, how often do we get the opportunity to watch a pregnancy test change and give you a positive reading?” I continued to justify my impulse purchases. “I figure, what the hell? It’s just four pregnancy tests, right?”

  The lady looked at the boxes again and gave me a funny look. She opened her mouth to say something, but before any words came out, she quickly closed her mouth, apparently changing her mind on what she had wanted to tell me. She then gave me a friendly smile and politely agreed with me with a simple, “Right” before turning around to face the front of the line.

  Had it been any normal day, maybe I would have asked the lady if there was something wrong. But it wasn’t any normal day today. Today I was too happy and wrapped up in my own thoughts to put any thought into her behavior.

  As I waited for my turn in line, I started to imagine what it’d be like to be a father. I knew I wanted to be the best dad I could be. Unlike my own father, I wanted to make sure I’d be actively present in my kid’s life. If it was a boy, I’d teach him how to play baseball and take him out camping and fishing. And instead of buying him a tree house like the one my father bought for me, we’d build one together from scratch.

  If it was a girl, I knew I’d probably spoil her rotten. If she wanted a pony, I’d get her one and teach her how to ride it. If she wanted to be a ballerina, I’d enroll her in the best ballet school in the area and go to all her recitals. If she wanted to be an artist, I’d sign her up for all the art classes her little heart could desire. The only thing I wouldn’t give in to would be boys—she wouldn’t be allowed to date until high school, maybe even college if I had my way.

  “Sir, your total is $135.48.”

  “Huh?” I blinked. The cashier’s face came into focus, bringing me out of my daydream. I hastily reached for my wallet to pull out a credit card. Before I swiped the credit card through the machine, I paused when a new thought hit me.

  “Oh wait, one more thing. Do you guys carry any tests for identifying the sex of an unborn baby?”

  “What?” She furrowed her brows and stared at me in confusion. “You’re looking for a home test that’d tell you the sex of your baby?” She looked at me as if I'd just asked her if unicorns really did exist.

  “Yeah!” I nodded eagerly.

  “Um, sorry, sir. I don’t think a home test of that kind exists.” She looked dumbfounded and amused at the same time.

  “Oh.” Feeling a little foolish, I quickly paid and walked out of the store without another word.

  As I walked to my car, I checked my receipt and realized for the first time how much I’d spent. Sheesh, I didn’t realize home pregnancy tests were so expensive. When I unloaded everything into the trunk of my car, I took one last look at the bag full of pregnancy tests and another thought popped into my head. Okay, so maybe I did go a little overboard. Clo’s going to have a field day with this one.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Chloe

  It’d been over half an hour since Jackson left the house without telling me where he was going. Maybe it was my hormones going into overdrive because I was pregnant, but I felt a prickle of anxiety in the pit of my stomach as I started wondering what he was up to and whether he was keeping something from me. I tried to remind myself that we normally never kept anything from each other. But why had he been so insistent on going out by himself? And why hadn’t he wanted to tell me where he was going?

  “I trust him,” I reasoned with myself out loud. “With all my heart. There must be a reasonable explanation for this.”

  Sure enough, as soon as Jackson walked through the front door, the unease I’d felt moments ago evaporated. The worry that was painted across my face was immediately replaced with a huge smile when I saw him.

  “Hey, gorgeous.” He walked in, flashing me that charming, boyish grin that I could never get tired of. In his arms was a stunning bouquet of flowers. He leaned over and kissed me.

  “Jax, you went out to get me flowers?”

  “Guilty.” He had a look of satisfaction, knowing that he was the one that put the smile on my face.

  “But you got me flowers this morning,” I said in confusion as I motioned to the beautiful vase of tulips and roses in the middle of the formal dining room table.

  “That’s for our anniversary, baby.” As he handed me the bouquet in his hand, the sweet floral aroma of tulips, peonies, and dahlias greeted my senses. “These are for you and our baby.”

  He gently placed a hand on my stomach and looked at me in a way I’d never seen him do before. Radiating from every aspect of his face, his smile, and his eyes were his statements of love, joy, and hope without needing to utter a single word.

  “
Clo, I can’t tell you just how incredibly happy I am today knowing that you’re pregnant with our first child. What I’m feeling inside—” he put his other hand to the center of his chest, “—it’s just unreal. It’s the greatest gift I could ever imagine.”

  His words brought tears to my eyes. I’d been nervous for over a week about how Jackson would take the news that he’d be a father soon. We’d talked about having kids before, but those conversations had always felt abstract—something that’d happen sometime distant in the future, not something that would happen now before we’d caught the “baby fever” that so many of our friends and colleagues seemed to have caught.

  Plus, I had been worried that Jackson might think the timing wasn’t right for us to have a baby right now. Lately he had been pulling a lot of late nights and weekends at work because he was up for consideration for the vice president position at his firm. Someone would likely be selected at the end of this year. If Jackson got this promotion, he’d be the youngest associate ever to be promoted to an executive position in the firm’s history. Even though he’d never admit it to me, I knew he was under a lot of pressure to prove himself worthy of this promotion.

  To see and hear how happy Jackson was about the news of my pregnancy, I felt every ounce of concern and uncertainty I once had wash away.

  “I love you, babe. I feel so lucky to be loved by you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “You’re going to make a wonderful dad.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He grinned and winked at me. “You should start ordering those #1 Best Dad mugs and World’s Best Dad t-shirts for me already.”

  “Oh really?” I raised my eyebrows. “Isn’t that a bit premature?”

  “Nah.”

  “Well I think I’ll hold off on placing any orders until after I’ve seen you handle your first diaper change.”

  A brief expression of panic and fear flashed across his face that caused me to laugh.

  Then he scoffed, the confident grin back on his face. “I’ll be a champ at diaper-changing in no time. That’s what YouTube is for,” he said matter-of-factly.

  “YouTube?” I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

  “Yeah,” he chuckled. “They have videos about anything and everything on there. I’m sure there are hundreds of tutorials and tips on changing a diaper.”

  I shook my head as I looked at him in disbelief. “Jax, you know there are classes that will teach all that and more, and I’m pretty sure they’re far more reliable than whatever you find on YouTube.”

  “Oh. Right. Of course I knew that.” He looked at me sheepishly. “I was just kidding about YouTube. I wanted to see if you knew about the classes.”

  I grinned. “Uh huh. So you were testing me?”

  “Exactly,” he jumped eagerly at my suggestion. “Totally just testing you.”

  I giggled and rolled my eyes. “Ok, babe. Whatever you say. I’ll make sure to look into that #1 Best Dad mug first thing tomorrow.”

  Then his eyes lit up. “Oh, I brought proof that I’ll be the #1 Best Dad.” He lifted up his hand to show me a stuffed grocery bag.

  “Proof?” I eyed the bag tentatively.

  “Well, some would say it’s proof.” He chuckled as he handed it me.

  I took the bag from him and, as I pulled out several boxes of pregnancy tests from it, my confusion only increased. “What is all this, Jax? Why did you buy all these pregnancy tests?”

  “I wanted to see the results for myself.” There was a silly, boyish smile on his face.

  “But we already know I’m pregnant. I told you just earlier today I went to the doctor and got tested a few weeks ago.”

  “I know, baby, but come on,”—he tilted his head to one side, his lips curled into a wider smile—, “just humor me. I just want to see the test change in front of me.”

  I nodded and smiled as soon as I understood what he meant. He hadn’t had doubts that I was actually pregnant—he just wanted to physically see the positive test result. I immediately felt a little guilty for deciding not to tell him as soon as I’d thought I might be pregnant a few weeks back. The nervousness I’d felt when I realized my period was late, the anxiousness I’d felt when I was waiting for the results to show up on the pregnancy test, and the excitement I’d felt when the doctor confirmed that I was pregnant—those were moments he wouldn’t be able to experience; those were moments I’d robbed from him.

  “I’m sorry, Jax. It’s my fault. I should have told you sooner so you—”

  “—Clo,” he cut in, “You did nothing wrong, so you have nothing to be sorry for. I loved the way I found out. It was the best surprise I’ve ever gotten.” He opened one of the boxes and pulled out a pregnancy test and handed it to me. “I bought these because I thought it’d be fun.”

  Being reminded of yet another reason why I loved this man so much, I leaned up and kissed him. “Thanks for being you,” I whispered.

  I took the pregnancy test and then looked over at the remaining boxes of pregnancy tests that were now on the kitchen counter and stifled a giggle. “Umm, honey?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You know I love you for wanting to take these pregnancy tests, and it makes me so happy to see that you’re just as excited about the news as I am …,” I paused, trying to decide how to ask him, “But do you really want me to take all of these pregnancy tests?”

  “Could you?” He chuckled. “Okay, I know I went a little overboard in buying so many, but I just couldn’t decide which one to get at the store, so I thought ‘what the hell’ and just bought all four tests.”

  “Four?” For a second, I wondered if I heard correctly. But by the look on his face, it was clear that I hadn’t. I held in my nearly-uncontrollable urge to laugh. “Jax,” I began slowly, “You do know that each of these boxes have multiple tests in them, right?”

  “What?” He stared at me in confusion and then looked down at the opened box of Clearblue Pregnancy Test in his hand. Slowly, he reached in and pulled out a second test stick. Then he turned the box upside-down to empty its contents. Three additional test sticks fell out onto the counter along with the folded instruction manual.

  “Oh.” That was the only word he could muster as he added the test stick in his hand to the other three on the counter.

  Then he reached for another box, opened it, and emptied its contents. I tried my best to hold back the laughter as Jackson’s face grew more sheepish with each additional box he emptied onto the counter.

  In less than a minute, when all the boxes had been emptied, there was a heap of 14 various tests piled in the middle of the kitchen counter.

  He looked at the pile of test sticks and then over at me with a straight face and in a serious tone, said, “Let’s not speak of this again.”

  I burst into a fit of laughter, which he quickly joined in on.

  “No deal.” I shook my head as I clutched my stomach to ease the pain of laughing so hard. “This is just too good not to tease you with in the future.”

  “You’re evil.” He tried to glare at me, but he couldn’t stop from laughing either.

  “Am I really?” I challenged with a grin. “Come on, babe, when you bring home fourteen pregnancy tests for me to take for fun, you kind of opened the door wide open and made yourself an easy target.”

  “You’re never going to let me live this down, huh?” There was a glint of fear in the laughter in his eyes.

  “Let me answer that by asking you this again: Do you really want me to take all of those? If so, I should probably go and drink several glasses of water right away.”

  He knew I was taunting him and laughed. “Okay, you win. I went completely overboard.”

  “Just a bit.”

  “Hmm, now it all makes sense.” He looked like he had just remembered something.

  “What makes sense?”

  He chuckled. “Well when I was at the store, this lady in front of me in the check-out line was looking at me funny, especially when I mentioned it was
only four pregnancy tests. I thought she looked like she wanted to tell me something but didn’t, but I’d completely forgotten about that until now.”

  “Well I’m glad she didn’t tell you.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “Because she would have ruined all this fun for me.”

  “Well I’m glad I can be a source of entertainment for you,” he said sarcastically.

  “Me too,” I teased.

  “You’re killing me.” He laughed and then picked up one of the pregnancy test sticks at random and handed it to me. “Could we at least just do one?”

  I giggled. “With that sad, puppy dog face of yours, I’ll do you one better. I’ll do four—one of each kind.” I grabbed three more test sticks from the counter.

  His face lit up. “Best. Wife. Ever.”

  “Don’t I know it?” I winked at him before heading to the bathroom with the four pregnancy test sticks in hand.

  Moments later, I opened the bathroom door and called Jackson into the bathroom.

  There was pure giddiness on his face that reminded me of the way he looked on Christmas morning when we were kids right before we opened our presents from each other.

  As soon as he saw the row of four test sticks on the bathroom vanity, he eagerly pulled out his iPhone from his pocket. “I’ll set the timer on my phone.”

  “You’re too funny.” I giggled. “You’re taking this so seriously.”

  “Just let me enjoy this.”

  “Okay. You’re the boss.” I smiled, feeling so happy inside by his eagerness.

  As we passed the two-minute mark on the timer, three of the four tests had already changed to display a positive result.

  I looked over at Jackson expectantly.

  “Wwaaiitt for it,” he said, his eyes fixed on the last test that had yet to change.

  I shook my head in amusement but didn’t say a word.

  He suddenly let out a loud whoop when the Clearblue Digital Pregnancy Test finally displayed the word Pregnant.

  “We’re going to have a baby!” He lifted me up in the air and I cried out in surprise and started giggling.