And the text message he shot back to me brought tears to my eyes.
Took Wednesday off. See you for breakfast. Can’t wait to talk.
Twenty-Three
Ryan
A knock came at my door and I smiled. When Emma had messaged me about her first obstetrician appointment, elation sparked in my gut. I hoped this meant she was taking me up on my offer of helping her and supporting her. And her willingness to get together and talk was also a good sign. Especially since she had initiated it. I swung my door open and saw her standing there in a pair of old jeans and a loose shirt and I pulled her into my arms.
I kissed the top of her head, melting as she snaked her arms around my waist.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Morning. How are you feeling?”
“Nauseous.”
“We can bypass breakfast if you want. I made up some of that peppermint jasmine tea from the restaurant.”
“You have some of that here?” Emma asked.
“I was going to have it delivered to your place, but when you suggested coming here I picked up some last night to have for you.”
“Tea sounds wonderful,” she said.
I ushered her to the couch and helped her to sit down. She sighed as she leaned back into the couch, her eyes closing and her hand falling to her stomach. She looked absolutely worn out, and I was glad she’d taken the day off work. She needed to relax. To sleep. To allow her body to do what it was working hard to do, which was grow a fucking child.
Women were incredible.
Especially the one sitting on my couch.
I poured her a cup of hot tea and went to sit down beside her. I grabbed my mug of coffee and inched my way over to her until our thighs were settled together. We sat there in silence, staring at the blank fireplace as silence settled around the room.
“This is such good tea,” Emma said.
“I’m glad you like it,” I said.
“So the appointment’s at twelve thirty. There’s an obstetrician I found downtown that is supposed to be good.”
“So long as you have an address, I can get you there.”
“I’ve got it and the main number saved in my phone. I figured after the appointment, I could come back and take a nap or something.”
I panned my gaze over to hers and took in her serious face.
“Come back here?” I asked.
“If that’s okay. I can go back home if-”
“No. No, no. That’s fine. I just… does this mean you’re taking me up on my offer?”
Emma’s eyes flickered over to mine before a small grin crossed her face.
“I’ve had some time to think about it, and I think that raising this baby together will make for a better situation. This pregnancy is already kicking my ass, and I’m going to need help. I don’t…”
I turned my body towards hers, hiking my leg onto the couch.
“I don’t want our child growing up without either parent if we can somehow rectify that,” Emma said.