Page 94 of Just a Distraction

She only nods, tears pooling in her eyes. “I know this isn’t going to be easy, with my practicum and the internship but…I took a test this morning.” She begins talking fast. “And I’m really, really happy. I’ve been trying to find the right moment to tell you all day. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. So I walked down the street and bought the half pint and the sugar cones and—”

Suddenly, she’s kissing me, as my mind winds around the truth. I press her closer, needing her to understand how happy I am, how much this news eclipses all my career success.

I’m already a father. I was a father long before the state of North Carolina declared it to be true.

But this?

We’re having a second child? Callum’s going to be a big brother?

I meant what I wrote to Rose before, that I wanted a family with her—a lifetime with her.

And now I’m breathing in her soapy, fresh scent, tasting and cherishing everything that she is.

Against my mouth, she murmurs my own words back to me. “You are the canopy for my loneliness…”

The End