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I was feeling much better in the morning. Everything seemed clearer and less tragic now that the initial shock of finding out that I was pregnant had worn off. Alona fixed me pancakes and bacon, gave me a pep talk and a long hug, and then I headed back home to talk to Michael.
Funny, somewhere along the way I’d started calling Michael’s place home.
As soon as I opened the door, Nutella came racing over, clawing at my pants trying to get up my body. I stooped down to pick him up, snuggling him close to my chest. He gave me a pathetic look and let out a long whining meow.
“What’s the matter, kitty?” I asked in that voice you used to talk to babies and pets. “Did that mean old Michael starve you while I was gone?”
“Hey! I fed him canned tuna,” Michael called from the kitchen. “You want coffee?” He paused. “Oh crap, are you supposed to have coffee?”
“I don’t need coffee, thanks.”
Usually I had two or three cups, but I figured I should probably avoid caffeine until I saw a doctor and found out what I could and couldn’t have while I was pregnant. Ugh, I was probably going to have to learn to like tea.
Michael walked out, looking a little rough. His hair was sticking up in all directions, and there were circles underneath his eyes as if he hadn’t slept. He gave me a look that was full of apprehension.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
He nodded, watching me carefully. “Are you?”
“Yeah,” I said softly. “But I guess we should talk now.”
“Okay.”
We moved to the couch, me still cradling Nutella. Michael sat on the other cushion, turning to face me.
“I’m sorry I ran out like that instead of talking,” I said.
“You needed your sister. I get that.”
Damned if that didn’t make me love him more.
“I want you to know, no matter what you decided to do, I’ll support you in however you need,” Michael started. “But just to be perfectly clear about my intentions, I love you and I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you – and our child.”
“I didn’t plan this.” For some reason it felt important to say it out loud.
“Neither of us did, but maybe this was meant to happen. We’re both stable, mature adults with a good income. We’re good friends and we care about each other. The fact is, that a lot of babies come into this world in way less ideal circumstances.”
“We more than care for each other,” I said. “We love each other. We’re in love with each other.”
His eyes widened as my words registered. “What are you saying, Olga?”
I set Nutella on the floor and moved closer, taking his hand. “I’m saying that I’ve been in love with you for a long time, Michael. I told myself you didn’t see me that way, so I put you in a box labeled friend. And even when we started sleeping together, I couldn’t allow myself to hope for more.”
“And now?” he asked softly.
“Now I’m hoping for more.”
“Then more is what you’ll get,” he said firmly. “I love you Olga. I loved you when we were six, and I loved you when you walked into Sweet Cocktails looking like you lost your best friend. I fall more in love with you every single day, and if you let me, I’ll fall in love with you a little more tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that.”
Tears were sliding down my cheeks again. “I don’t know why I’m crying. I’ve cried more in the last eighteen hours than I did in the last eighteen years.”
“But they’re happy tears, right?” he asked hopefully.
“The happiest,” I sniffed.
“In that case, I need to ask you something.” Michael reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a blue velvet ring box. “Olga Pavlenko, will you marry me?”
He opened the lid, revealing a beautiful square cut diamond set in a platinum band. I stared at the ring in shock.
