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Gabe and Dustin looked over at us. “We’ll all go,” Dustin said.
“Let’s take care of our Emily,” Gabe announced.
In the next few minutes, we kissed and hugged our goodbyes and headed on out. Once we were home and changed into sweats, Gabe put a plate of snacks together—cheese, bread, fruit, and a few cookies—while Dustin gathered up an assortment of drinks, including a pot of hot herbal tea for Em. When she lingered in her bedroom longer than usual, I grew concerned and went looking for her.
I found her sitting on the bathroom floor, in front of the soaking tub, wearing her favorite pink sweats, holding onto a pen, crying.
Fear instantly gripped me as I went over and plopped down next to her. She rarely cried unless something major had happened. The last time, her mom had called to tell her that the family dog had to be put down, so I didn’t even want to imagine what this was all about. “Hey, baby girl, what happened? What’s wrong?”
She still didn’t say anything. Instead, she continued to sob, only now she was leaning against me.
“I don’t… I don’t… know what to do,” she finally said between sobs.
I pulled some toilet paper off the roll, handed it to her, and she blew her nose, then tossed it behind her.
“Tell me what it is. Maybe I can help.”
“You’ve already done enough,” she said, her voice low and raspy. “You all have.”
“It’s never enough. We can do more. Much more. Whatever you need.”
“I know, and I love you for it, but this… this is different.”
“Everything okay in here?” Dustin asked as he entered the large bathroom. “Who died? Did somebody die? Why is she crying?”
“Nobody died,” she said, gazing up at him. “Why would you think something so awful?”
“Because you never fucking cry unless there’s a death. The last time was your dog,” Dustin said.
“Another dog died? There was more than one family dog?” Gabe asked.
“Yes, but no. Nobody’s dog died,” she managed to say.
“Then why are you crying?” Dustin sat on the edge of the tub next to her.
“And in here? In this uncomfortable bathroom. Can’t we move this out to the living room where we’d all be much more comfortable? I started a fire, so it’s nice and cozy, just the way you like it, Em,” Gabe told her, as he slid his back down the wall and plopped down on the floor.
“Because I can’t move until I figure this out,” she said.
“Figure what out?” I stroked her head and slid her hair off her face. She looked so helpless. I would do anything to make her happy again… we all would.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not now anyway,” she said, finally getting control of her emotions.
“What wasn’t supposed to happen. Please tell us. We’re here to help you through anything,” Dustin said. “We love you.”
“What is it, Em?” I asked again. “Tell us.”
She handed me the pen she’d been holding, which wasn’t a pen after all, but rather a pregnancy stick. My heart banged against my chest as soon as my mind recognized what I was looking at, and when I actually saw the smiling face in the little window, I wanted to cry as well… because I couldn’t be happier.
“Holy fuck, she’s pregnant!”
“What?” Dustin asked, grabbing the wand from my hand, so he could see it for himself.
“We’re going to have a baby?” Gabe asked, staring at the wand.
“Yes,” Em cried. “But none of us are ready. I wanted to be ready. I wanted my career to be in a good place. I wanted our house to be ready for a baby. Do you know how much work it is to get a house ready for a baby? And what about all your tours? And what will our parents think? And how do we deal with all these grandparents? I’m so sorry. I thought I was safe. I thought I did everything I could to push this off for a while, but I guess I didn’t do enough. I’m so sorry.”
“Em, you couldn’t give us better news!” I told her. “This is amazing news!”
