Page 79 of All Your Firsts Without Me

I love this woman so damn much. Wrapping my arms around her, I stare over her shoulder at our child. She pushes me away, wiping her eyes. “Go get them, hurry, and you can see the heartbeat.” April shoos me with her hands.

I pull the door open to find Jeff and the doctor both smiling. Jeff pulls me in for a hug, patting me on the back. “Congratulations, dad.”

Dad. Holy cow. I’m going to be a dad.

The doctor comes in and continues with the ultrasound. “Do you want to know what the sex is?”

I look to April to answer. She bites her lip, bobbing her head up and down.

“I guess we do,” I tell the doctor.

“It’s a girl.”

April gives me a hesitant glance; I give her the biggest smile in return. “We’re going to have a daughter.” I place my lips to her forehead for a few seconds, hopefully relaying how fucking happy I am.

“Oh my god. We’re having a baby,” April says as if it’s just now sinking in.

On the way home, April fills her mouth with greasy take-out, finally feeling a little better. We both keep looking at each other, grinning like kids who just got away with the whole cookie jar. My cheeks are starting to hurt.

Lucky bounces around our feet when we step through the door. We settle on the couch. “It’s been a long day.” April curls into my side. I wrap my arm around her. “It’s funny how life can take you on such a rollercoaster of emotions in only one day.”

I drag my short, clipped nails over the back of her head. She closes her eyes, relaxing into my touch. “I’m so lucky to have such a strong woman by my side. Watching you with Fred was…” I swallow hard.

“Nobody should have to be alone.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal. “He was a good man, I wanted to give him comfort.”

“It didn’t remind you of David?”

April thinks about it for a minute. “It did but not in the way that you’re thinking.” She shifts on my shoulder to look up at me. “Are you okay?” she asks.

“I’ve never watched anyone die,” I admit honestly. “It kind of freaked me out.”

“He’s in a better place,” she assures me. Lucky yawns on her lap which makes April stifle a yawn of her own.

“You need to get some sleep, but first, I brought you a gift.” I slide off the couch and dig through my bag. When I find what I’m looking for, I hand it to her. She takes it from me, smiling. “When did you take this?” She runs her finger over the cover of our new album. It’s a picture of her, stretching her arms over her head as she watches the sunset.

“A few weeks ago,” I tell her.

“This is amazing. Our first album. I got you a gift too,” she says, giggling. “Actually, it’s from David.”

She runs to her room and comes back with a bracelet. She shows me the matching one on her wrist. “It was with his last letter. It’s the coordinates to where we met.” Her gold eyes twinkle with amusement.

I smile, sliding it over my hand. “He would be pissed to find out he was wrong for once. He thought we would meet at the White Glass.”

She tips her head, watching me carefully.

“It’s a thoughtful gift, though,” I admit, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

She yawns again.

I wrap my arm around her waist and pick her up, carrying her to the bedroom. “You really do need to sleep, but first I’m going to make love to my soon-to-be wife.”

She laughs, her arms curling around my neck. “You sound pretty sure about that.”

“Because I am.” I kick the door shut behind me, placing her on the bed.

“You haven’t even asked yet.” She starts stripping, watching me do the same.

“Will you marry me,” I ask, kicking my jeans aside.

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