Page 112 of More, Daddy
She was happy, she said, and they were tears of happiness. And in the morning, when the sun rose and we woke in each other’s arms, she was back to her beautiful, light self.
But I knew.
I knew those tears fell for that test result, and what it told us. And every day since then, I told myself that the moment we get our double lines, I’m going to throw her the biggest party ever.
It just so happens that our double-line moment came this morning. The only thing is, she doesn’t know it yet. And there was no actual double lined test, either.
But I know she’s pregnant. Finally, after a full year of intense, passionate, mind-blowing sex, we did it.
I’ve been tracking her cycles, monitoring her ovulation symptoms, taking careful notes in an app on my phone. A few days ago, when fucking my girl on our sides, her nightie pulled up around her waist as she clung to the mattress, I palmed my favorite pair of tits and found them slightly bigger. And my god, the way she whined when I grabbed them, like they were extra sensitive.
A day or so after, she complained of her coffee upsetting her stomach, and later of a metallic taste in her mouth.
Last night, after a particularly long session where she kept a toy inside of her while crawling to me and sucking my balls until I painted her sweet face, I took her to the restroom to clean her up, as usual. While between her legs on the toilet, taking care to gently wipe her up the way I always do, I had to wipe her a few extra times. At first I thought she was just extra horny for me, but as I wiped her and kissed her bare knees, everything slid together in my mind.
Tomorrow night, when the town is away, I’m surprising her with a vow renewal at Hudson’s farmers market property, just us. It’s the perfect setting to renew our love and to tell her that we’re having a baby.
I turn to Riley, and soak in her sunny disposition for a moment. She brings me a sliver of peace when nerves hit me that maybe, despite how much she wants it, the timing is bad for a baby.
She’s in college, tracking toward a degree, and still has two years of a credential program, too.
“What?” Riley asks, looking down at her shirt, then her pants. “Is there something on me? Is there a booger in my nose?”
I shake my head. “No, I was just… wondering how you’re doing. Two babies back to back, cheer coach, teaching, relatively new marriage, stepmom status… it's a lot. How are you?”
She narrows her eyes, because women have that spidey sense that tells them when you’re asking them something to actually know them better and care or when you’re asking them something simply to put another thing into perspective for yourself. “Why are you asking this?”
I shrug. “Because we’re friends.”
She blinks at me. “We talk about football and make fun of Dean’s sweat patterns.” They always look like faces on his back, I swear. “We don’t talk about, like, life stuff.” She claps a hand on my shoulder. “That’s why you have Jake.”
I shake my head. “Briar’s taking classes in the evenings, has her own classroom this year, she’s coaching, she’s got me, she’s got bunco with you and the girls, she’s even been talking to her dad a few times a month, working things out with him.”
“So, Briar’s busy,” Riley says, shoving her hands into her back pockets. “You know, Jake always tells me that when I have something to tell him, I take forever getting to the main point. But I think you guys are just as bad. Because I know you did not come to this pre-away game meeting with the thought of telling me all the things Briar does. So spit it out, Dupont.”
I shake my head. “To think that Jake is the sensitive one between the two of you.”
She taps her boot on the shiny hardwood.
“I’m just afraid of the timing for tomorrow’s little vow renewal…” I say, envisioning Briar with a round belly, our baby growing inside of her. “What if the timing isn’t right?”
Riley blinks at me, and after a moment, something shifts between us. I am not telling someone else about Briar’spregnancy first, and I thank Riley for not pointing out the realization when it hits her. But her eyes grow wet and she takes a moment to respond.
“Oh, West.” She puts her hand on my forearm. “The timing is never right, but at the same time, it’s always right. You two will figure it all out. And you have us, too. All of us. If you need help with anything like… well,” she says, smiling, “anything. You know, with the renewal.”
Thank goodness for teenage drama, because someone approaches Riley, and I’m able to get away without too much embarrassment.
“You sure it’sokay we didn’t go?” Briar asks, adjusting the vent in the truck. The cool air hits her, sending her blonde hair off her shoulders. She sinks into the seat with a sigh. “God that feels good.”
My hand, already resting on her knee, squeezes. “Sweetheart, I decide who goes. It’s fine. And anyway, Riley knows you just got your classroom set up. She knows how exhausted you are.”
Briar nods. “I really have been. I had no idea getting a room set up would be so tiring.”
I glance over at her, loving how she looks in denim cutoff shorts, her tall brown boots and a simple white tank top. We spent the day putting finishing touches on her classroom, and while I considered telling her we were going to go out for a special date so she’d dress up, I ultimately decided against it.
Briar and I have something special. We do things our way, in the order that makes sense for us.
Bringing her here, to the small little altar that Hudson set up for me yesterday before he, Dolly and the kids packed upfor the away game, after a long day of working together feels like us.
