Page 27 of Aspen Heat
"We just got engaged!" I yell.
"Okay then, maybe he can have a few more minutes, but we're waiting on him."
I hear more rustling as he leaves us.
"I guess everybody heard us."
"That's what happens when you live in such a tight knit community. Oh, and by the way…"
"What?"
"I love you too kitten. It's forever for us."
"Forever, Aspen."
EPILOGUE
MELISSA
I come out of the bathroom with the stick in my hand. I drop it on top of the dresser like it is dynamite while Aspen looks at me and turns on the timer. He puts the phone down next to him and offers me his hand.
His hand is warm and steady and has offered me a secure place since we met. I didn't realize it back then but as we got to know one another it started becoming a truth I couldn't deny. Aspen is my safe place, not a house or a job, he's the one who embodies everything positive in my life.
He feels the same way about me and I know this because he never hesitates to tell me. He's never short on words of comfort or building me up, and he's darn good at it. I squeeze his hand and go to sit down next to him at the edge of the bed.
We've just gotten up and I told him I felt that I should take the test. I bought it a week ago, but back then I was only one day late. I don't know how I managed to wait this long. I think a part of me was scared of it being negative.
What if after all this time our dream of becoming parents couldn't happen? It wouldn't be just me that would bedistraught, that's for sure. I look over at him to see the phone and only one minute has gone by.
OMG what's taking so long?
"Mel, listen to me."
"I don't want to hear it, Aspen."
"It's been negative before. The doctor said it was stress."
Tears start to form on my eyes and when he goes to reach for me again, I reject him. He doesn't let me get away with it and puts an arm around me. I let out a long breath and put my head on his shoulder.
"We should talk about alternatives."
I don't want to talk alternatives, I want to give birth to my child, but I feel a pang of guilt deep in my chest. There's no right way to become a parent, to become a family. I know that better than anyone. I lift my head and place a kiss on Aspen's cheek.
"We should talk about alternatives." I repeat what he's said to me just moments before.
His face brightens and a huge smile appears making him look more gorgeous than he already is –-damn the scar-– I never see that thing anyway. I look again to his side. Three minutes. My god how long are five minutes this day and age?
I start to get up to check on the stick but Aspen pulls me back.
"A watched pot never boils, or something like that."
"You're not helping."
"Kitten, you just made me the happiest man in the world by acknowledging that we could have a family a different way, so there's no pressure on what this little stick says."
"I'm still invested, baby."
"Okay. I won't say another word."
