Page 41 of Pregnant in Plaid
"You liked it there?"
"I did. Had my life figured out. Or thought I did." She touches her stomach. "Then this happened."
"Could be worse timing. Could've been during a zombie apocalypse."
She laughs.
We sit as the fire burns lower, and I'm acutely aware of her. The way she keeps adjusting, trying toget comfortable. The way she absently rubs her stomach.
"What happens next?" she asks quietly. "After the wedding. After the baby. What does this look like?"
"I don't know. But I know what I want it to look like."
"What's that?"
"This." I gesture between us. "You here. Me here. The baby here. Us figuring it out together."
"That simple?"
"That complicated. But yeah. That simple too."
She doesn't speak for a long moment. "I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"That I'll stay and it won't work. That I'll leave and regret it. That I'm not enough."
"Patrice." I wait until she looks at me. "You're already enough. Coming here, telling me, showing up—that takes guts. You're braver than you think."
Her eyes shine in the firelight. "You don't know that."
"I do. You flew here seven months pregnant to tell me the truth. You kept our baby safe. You reorganized my kitchen even though your back hurt. You're scared, but you're doing it anyway. That's brave."
"You're good at pep talks."
"Should've been part of SEAL training."
She smiles, and the sound makes me want things I shouldn't want.
"I should go to bed," she says, standing slowly. "Long day tomorrow."
"More kitchen reorganizing?"
She laughs softly. "Maybe. If you're lucky."
She pauses at the hallway. "Trace?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For tonight."
"Anytime."
She disappears into the guest room, and I stay on the couch staring at the dying fire.
Two weeks to convince her to stay.
Two weeks to figure out how to let her go if she decides to leave.
