He laughed. “Lead the way.”
I turned and led him through the living room to the current kitchen, then down the hallway toward our bedroom. I glanced back at him just before we got to the closet. “So, this might be nothing, but I just…Oh, Murphy it might be something.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Maybe,” I whispered.
My fingers shook as I reached for the doorknob. I opened it slowly and pointed at the white bin on the top shelf. “Can you get that down?”
He reached up and pulled it down to hand to me.
“My hands are
shaking too badly, can you open it?”
He wiped his hands on his canvas pants. “You sure you want me touching any of your things. I’m all dirty.”
“You won’t hurt the box.”
He unclicked the side locks and tugged the top off. His eyes widened then his gaze crashed into mine. “What? Are you sure?”
“Six days late,” I whispered.
“Six?” He hustled me around until he could kick the door closed. “Holy shit.”
“Yeah. I was looking at my calendar for the monthly checklist for the website and…just can’t believe I didn’t notice. I stopped paying attention…mostly.”
“I did too. You’d get upset every month when we were first together. I just hated to see that disappointment in your eyes.” He blinked fast and his eyes got red. “I don’t want you to be disappointed again if this is wrong.”
Ever worried about me. God, I loved him. “I know. Maybe I should have taken a test first.”
“No.” He covered my mouth with his for a hard kiss. “We do it together.”
My eyes stung and I tried to laugh around the rock in my throat. “I didn’t even think about taking the test without you. I literally ran right to get you.” I blinked away the tears threatening to flow like Niagara Falls. “You’re the other half of me.”
He lowered his forehead to mine and covered my hands over the bin between us. “We’ll do this together too. No matter what.”
“Maybe I can pee alone? I mean I sometimes sneak in and pee when you’re showering if I have to go really bad, but I mean you know…there’s this whole stick thing. Awkward.”
“I get it.” He laughed and hugged me closer. “Maybe take two?” He dug into the stash of tests I had. “Did you buy these in bulk?”
“Maybe.”
He shook his head. “Okay, maybe three. Just to be sure.”
“Right. Taking more than one will be better. Sensible.”
“Right.” He set the bin on his bedside table and ripped open a box.
I’d read all the instructions on line and knew what each one required. The main theme was pee and me hoping like hell that I get it all over my hand. Did I have to pee enough? Maybe I should drink some water.
I wandered into the bathroom to fill up the Dixie cups we kept in there.
“Wait. You’re doing it now? I didn’t finish reading the instructions.”
“Already read them,” I said between swallows. “I just have to make sure I can pee enough for all of them. Dammit. I just went ten minutes ago. I should have stored it up.”
“You didn’t know.” He leaned against the doorjamb with three white plastic sticks in his hand. Two were all white and one had purple accents. “So, this one does the plus sign and this one says the actual word—”