The Marriage Rival

My arms wrap around his body, inhaling his scent. I missed him. He rips off my blankets, grabbing my hand to join him in the living room. I do so, reluctantly, barely able to keep my eyes open as I shuffle through the house.

Presley is in the kitchen, dressed and ready for work. She’s wearing that sexy black dress with the red belt. Fuck, I needed to be inside her like right now.

I lean in to kiss her cheek as she hands me a cup of coffee.

“You got in late?”

“You fell asleep early,” I point out. “You’re heading to work, now?”

“Yes, I’ve got an early meeting. Rosa has offered to watch Masen and take him to pre-school.”

I yawn, despite taking in a few sips of coffee. This shit needs to kick in quickly. My body is feeling like absolute crap. Noah’s late-night ramble at the bar the other night which led to way too many scotches is catching up with me now.

“I was thinking of working from home today. I need some peace and quiet after the last few hectic days.”

Her eyebrows rise a notch. “Wow, you never work from home?”

“I’m tired.”

She doesn’t press any further, almost welcoming my absence from the office. I swear there’s a slight skip in her step. Eyeing Presley from head to toe, she doesn’t appear worried about my curiosity. She leans in to kiss me goodbye, but I stop her, grabbing her wrist.

“What’s with you? You almost look happy I’m staying home.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says with a straight face. “You’re tired. I understand. Can you please let me go? I’m going to be late.” She pulls away, not leaning back for that kiss.

When the door shuts behind her, I sit quietly questioning my sanity. I’m able to think for a moment before Masen comes barreling through the house yelling in a panic.

“Daddy! Daddy! I lost my T-rex dinosaur Aunty Gemma bought me.” His eyes well up, lips quivering as he waits for me to respond.

“Hey...” I hop off the stool. “We can look for it, okay? I’m sure it’s around here.”

We spend the next hour searching the house. I lift the couch and get on my hands and knees to check under the beds. We go through his bedroom while I question him over and over again. He mentions playing in the kitchen, prompting me to search in there.

When I come up empty-handed, I text Presley, but she responds with the same places we have already checked.

I’m about to give up when an idea comes to mind. Despite my reluctance, I go outside and open the trash can. The dinosaur is small so it could have easily been amongst the things thrown out.

Thankfully, there are two bags inside. The first bag has empty food scraps, enough to make me dry heave, the second has a bunch of tissue.

There’s something hard.

I pull it out to reveal a pregnancy stick.

I scan the window area.

The test is positive.

“Daddy!” Masen comes running outside, waving his dinosaur. “I found it in my school bag.”

My brain stutters for a moment trying to gather some sort of response to give Masen. “Go inside, I’ll be there in a minute.”

He runs back inside as I continue to stare at the test. A surge of happiness sweeps through me, instantly lifting my mood. I’m going to be a dad, again. Being a father means everything to me. Masen is the best thing ever to happen in my life. And now, I get to feel that love all over again.

With a smile fixated on my face, I quickly get Masen ready for school and decide to head into the office. I don’t plan to stay, dressing in a pair of jeans and a polo shirt. My plan is to take Presley out to lunch to celebrate.

As I enter the office building, employees looked surprised to see me dressed so casually. I say hello, ignore anyone trying to stop me for a meeting, which could easily be written in an email until I’m standing inside Presley’s office.

Presley appears stunned, her mouth slightly open. “What are you doing here?”